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Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), one of Nigeria’s largest banks, has emerged with the highest ranking in the 2020 Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index of Agusto & Co, a Lagos-based research and credit rating agency. Launched today, the report shows customers’ preferences towards digital banking platforms hosted by select banks in Nigeria.

According to the report sent to Financial Nigeria by the credit rating agency, GTBank emerged as the best digital bank in Nigeria with a user experience score of 74.2. The bank’s top position was underpinned by comparably higher transaction success rates.

The efficiency of digital banking channels has become more important for users following the outbreak of COVID-19. Agusto & Co. observed that the pandemic has driven an increase in the use of digital platforms and created an opportunity to grow transaction income across the various channels.

GTBank’s top-ranking was also due to the significant level of awareness of the bank’s digital banking services, compared to the other banks in the survey. The bank was rated highest (89 per cent) on the ease of navigation, followed by Zenith Bank (88 per cent) and First Bank of Nigeria (81 per cent).

FirstBank was ranked second on the latest digital banking satisfaction index with overall user experience score of 72.3; Access Bank ranks third on the index with a score of 71.1.

Zenith Bank, which was the highest-ranked bank in the 2019 report, dropped to the 4th position this year with a score of 70.9. According to the latest report, Zenith Bank recorded a lower rating this year due to declines in transaction success as well as troubleshooting and IT support indicators of the index.

“As a research and credit rating agency, we seek to provide banks with credible information on how best services can be improved for customers,” said Mariam Dabiri, Senior Analyst, Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co. “We believe findings from this Index will provide good insights and suggestions to enhance customer experience."

In addition to improving user experience, the agency said the objective of the index is to create an independent appraisal of the ease of using digital banking platforms by the Nigerian populace. This has become important following increased competition by banks on digital platforms and the growing quest for higher electronic banking income by the banks.

“Generally, we believe that there is a need for more dedicated investments in customer service and relationship management to support growing traffic across digital banking channels,” Dabiri noted further.

The 2020 Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index also reveals that only 46 per cent of the survey respondents were aware of digital banks. The survey respondents comprised of banking consumers drawn across the formal and informal sectors of the economy, according to the credit rating firm. The coverage banks are the top 10 commercial banks based on total assets and contingents as of December 31, 2019.