- The research was conducted in three regions covering Nairobi, Coast and Western
- A total of 886 customers were interviewed in the three regions.=
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Customer experience is the top factor for those banking in Kenya over and above the cost it takes to access services via a given channel.
This is according to the 2024 Kenya Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey by the audit firm, KPMG dubbed 'Beyond satisfaction, towards delight'.
It established that branch customer experience at 47 percent tops the reasons given by customers for a selection of the preferred channel followed by in-person banking experience at 29 percent and overall customer experience at 11 percent.
Charges rank lowest at six percent for reasons for preference of specific channels.
"For banks in Kenya, excellent customer experience should be a key focus of the service offering," the survey led by KPMG partners Nancy Mosa and Joseph Kariuki reads.
They said banks need a well-articulated customer experience strategy to facilitate a blueprint in offering quality customer experience to customers.
At least 50 percent of customers surveyed derive satisfaction in the ability to withdraw their cash when needed, 34 percent want to view their account balances in real-time while five percent want easiness in the transfer of funds.
Of the majority of bank customers, 42 percent prefer mobile banking, 24 percent walk to branches and 14 percent prefer agents.
Customers surveyed have desires that they would want to meet, with the majority, saving to purchase land at 13.8 percent while an almost similar percentage of depositors (13.7 percent) look forward to owning a home. Another 9.8 percent desire to educate their children.
The audit firm has developed six pillars of customer experience based on human psychology and motivation to help lenders serve customers better including integrity, resolution, expectation, time and effort. Others are personalisation and empathy.
The survey shows that customers aged 26-35 and 36-45 represent the highest access to formal financial services at 90 and 91 percent respectively, with the Kenyan aggregate formal access level at 83.7 percent.
The growth is attributable to advances in financial technology and innovations, especially in mobile money and mobile banking.
Out of all who have access to formal financial services, 44.1 per cent currently use a bank.
Furthermore, the survey reveals that the main services they access include savings accounts, mobile banking, current accounts, cash deposits and withdrawals from branch tellers and bank agent.
At least 42 per cent of the respondents interacted with their primary bank via mobile app, 24 per cent visited a branch, and an agent served 14 per cent while 11 per cent accessed the ATM.
The main transaction types include withdrawals 50 percent, deposits 34 percent, and funds transfers five percent while requests for bank statements at three percent.
The research was conducted in three regions covering Nairobi, Coast and Western to obtain nuanced information on customer experience across the country.
The sample contained 75 per cent of retail customers and 25 per cent of business customers.
A total of 886 customers were interviewed in the three regions.