Bank satisfaction survey 2022
Two local banks stand out for customer satisfaction this year.
Two local banks stand out for customer satisfaction this year.
Our annual survey found 60% of consumers were very satisfied with their bank’s service. But two Kiwi-owned banks topped the charts.
The Co-operative Bank came in first place this year with an impressive 86% of its customers very satisfied with the service they were getting. Six out of 10 customers were happy with the fees they paid.
TSB was second place, with 78% of its customers very satisfied. It topped the charts in 2021 and 2020. More than half of TSB customers picked the bank’s Kiwi ownership as the key reason they liked doing business with it.
Both banks stood out for above-average satisfaction scores for fees, timely responses to inquiries, responsible lending and value for money.
BNZ, Kiwibank and ASB all rated close to the industry average of 60%. Kiwibank had the highest proportion of customers who experienced problems in the past 12 months.
Of the seven banks in our survey, Westpac was bottom for overall satisfaction. It scored significantly below average, on 54%. Of Westpac customers who said they’d experienced a problem in the past 12 months, 67% said the problem was poor customer service.
The biggest player, ANZ, was near the bottom of the satisfaction table this year at 56%, a marked decrease from last year (65%).
Overall satisfaction: 86%
Responses: 58
Above-average satisfaction for: advice on products, fees, responsible lending, timely responses to inquiries, value for money
Below-average satisfaction for: -
Annual profit before tax: $24.3m
Market share: 0.5%
The Co-operative Bank claimed the top spot this year, as it did in 2019. The bank earned above-average ratings on all our five key performance measures. It also rated highly for branch banking. For 63% of customers, The Co-operative Bank’s Kiwi ownership was the main benefit of doing their banking with it.
Overall satisfaction: 78%
Responses: 63
Above-average satisfaction for: fees, responsible lending, timely responses to inquiries, value for money
Below-average satisfaction for: -
Annual profit before tax: $59.6m
Market share: 1.4%
TSB continued its strong performance, scoring above average for four of our five key performance measures. This is the seventh year in a row that the bank has received a People’s Choice endorsement. Its customers are loyal: 82% said they were unlikely to switch banks any time soon. TSB customers were less likely to have any debt with the bank (for example, a mortgage or credit card).
Overall satisfaction: 64%
Responses: 317
Above-average satisfaction for: -
Below-average satisfaction for: -
Annual profit before tax: $1836m
Market share: 19%
BNZ’s overall satisfaction score of 64% is up from 54% in 2020. Its mobile app rated highly with customers.
Overall satisfaction: 61%
Responses: 354
Above-average satisfaction for: -
Below-average satisfaction for: -
Annual profit before tax: $174m
Market share: 4.4%
Kiwibank had the highest proportion of customers experiencing problems with its services in the past year (22%). It also rated below average for responsible lending (36%) and its call centre service (38%).
Overall satisfaction: 60%
Responses: 454
Above-average satisfaction for: -
Below-average satisfaction for: -
Annual profit before tax: $1836m
Market share: 19.1%
ASB’s overall satisfaction score was on par with the market average. ASB customers were more likely to have multiple types of accounts or products with the bank, such as a savings account, KiwiSaver, personal loan and overdraft facility.
Overall satisfaction: 56%
Responses: 726
Above-average satisfaction for: -
Below-average satisfaction for: fees, value for money
Annual profit before tax: $2682m
Market share: 30.2%
ANZ’s overall satisfaction score was significantly below the market average. ANZ customers were the least likely to be satisfied with fees (31%) and value for money (32%). However, it rated above average for mobile banking.
Overall satisfaction: 54%
Responses: 413
Above-average satisfaction for: -
Below-average satisfaction for: -
Annual profit before tax: $1291m
Market share: 19%
Westpac stood out for the lowest satisfaction rating this year (54%). It scored significantly below average for branch service: 20% of customers were dissatisfied, compared with the industry average of 14%. It also had the lowest rating for phone, branch and mobile banking. Of those who had a problem with Westpac in the past 12 months, 69% said it was handled poorly.
