Capitec wins the ‘happy customer’ war

● Capitec is the leader in “perceived value”, according to a recent survey of customers of SA’s big six retail banks.

According to the latest South African customer satisfaction index (SA-csi) for banking (2018) by Consulta, Capitec leads by almost 11 index points over the bank that scored the lowest in this category, which is Absa.

The survey found that one in four customers was identified as ready to defect to another bank – with digital disruptor banks Discovery Bank, Bank Zero and TymeBank ready to embrace them.

The SA-csi for banks is the largest of its kind, surveying 15,542 consumers from lower, middle and upper retail banking segments. It is a causal model that links customer expectations and perceived quality and value to customer satisfaction, which in turn is linked to customer complaints (and recovery), and loyalty intentions.

This year will be a watershed year for the banking sector as traditional banks face intense competition from new entrants, the survey says. “In such an environment, customer satisfaction is a deal breaker when it comes to how much market share is lost to new entrants.”

Perceived value is the most contested area in banking – it’s not only about affordable fees, the survey says. “The battlefront of perceived value will become very intensive as other banks are increasing their perceived value to customers.”

Objectively, this does not mean Capitec has the lowest bank fees because other banks have reacted with comparable fee and costing propositions, the survey says. “But what Capitec does well is reduce total customer costs in terms of reduced red tape, less documentation, and more speed and convenience, which translates into perceived value. These ‘simplicity factors’ also contribute towards African Bank being perceived as great value for money.”

The best improvement in perceived value compared with previous scores is Nedbank, with a three-point improvement since 2017. Nedbank has shown consistent, year-on-year improvement in perceived value for the past three years.

The bank recently scrapped the R5.50 monthly fee on its Pay As You Use account, which is aimed at the emerging middle class.