Bank customers prioritise experience over cost: KPMG survey

Co-operative Bank banking hall in Nairobi. [David Njaaga, Standard]

A customer experience survey across Kenya's banking sector has found that customers prioritize excellent service over cost considerations when selecting their preferred banking channels.

The "Beyond Satisfaction, Towards Delight" survey, recently conducted by global consulting firm KPMG, polled 866 retail and business banking customers across three key regions of the country - Nairobi, the Coast, and Western Kenya.

A key finding revealed that branch customer experience was the top reason (47 per cent) cited by customers for selecting their preferred banking channel, while charges and rates ranked lowest at just 6 per cent.

This suggests that customers' sensitivity to banking fees and costs is relatively low, with the quality of service emerging as the primary driver in their channel preferences.

The findings build on previous customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), which named the Co-operative Bank of Kenya as the overall winner for both 2022 and 2023.

In terms of channel usage, the survey found that mobile banking apps were the preferred option for the majority (42 per cent) of banked Kenyans, followed by bank branches at 24 per cent.

Internet banking was the least preferred channel at 4 per cent.

In previous customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), Co-operative Bank of Kenya was named Overall Winner for both years 2022 and 2023.