GUIDE OUR DATA are from a nationally representative survey of 2428 New Zealanders, aged 18 years and older, carried out online in January and February 2022. Satisfaction ratings show the proportion of respondents who scored their provider 8, 9 or 10 on a scale from 0 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied). Ratings are shown for five key measures (advice on products, fees, responsible lending, timely responses to inquiries and value for money) and overall satisfaction. Figures may add to +/- 100% due to rounding. Banks’ market share is from the Banking Ombudsman Scheme annual report. Market share is based on total assets at 31 December 2020. Annual profit before tax is from each bank’s latest annual report.
The People’s Choice endorsement is given to banks that rate above average for customer satisfaction in our annual survey and meet our other performance criteria. Learn more about People's Choice here.
Trust appears to be eroding in the banking sector in comparison to last year. Rising cost of living challenges, lower savings and other pressures may be contributing factors. Our Sentiment Tracker shows that cost of living is the most concerning issue facing New Zealanders (42%).
Only half of customers think banks can be trusted, and 73% agree that the profit banks are making shows they’re charging too much. Just 36% agree that banks charge customers fairly and competition keeps their charges competitive.
Last year, banks reported 98,211 customer complaints to the Banking Ombudsman. Lending-related complaints rose sharply between October and December 2021, according to the Banking Ombudsman.
I worked for this bank for 26 years until I was made redundant. I was working for “Trust Bank” originally, and we were taken over by Westpac. My job was Customer Service. I was the person you could come and talk to about anything to do with banking. I opened your accounts, gave you ATM cards, gave you any type of insurance and helped you to borrow money. Near the end of my career they decided customers didn’t need to come into branches to do these things, so my job was disbanded and I became a teller. I still had regular customers and helped them with any problems until the bank decided that customers didn’t really need to come to branches, because they had ATM machines, so my branch, along with many others, was closed. I am sorry to see that Westpac is now the least liked of all banks, but I am not surprised.
At 4.46pm on Good Friday I received a concerning text message on my phone.
It informed me that a credit card transaction had been declined due to its "unusual nature". It asked that I call the sender on the number on my card. The message was credible because it included the last four digits of my credit card number.
Who knew there was a phone number on your card? There are actually two, the other one to be used if calling from overseas.
I phoned the number and began a series of menu choices that parsed me to the option dealing with suspected fraud on my card. Then having digitally responded to requests for my date of birth and accepted and re-entered a verification code, I waited - listening to noise some might describe as music. Periodically the distressing sounds coming from my phone were interrupted by messages. I listened to one from John Kerwin on mental health and another from Judy Bailey encouraging me to use online banking. After what seemed like hours (but probably was ten to fifteen minutes) as well as many other adverts for Westpac products I hung up and tried again. This was noticeably unhelpful as I got to replicate exactly the same experience I had just had, note for note, message for message.
You may imagine that my mind was actively trying to process the information I had received - little of which made sense to me. I had not used my card in days and it had never been out of my possession. Whoever had sent this text message to me knew more about me than I did them and there was the strong suggestion that I was in some form of financial danger.
By now I had made my way home and was able to read on my computer that I had received an "Urgent" email from the Financial Crime Prevention Team at Westpac. This served to heighten my concern. This email had been sent one minute after I had received their text message and provided just a little more information. For example I now knew who was trying to contact me and...
"We value working flexibly at Westpac. As a result you may receive this email outside of business hours".
Uncertain as to how I might interpret this information I decided to try another number advertised on the Westpac website.
This again was similar to the previous iterations, however, after listening to John and Judy and the same distressing noise loop, my call was answered by a person who told me her name was Jill.
At this point about an hour had transpired since starting this journey and I was working from the understanding that messages from my bank with the heading "Fraud Urgent" were meant to convey that time was an important factor in play.
The automated (recorded) part of this exchange had informed me that Jill and my conversation would be recorded for training purposes. I am pleased about that because I hope someone will go back and listen to the conversation - I am sure lessons may be learned.
Jill insisted on sending me yet another verification code. I explained that it would be easier for me to simply answer any (and all) security questions to prove my bona fides. But Jill would have none of that, she insisted on sending me the code and did so. She then asked me the security questions when it failed to show up on my phone's screen - she was satisfied with my answers to the security questions.
I explained that I had been trying for an hour to speak to her - to which she replied that she was sorry about that but couldn't understand why, as she hadn't been very busy all day!
