Customer experience takes center stage in online banking 4/14 PRNewswire comScore released a study of the online banking industry. The findings are based on passively observed online behavioral data from the comScore Online Bank Benchmarker & a survey of 2,500 US banking customers. The report provides comprehensive insights into service usage, consumer satisfaction, paperless banking & mobile banking. The study found that the growth in the number of online banking customers at the 10 most-visited online banks softened in 2007 compared to the previous year. High customer satisfaction with banking relationships & receptivity to the use of new media tools - such as chats & widgets - to enhance the online banking experience. The findings from this study were compared to results from 2 previously-published comScore studies conducted in 2007 & 2006. These studies surveyed 1,405 & 2,124 participants. ‘After several years of strong growth in the number of users of online banking services, it appears the market is entering its next phase,’ said Brian Jurutka, comScore. ‘Many of the top banks are realizing that customer servicing is of increasing importance in this competitive market & are therefore investing resources into online service enhancements, & mobile banking.’ After years of accelerating growth rates, the growth in the number of online banking customers at the top 10 online banks has begun to slow. The number of customers who logged into a liquid deposit account (checking, savings, or money market account) at one or more of the top 10 online banks increased to 8.1% in IVQ 2007, compared to a 9.5% growth rate the prior year.
From IIQ 2007 to IIIQ 2007, the number of online banking customers who accessed a liquid deposit account declined by 1%, which was the first decrease seen in the industry in the past 5 years. Although IVQ 2007 saw a 0.9% increase in quarterly growth, it was just ½ the previous year’s IVQ growth of 1.8%. The study looked at customers’ satisfaction with their primary banking institution. 72% of respondents said they were ‘highly satisfied’ with their primary bank, an increase of 2 % points from 2007 & 3 % points from 2006. Banks consistently lead other financial institutions such as credit card companies & brokerage firms in this satisfaction rating.
Online banking customers were surveyed about their interest in various new media services, such as the ability to chat online with a bank representative. 25% of respondents said they were interested in a chat capability & 23% said they were interested in having a widget from their financial institution that would display their account balance.
‘This receptivity to chats & widgets in the online banking industry is consistent with general online industry trends. Consumers are increasingly relying on emerging media in many aspects of their online lives, so it’s natural that they would want their online banking experience to conform to these expectations. While consumers express an interest in these features, observed behavioral data shows a much lower adoption rate. This may be due to the fact that many banks have not yet developed capabilities to adequately match consumer expectations, which provides additional opportunities for banks to satisfy their customers.’ Customers who reported being ‘highly satisfied’ with their bank had longer online tenure at the financial institution & were mostly in the younger age group of 24 to 44 years. 25% of survey respondents reported that they were interested in mobile banking, up slightly from last year’s 23%. Consumers interested in mobile banking said they are most interested in obtaining account balance information (61% through text message & 57% through mobile browser). 53% of respondents said they had at least one of their financial statements delivered in a paperless format For customers who have not enrolled in paperless statements, the top 2 reasons for not doing so were the desire to have a hard copy of the statement for record-keeping (46%) & the desire to have a paper bill as a reminder to make a payment (38%).
