Mumbai: When it comes to customer services, Indian banks and financial institutions fared best amongst developing countries, posting an overall PACE Index score of 68, but still below the global average of 73, said FIS, a US-based firm leading in banking and payment technology. Indian respondents rated larger banks better than the smaller ones particularly in terms of security, unlike countries like the US, where smaller banks were rated decidedly better by consumers than larger banks.
Indian banks also fared well with regard to the ability to connect anywhere, anytime with banks which the younger consumers want and even outperformed expectations in connectivity, digital payments and omnichannel access.The other parameter on which Indian banks scored well was in protecting personal information, but fell short on the fairness and reliability front as consumers felt let down.
“This is important because fairness and reliability represent two of the most important attributes in building trusted relationships with customers,” said FIS. Globally too, according to the FIS study, banks fall short in basic banking services such as fair and transparent pricing though they excel at providing digital access and convenience. The study concludes that “there is great opportunity for banks to win consumer support by packaging rewards programmes with personalised, customised banking products to meet customer needs.”
The study suggests that banks should reset the foundation for consumer relationships and forge deeper relationships via the digital experience by fully leveraging online, mobile and social platforms to integrate with consumers’ lives through insight-driven alerts, advisory services, planning tools and more. Commenting on the findings of the study Ramaswamy Venkatachalam, managing director, India and South Asia, FIS.