We began to address the reason for my call. Jill asked me if I had used my credit card and named a business. I didn't recognise the name and in any case I had not used my card other than at the supermarket for weeks. I told her this and asked where the business was and how much the amounts were for. Jill replied that she couldn't tell me where the business was located but the purchase was for the amount of a dollar fifty; the other transaction was for a similar amount. I could see why this attempt to charge my card for a buck fifty might look "unusual". Even before inflation I can not remember buying anything for 150 cents let alone using my credit card for such a transaction.
I was processing this information as Jill continued to inform me that my card had been compromised and she had put a block on all transactions. I could not use the card again.
"You should cut up your card. We will send you a new card, you may get it at the end of next week or sometime the following week. The new card will have a completely new number. You will need to tell everyone who presently charges your credit card what your new card number is ".
"Why would anyone try to defraud me of such small amounts" I asked ?
"Had it been successful they would have charged larger amounts against the card - we stopped it from happening"
There was something that didn't make sense about that answer but my mind was still fixed on the hour experience getting to hear it. I tried complaining about this a second time.
"I am sorry, I have already said I am sorry once"
There was something final about this from Jill and we concluded our conversation which had been civil and polite for its entirety.
So here I am, one day into a long Easter weekend, with no access to money and far more questions than answers around how this happened. I have no ideas as to where this fraudulent attempt took place or who might be implicated. Nor do I feel particularly reassured that this will not happen again in the future. The impression I have from dealing with Westpac is that I should be grateful and that they consider their services more than adequate.
It is true that I have been spared the loss of some three dollars - although I understand their systems are supposed to underwrite such loss - but I feel like a victim. It is something like the pain of a mosquito bite in the cashless society.
This is a very long ramble. You’ve compromised your credit card security. It can happen. Your bank has detected this and bailed you out before it stung you, or more likely them. You should be grateful, not venting.
I had same experience except when I finally got through to a human they wouldn’t talk with me as I didn’t know a phone banking pin. I never used phone banking. So I went on a shopping spree before visiting the branch to fix it all. Ha ha
Veeeeery long comment!
Upsides: competitive; fair rate credit card for those that don't pay the card off each month; owned by its members so profits are shared with people who bank with it - not unknown shareholders -no other bank does this that I am aware of; easy to navigate webpage; good phone app.; quick, helpful phone service generally, which is provided by a person actually at work in one of the branches. Downside: leads the way in the absence of a branch network although I note the big Aussies are catching up with this race to the bottom.
A note about ANZ with which I have a credit card. Bonus points for trapping a fraudster working my card on line and they caught the fraud on the day the it started.
I find Heartland very good for deposit rates and communication. They frequently follow up an email with a phone call and reply promptly to messages.
I have been with BNZ for 50 plus years. I used to have a Pesonal Banker and the tellers and the bank manager were very knowledgeable. On a personal level I used to have shares in Australia and the dividends would go through my bank account. I also run a Trust account. I make an appointment to see the bank explain what needs to be done and the person I deal with has to "get back to me". So I wrote a negative comment on my internet secure mail. They blocked my internet without telling me and said it was due to "unusual activity" and wouldn't unblock it until I did the requesite paperwork which I had gone to the bank for in the first place. Now keep the bare minumum there to pay direct credit bills etc. I wont start on how hard it is to talk to an actual person on the phone - especially if have an accent or partially deaf.
I deal with most of the banks through my work and my common complaints of all of them:
- longer waiting times, assuming lower staffing at call centres;
- harder to access branches when you need one (fewer branches, shorter opening hours, longer distances to reach them);
- excessive profits (re the non-NZ owned banks).
Like Tanya I bank with SBS and have found then always efficient and helpful. Is there a reason they are not included in your survey?
P James
Dunedin
Not enough people in the survey have replied for SBS. Think Consumer need minimum of 30 people to make a decent finding.
I wondered the same, so thanks for asking. I changed from BNZ to SBS about 20 years ago. One of the best things I ever did!
WestPac is excellent at keeping an eye on funny transactions from your account. Whenever you get a large or unusual transaction, they check it with you. A couple of times they've actually stopped dodgy looking transactions ( to Romania, etc.) before checking with me.
Otherwise, I agree they aren't particularly customer centered.
Hi Folks. A very useful and insightful survey as usual - thank you very much. I bank with SBS. Was SBS included in your survey?
Kind regards,
Tanya
Dunedin
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