Banks are increasing spending on technology to enhance customer service and fight fraud, pointing to the impact of a growing sophistication in the country’s financial sector.
Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) chief executive officer Habil Olaka said the drift is necessary for the banking sector to respond to the fast-changing demands of the customers without falling into the hands of digital fraudsters.
“Banks are realising that the more they invest in technology, the more they are able to up their game to ensure they are winning customers. We are seeing more investment in technology but not just for customer experience but also for security against increasing cyber risks,” he said in an interview.
“The more you invest in making customer experience more pleasurable, the more you expose yourself to risks like cyber security and so you have to invest in technology to counter those risks. Technology is one of the biggest investments by banks now.”
The increased investment is in line with the rising preference for digital banking among customers.
Internet, chatbots
KBA banking industry customer satisfaction survey released Tuesday showed 45.7 percent of customers preferred fully automated or self-service platforms, including mobile, internet, and chatbots for their banking services.
The rising preference for self-service banking is in contrast with 16.5 percent who prefer human-assisted service including call centers and branches.
Most of the non-branch banking channels are seeing increased popularity, with 69.9 percent of customers preferring mobile banking, while 24.6 percent favour internet-based services or online banking.
The KBA survey showed more than 62 percent of customers have accounts in more than one bank compared with the previous survey which put the figure at 56.5 percent.
The increasing multi-banking points to the growing competition among banks.
“Based on the feedback they get in the market and the fierce competitive environment, each bank is trying to ensure they are staying ahead of others. The only way to do that is by making their services accessible, pleasurable, and convenient to the customers. You cannot achieve this without investing in technology,” said Mr Olaka.
