Capitec Bank has once again outperformed the market in terms of customer loyalty, ranking among the best banking institutions both locally and globally in a time of unprecedented financial difficulties for banks and borrowers.
According to a recent survey, Capitec is South Africa’s most successful bank in terms of customer satisfaction, according to the annual South African Customer Satisfaction Index for Banking released by market research company Consulta.
During the year 2020, Consulta polled nearly 12 500 customers from South Africa’s major retail banks – ABSA, African Bank, Capitec, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank – about their overall satisfaction with them.
Customers’ preferences, actual or imagined value and efficiency, complaints and response time, brand loyalty, and perceived equal treatment of clients were all factors used to measure the overall customer satisfaction score.
Capitec came out on top, scoring 84.7 points in total.
African Bank ranked second with 83.4 points, followed by Nedbank (81.1), FNB (80.2), ABSA (78.6), and Standard Bank (78.6).
ABSA and Standard Bank have improved, but “continue to struggle with their value proposition to clients – both banks have performed below industry par over the previous five years,” according to the survey.
Banks have earned substantial goodwill and loyalty as a result of their debt-relief responses since the pandemic began a year ago. (By October 24, banks had released R33.6 billion in payment cuts on credit agreements and R16.71 billion in loan guarantees to businesses and individuals, according to the Banking Association of South Africa.)
According to the Consulta report, they will have to work hard to build on this goodwill because “a prolonged pandemic tests every facet of customer endurance and loyalty in a tough and volatile economy.”
2020 was a “tumultuous year” for banks in terms of customer retention and loyalty, according to Ineke Prinsloo, Consulta’s head of consumer analytics.
Forbes’ World’s Best Bank Survey
Capitec has been named the best bank in South Africa for the second year in a row.
In Forbes’ World’s Best Bank Survey, which rated banks in two dozen countries on overall recommendation and satisfaction, confidence, terms and conditions, customer care, digital services, and financial advice were all surveyed.
This is more good news for the bank in an otherwise prosperous year. Capitec’s digital banking services are the most widely used in the country, with over 7.4 million active customers.
The bank added over 470,000 new digital banking customers between January and May 2020, reflecting a 6.8% increase in their digital customer base.
