According to DataEQ’s findings, FNB has emerged as the most favoured bank among South African customers, with a net sentiment score of 37.5%. This is a strong reversal of the 2021 findings, where the bank was at the bottom of the index with -18.4%.<\/p>\n
A third of FNB\u2019s online operational conversation \u2013 relating directly to the customer experience from authors who either could be, are currently, or were at some point customers of the bank – centred on staff competency.<\/p>\n
“Consumers also complimented FNB for its seamless transaction experience, as well as the virtual card and eWallet functions,” the group said.<\/p>\n
Looking at the industry as a whole, there was a greater emphasis placed on digital experience in general. For the first time, the topic of digital experience garnered a higher volume of conversation than general customer service.<\/p>\n
Digital downtime and digital security were both major drivers of negativity in this regard, while complimentary conversation around platform navigation and third-party purchases emerged as net positive.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Bank-sentiment-index-2022.png\")
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When looking at the annual Net Sentiment scores for each bank, nearly all banks follow an upward trajectory, particularly from 2020. The notable outlier here is Capitec, displaying a year-on-year decline in Net Sentiment performance since 2019, DataEQ said.<\/p>\n
Capitec ranked as having the lowest net sentiment score in 2022 at -15.4%, showing a declining trend over the last five years.<\/p>\n
“All banks apart from Capitec and Nedbank showed year-on-year improvement from 2021. While Nedbank\u2019s decline was relatively minor, Capitec\u2019s overall score dropped by 4.5 percentage points, marking a depreciation in consumer sentiment compared to the previous index results,” the group said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Sentiment-five-year-review.png\")
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The index is split into two main sentiment assessments – looking at views around operations and views around reputation. The reputation index looks at sentiment around allegations of wrongdoing or other events that may damage a bank’s reputation. The operation index looks at sentiment around the actual business operations of the banks.<\/p>\n
Absa, FNB, TymeBank and African Bank had higher than average reputational praise from consumers, while other banks\u2019 reputations were impacted more by specific negative events and
\nallegations.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Reputation-sentiment-2022.png\")
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In terms of operations, the top overall performer, FNB, had the highest operational Net Sentiment by a large margin, followed by Absa.<\/p>\n
On the other end of the spectrum, Standard Bank had the lowest score in the industry, with Capitec Bank ranking just above it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Operation-Sentiment-2022.png\")
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These indices feed into the risk assessments for the banks.<\/p>\n
Absa and FNB were the only two banks to show a decline in risk conversation compared to 2021. TymeBank, Standard Bank and Capitec Bank were most impacted by risk and showed the largest year-on-year increases. This was primarily due to downtime on digital platforms.<\/p>\n
Capitec Bank was above the industry average in four areas of risk \u2013 downtime, accusations of unethical behaviour, fraud reports and health safety and security – while Discovery Bank had the highest ratio of risk conversation relating to accusations of unethical behaviour.<\/p>\n
Consumers complained about feeling pressured by Discovery to sign up for a bank account in order to access perks. Meanwhile, discrimination also featured in the bank\u2019s risk conversation due to Discovery Group\u2019s staff vaccination policy.<\/p>\n
“2022 has seen a new, more positive era of social media conversation towards South African banks. In large part, the sector has a handful of successful and cleverly-crafted social campaigns to thank for its first-ever net positive score, but improved customer experience has also played a key role in this feat,” said DataEQ.<\/p>\n
“This year\u2019s overall top performer, FNB, has done both of these tasks well. But FNB\u2019s notable improvement from the 2021 index – having climbed up from eighth to the first position – is a testament to how social media Net Sentiment is ever-changing and requires constant effort and attention.”<\/p>\n
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