The banks were all keen to comment on Henderson Parker's The Bank Account report, which ZDNet Australia recently reported on. The report, using a method called -cognitive mapping" looked at how a customer's current bank compared with their idea of an ideal bank.
Westpac spokesperson Julia Quinn was quick to point out the survey spoke to 175 people out of a population of 18 million. -That's 35 people per bank - Westpac alone has 5.8 million customers in Australia," she said.
Westpac claims that 95 percent of its 1,094,024 registered Internet banking customers are -satisfied or very satisfied" with the service. Westpac says that it has 2.8 million telephone banking customers and takes over 250,000 calls per week.
The National Australia Bank (NAB) reports 500,000 online banking customers, a 50 percent growth, it says, in the last year. -We would like to see that grow to 750,000 by the end of the calendar year 2002," Kay Thawley, the National's general manager, direct retailing and distribution, told ZDNet Australia.
No Net bank love affair
"I can understand the statement that it's not a positive experience, that's not a new finding," she said. From a consumer's perspective, Thawley puts banking on par with buying petrol on a rainy day. -They're not loving it to death," she said.
Thawley puts it down, in part, to Net banking being an -innovative and immature channel" as well as the fact that there are different consumer behaviour dynamics associated with online banking than there are with other channels.
"Customers are much more comfortable with the [online] process if they can see all the steps in front of them and can see where they are going in the process," she said. Consumers are still framing the expectations of what they need, she added. -All providers are scrambling to meet customer expectations."
However the National, having compared itself to -global best practice" admitted, -there are lots of things we need to improve on".
-I do agree that it's not a great experience for customers...but I do think we can make the online experience much more rich and rewarding," she said.
Numbers speak for themselves
The Commonwealth Bank claims to currently have in excess of 1.4 million registered customers, who perform over 34 million transactions per month using its online service NetBank. The bank's telephone banking service took two and half million calls last week, according to Peter Abbott, general manager, direct banking.
Although both channels are showing upward trends, online banking is growing at a far faster rate than phone banking, he said, adding that customer feedback is very positive. "If you look at the numbers they really do speak for themselves, don't they?"
The Commonwealth Bank claims to subscribe to external surveys to gauge customers' response to NetBank, which show that customer satisfaction with the service is very high.
ANZ claims it has doubled the number of Internet banking customers in 2001 and currently has around 793,000 -We survey our customers regularly and the overall satisfaction level is 89 percent," a bank spokesperson said. -Internet banking has been very successful for us because we listen to our customers and build the service around their needs."
The St George Bank, with about 380,000 Internet banking customers, also claims to be getting very different feedback from customers than that represented in the Henderson Parker survey.
-We as industry players are involved with industry surveys that consistently shows a different story," spokesperson Adam Cook said. According to Cook, the bank has had -very positive feedback" from both Internet and phone banking channels and the take-up rate and transactional volume growth are both -astronomical".
-We question the validity, value and methodology of that survey," Cook added.
However, Henderson Parker's Michael Parker described the ratio scale used, which plots the results of how a customer's current bank compares with their idea of an ideal bank along a line with zero representing the ideal bank -- thus the lower the score the closer the bank came to being ideal - is -the most precise scaling measure available".
Beats queuing
ZDNet readers and online bankers were divided in the response to the report, with some criticising the banks for forcing customers online and then providing slow, unreliable services, and others saying they use it for 90 percent of their banking and that it makes their business viable.
One 58-year-old ZDNet reader, who has used at least four different banks, said he had been using phone banking from day one and Internet banking since day two. -In terms of functionality, it is only in the last year that any of them have really offered much in the way of customer convenience and all are still remarkably unimaginative - very inflexible, very slow and absurdly ponderous. I wonder if any of them ever thought to consult a user - or even a user-oriented designer - before they decided on their processes," he said.
However a number of readers were united in their belief that banking online has to be better than trying to find a bank that still exists, and is open when you need to use it, or waiting in lengthy queues.
Morris Otte, a manager from Western Australia claims his experience of online banking has been generally positive. -It certainly beats standing in line at a bank. I have to admit I love the convenience of it," he said.
A Brisbane director, who describes himself as a -happy Internet banking type, aged 54" pushed the smaller banks ignored in the Henderson Parker report.
-I use SuncorpMetway and do all my banking through the Internet, I haven't been in a bank for more than a year and the last time I used an ATM was three months ago. I get all the cash I need when I do the shopping and the rest is all done through the Internet."
I prefer the netbanking even after work the bank closes and does on weekend. So well I can't use telephone banking because of my hearing impaired. I also don't have to worry about quene up in the bank. I use ATM and deposit but paying bills on netbanking is great and saves my cheque butts from running out. And it great to check up the balance to be sure I haven enough money up to date. Don't reject it good for everybody with hearing impaired or other disabilities. Think about those people who get disadvantages of getting to the bank.