Friendly website gets users’ vote for its simplicity

FIRST it was FNB, blazing a marketing trail with its banking apps, online portal design and hi-tech approach. Then the rest of the big four banks — Standard Bank, Absa and Nedbank — jumped on the bandwagon.

But in the 2014 Bank of the Year survey, it is Capitec that won the hearts of users of mobile and internet service offerings, followed by FNB, then Standard Bank.

Once again, Capitec has won out with simplicity.

Capitec executive Carl Fischer said the bank’s priority in its portal design was to avoid razzle-dazzle and instead try for an intuitive user experience so that customers understand exactly what is going on and don’t get stressed.

“The online banking site is actually incredibly mundane. What it does do, however, is hold your hand in the very simple process of finding and going through whatever transaction you want to perform.

“It’s like a manual, because every option is an ‘I want to ...’,” he said.

Websites and cellphone banking have become increasingly popular tools.

Banks are trying to herd customers in their direction as part of their cost-cutting

“I account) am closing as I (my get charged for things not even my bank manager can explain or rectify”

strategies.

One of the ways they do this is by increasing their fees for in-branch transactions. But the number of South Africans who use online or cellphone banking remains low.

Fischer says that not more than 5% to 8% of Capitec’s customers use the website.

“There’s still a big gap between those who sign up and those who use it.

“It is the same with cellphone banking. We have 5 million active clients, 3 million of whom signed up for cellphone usage — but only 2 million use it. There’s an understanding of the convenience and value, but there’s still a marginal scepticism. People are wary.”

But despite this wariness the Bank of the Year survey showed online banking was the second-most used product, behind only current or cheque accounts. In fact, more respondents use online banking than credit cards or mobile banking. Of those who use mobile banking, 83% said they used cellphones as opposed to tablets.

The responses of those who use online banking told a story too. Of these customers, 31% said they never went into a branch for services related to that account, and 30% visited a branch less than once every three months.

Fischer defended the banks’ attempts to drive customers towards the digital realm, saying they priced online options aggressively and highlighted the convenience factor — who wants to go into a branch anyway?

“To operate in city malls and have a cash supply and removal service is very expensive,” he said.

Though Capitec won out, Investec would have won the category had it not been excluded because its exclusive account-holder criteria meant it was only for a small elite.

Fischer claimed Capitec’s online portal is the easiest to use in South Africa.

“Our competitors all have powerful, good portals, but they tend to be complex. They might have increased functionality, but it’s the applying and using it that people can find difficult,” he said.