KPMG, a leading audit, and consultancy firm has recently adjudged Stanbic IBTC Bank as the top-rated bank in the retail and SME segments in its 2021 Nigeria Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey.
Reacting to the KPMG report, Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank, expressed delight at the emergence of the financial institution as the highest-ranked bank in customer experience. He said the Bank’s core objective is geared towards building long-term relationships with clients by providing timely, innovative, and relevant solutions to the benefit of its clients.
Wole said: “We are pleased with these accomplishments. It is particularly satisfying to note that this exercise emanated from a survey of customers. This speaks to our relentless commitment to delivering innovative customer experiences. The Bank’s core goal is to become a customer-obsessed financial services provider. The desire to give our customers the best banking experience across our touchpoints, including our traditional and digital channels, remains at the heart of our business. We continue to innovate to ensure we achieve this.”
Stanbic IBTC’s overall customer experience performance improved significantly as the Bank moved from 9th in the last survey to the top position in 2021, scoring 74.5 percent and 74.7 percent in the retail and SME segments, respectively.
“Stanbic IBTC Bank was ranked the top-rated bank in the retail segment and was the biggest mover this year – moving up eight places to the top spot. Stanbic IBTC Bank also held the top position in the SME segment and recorded the greatest improvement in the segment,” the KPMG report stated. Security of transactions, reliability of payments and, ATM experience were some key criteria highlighted in the report.
Another important consideration in the survey was how well the surveyed companies were able to demonstrate mastery of “The Six Pillars of experience excellence,” which are: integrity, adroit resolution of issues, managing and exceeding customer expectations, empathy, reduction of customer effort, and creation of frictionless processes and personalisation.
According to the survey report, “Customers commended user-friendliness of Stanbic IBTC Bank’s digital platforms, fast response to complaints and good quality social media content, and importantly, acclaimed the experience at the ATMs and in the branches.”
The report also highlighted how Stanbic IBTC Bank “demonstrated a sustained commitment to its superior branch experience. Customers reported quick handling of transactions and relatively fewer queues at the branches. Given the continued importance of ATMs to the customer’s experience, the high performance recorded on the channel certainly bolstered Stanbic IBTC’s performance rankings this year.”
Remy Osuagwu, Executive Director, Business and Commercial Clients, Stanbic IBTC Bank, assured that the Bank would continue to finetune its systems and processes to ensure it delivers unmatched customer experiences while exceeding their expectations. Over the years, Stanbic IBTC has adopted an aggressive digital strategy to improve its services and processes and has developed some of the most innovative approaches to customer relations.
Some respondents from the KPMG report lauded Stanbic IBTC’s efforts in terms of consumer experience. One respondent said: “I suspended using my account with my former bank because of poor customer service. Stanbic IBTC Bank gave me a reason to start using a bank account again. Their customer service is good, and they don’t usually have network issues on their platforms. Their mobile banking platform is top-notch.”
Another respondent said: “It has been a wonderful experience with Stanbic IBTC Bank. Their courtesy makes me feel good. I got my ATM card quickly when I went to the branch, and using the card makes life easy.”
The latest survey is the 15th in the series by the consultancy firm. According to Ayodele Othihiwa, Partner and Head Financial Services Industry, KPMG Nigeria, the annual banking survey helps “to provide an independent platform for banks and other organisations to acquire this outside-in perspective and understand the voice and priorities of Nigerian customers.” He added that this year’s survey result reflected “a very competitive landscape in the race for the customer and at the same time, customer feedback that recognises the effort and innovation of Nigerian banks.”
