Kenyan banks get high ranking in global survey

Despite encountering numerous service related problems with banks, Kenyan consumers are still confident in the local banking industry. A new report shows that while Kenyans have the highest incidence of problems reported when doing banking transactions, they remain confident in their banking industry. The Ernst & Young 2014 Global Consumer Survey showed that 55 per cent of Kenyans had within the past year experienced at least one problem with their banks.

Reported problems included being charged fees that had not been explained to them or not being able to access their funds. Despite the challenges faced by the Kenyan banking consumer, the country was still ranked the second most confident market after Nigeria and ahead of South Africa. The survey indicated that Africa confidence level had over the last year increased most in Nigeria where 69 per cent of the banking customers were confident of their industry, followed by Kenya (66 per cent) and South Africa (33 per cent). The rise in confidence level is largely driven an increase in access to financial services through alternate channels, as well as market stability in the local banking industry. Kenyan banks have increasingly employed different methods, including integrating their platforms with mobile money services, as well as use of agency baking to bring services close to customers.