25% of UAE respondents would recommend their bank

Results from the latest edition of Souqalmal.com’s annual Bank Satisfaction Index are out. The UAE’s #1 personal finance and insurance comparison website surveyed over 1,500 bank customers in the country to unveil popular opinion about UAE banks.

According to findings revealed in the survey, 25 percent of UAE respondents would recommend their primary bank to friends and colleagues. However, this is a considerable 9 percent lower than the results seen in the previous year.

While the Bank Satisfaction Index helps us understand how happy customers are with their bank, the aim of the survey goes beyond just this. Most importantly, it helps us shed light on the factors that affect customer satisfaction. The index also allows us to share user feedback with banks to help them understand customer expectations better and to resolve the biggest issues that customers are complaining about.

Customers reveal – How and where can banks improve?

Based on survey results, the primary factor influencing customer satisfaction among bank customers in the UAE was customer service. This was revealed to be the feature that requires the most improvement. Respondents also want to see banks step up in terms of improved product offerings and higher transparency in rates and product fees.

Other gaps in customer satisfaction highlighted by respondents include poor online banking and mobile app services, slow processing of customer requests, and a less than satisfactory ATM network.

Besides highlighting the areas that need improvement, the survey also helped us find out how customers like to bank. Interestingly enough, majority of the respondents (68 percent) revealed that they prefer digital banking channels over physical channels like bank branches or ATM’s.

[Related: 66% of UAE respondents want better banking standards]

UAE’s most popular bank and banking products

Based on findings from the NPS survey, Souqalmal.com also revealed which bank was the most likely to be recommended in the UAE. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) took the top honours and bagged the title of the UAE’s ‘Most Recommended Bank’.

Going a step further, Souqalmal.com has also supplemented the Bank Satisfaction Index with its ongoing in-house research to uncover the ‘Most Popular Banking Products’ in the UAE. Five primary banking product categories were considered for this analysis – Personal, home and car finance, as well as credit cards and bank accounts. Results were based on a comprehensive analysis of over 800,000+ monthly page visits and product searches on the site, for the one-year period from January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016.