As Mobile Banking In Canada Grows, Overall Customer Satisfaction Declines

A new study by J.D. Power has found that while more Canadians are utilizing and happy with mobile banking, customer satisfaction with other banking channels and services is on the decline.

According to a press release announcing the news, the J.D. Power 2017 Canadian Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, in conjunction with the J.D. Power 2017 Canadian Banking App Satisfaction Study, found that mobile banking usage among customers has nearly doubled over the past three years, with 43 percent of retail bank customers in Canada now using mobile banking. In addition, it is the most satisfying method of interaction among all channels in the study.

But while mobile banking is one of two areas in which customer satisfaction has increased year over year, satisfaction in other areas is on the decline, including website (-1 point); branch (-10); assisted online (-11); call center (-13) and automated phone (-15). And overall retail bank satisfaction declines to 759 points from 763 in 2016.

“Canadian retail banks have been pioneers in their embrace of the mobile channel and their development of mobile apps that really resonate with customers, but success in retail banking today requires a multi-channel approach,” said Bob Neuhaus, financial services consultant at J.D. Power. “The majority of retail bank customers are what we call channel omnivores, meaning they frequent several different touch points with their banks. Banks need to maintain focus on the traditional foundations of the banking experience, while still working to satisfy the increasing demand for digital channel interactions.”

The study also found that overall satisfaction scores are 83 points higher among customers who were greeted at the branch entrance and 63 points higher among those who were addressed by name. However, just 60 percent of customers say they were greeted at the door, and only 47 percent say they were addressed by name. And only 19 percent of customers are aware of personalized ABM preference settings at their bank, despite these features being associated with high overall customer service satisfaction scores.

RBC Royal Bank ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction for a second consecutive year among Big Five Banks, achieving a score of 760, while TD Canada Trust came in second with a score of 759. Among midsize banks, Tangerine ranks highest in quality customer service for a sixth consecutive year, with a score of 820, and RBC Royal Bank was highest in overall mobile app satisfaction with a score of 840.