Financial Services Ireland

Thought Leadership

Consumer banking survey 2014

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After a number of years of sharp decline, confidence in the global banking industry is on the rise,  trust in individual banks is high and most customers across the globe are satisfied enough to recommend their main banking provider, finds EY’s 2014 global consumer banking survey.

The study, Winning through customer experience, which surveyed over 32,000 banking customers in 43 countries, shows banks are providing traditional services well, but are viewed as falling short on important aspects of the customer experience, and are also increasingly vulnerable to competition from new providers of banking services.

The results from Irish consumers showed different trends and findings compared to those from across Western Europe, and globally – some of which are highlighted below.

 Key insights for Irish banks
  • Customers in Ireland expressed a decrease of 62% in confidence in the banking industry from 2012 and have the lowest level of trust at 67%.
  • Ireland has one of the lowest customer advocacy scores of 17%.
  • Rates and fees were the primary reason for opening (43%) and closing accounts (60%) followed by experience.
  • The survey showed the importance of having an omni-channel presence for Irish customers where they are among the highest users across all the channels (internet, mobile, ATM and branch) on a weekly basis.
  • 50% of customers in Ireland were dissatisfied with how their problems were resolved by their banks.
So what does this mean for Irish Banks?

With Irish customers having such low confidence and trust in their banks – added to their sensitivity of fees and charges – meeting customer expectations will require service providers to constantly review customer engagement to improve satisfaction levels. Delivery of services in a standard and transparent manner across channels will be important to this engagement, considering the way Irish customers use all of the channels available to them.

Cormac Murphy

International Banking & Capital Markets, Sector Leader
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