Banks underperforming in online service provision

Financial firms offer users a disappointing online experience, according to new survey

Financial institutions generally provide a poor level of online customer service, according to new research commissioned by IBM and managed customer service provider KANA Software.

The report, called Online Customer Service: International Financial Services was researched by "mystery shopping" 52 financial services companies in the UK and Germany. To test the quality of online service, the researchers queried each organisation using whatever online channels they made available.

53 per cent of financial institutions gave incorrect answers to customer enquiries or failed to answer them at all when an online system was used. Thirty five per cent of the organisations investigated did not provide a contact email address on their web site.

These results indicate banks and building societies will have increasing difficulty communicating with the new generation who tend to prefer interacting with businesses through email, chat and the web, according to the report.

However, one of the most alarming findings is the lack of secure channels used by financial organisations. Only 29 per cent of banks provide encrypted and secure communication channels, said the report.

Marchai Bruchey, KANA's chief marketing officer, said “With internet access in nearly 16m UK households, there is a growing customer demand for a quality online experience, and more consistency between web and branch. Any business that ignores online communication channels does so at their peril - in the competitive world of retail banking, this is especially true.”