Desktop banking trumps mobile for UAE clients
dubai — Traditional online banking done through a bank’s desktop website is still proving to be the more popular alternative to mobile banking amongst UAE residents, a survey conducted by compareit4me.com has found.
The survey, which compiled responses from almost 400 UAE residents, revealed that 36.3 per cent of consumers prefer to access Internet banking through a mobile or tablet app. However, traditional online banking proved to be the more popular option, with 42.2 per cent indicating that they prefer to access Internet banking through their bank’s desktop site.
Undertaken in conjunction with RBBi, the survey also confirmed that at 85.29 per cent the vast majority of UAE consumers prefer online banking of any kind to visiting a branch, with over 80 per cent citing convenience as the major factor in this preference. The statistics indicated that, although they show a large appetite for convenience when it comes to banking services, many UAE consumers are not yet sold on the merits of mobile banking versus traditional online banking conducted through a desktop website.
“The UAE’s banks have done a fantastic job in bringing mobile banking services to market with a vast array of innovative banking apps. But it appears that customers still view banking as a job to be done at a ‘proper’ workstation, through a desktop website. This could be down to a perception that desktop banking is somehow more secure, or it could be that consumers simply don’t realise that the majority of banking services are now available on mobile,” said Samer Chehab, COO of compareit4me.com. “If banks really want to attract more mobile users, our survey results indicate a need for greater education on the benefits of mobile banking. Concerns about mobile banking safety need to be addressed, and the convenience of having most banking functions available in your pocket needs to be pushed further,” he said.
The survey results indicated that UAE consumers are generally satisfied with their Internet banking services, with 44.4 per cent of respondents claiming there is nothing that frustrates them about their Internet banking experience. However, improvements could still be made; according to the study, 26.1 per cent said that one frustration comes with the lack of access to all information online, while 18.3 per cent said that online banking doesn’t give them access to the same services as visiting a branch does.
The survey also found that the majority of users are most likely to use Internet banking for checking their account balance – something which is possible to do on both mobile and desktop online banking. Paying bills, transferring funds between accounts, wiring money, and downloading personal bank statements, also featured highly on users’ lists of most likely activities to complete while banking online.
— rohma@khaleejtimes.com