DUBAI: Thirty-four percent of UAE respondents would recommend their bank as a first choice to friends or colleagues while in Saudi Arabia the number is slightly higher at 38 percent, according to the latest NPS Survey by Souqalmal.com, claimed to be the UAE’s number one financial comparison website.

The NPS Survey, described as the most in-depth one conducted by Souqalmal, evaluates various aspects of the overall banking experience. The parameters covered include customer service, product offering and financial education.

The results of the survey have been used to conceptualize the inaugural Souqalmal Bank Satisfaction Index (BSI). However, the ripple effect from the findings will be discussed in greater detail at an FINTECH event being held in collaboration with Google in the UAE on Feb. 25.

Souqalmal.com will also be factoring in data from the NPS Survey to award the most recommended bank in Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the event. The nominees in the UAE are Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Emirates NBD. In Saudi Arabia, the nominees are National Commercial Bank, the Saudi British Bank and Alinma Bank.

Awards will also be given out for the most popular UAE banking products in five major retail product categories: Credit cards, personal loans, car loans, home loans, and accounts.

Winners are based on the consumer portal’s viewership statistics for the period Jan. 1, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2015.

When asked about areas of improvement, 36 percent of respondents in the UAE and 32 percent of respondents in the Kingdom pointed out better customer service as the main area when dealing with their banks.

Souqalmal.com’s Founder and CEO Ambareen Musa believes the situation isn’t all grim and it is noteworthy that overall bank satisfaction index at 34 percent is still visibly on the rise from 27 percent in 2014 and 15 percent in 2013 in the UAE. In her opinion, these in-depth statistics need to be analyzed and seen as impetus for further movement in the right direction.

“The need of the hour seems to be a seamless experience across all channels and customer touch points — branches, ATMs, call centers, online banking and mobile banking. It is, therefore, essential for banks to understand what is important to their customers and what drives their satisfaction and loyalty,” she said.

The in-depth indicators point at the need for better branch experience, clearer product information from call center executives and faster complaint resolution, all these features being the most common service-related concerns voiced by bank customers.

“Banks need to take a closer look at their CRM processes, because only a happy customer is likely to stick around and recommend their bank to others,” Musa added.

Going deeper into the findings, the numbers indicate that 25 percent of customers in the UAE and 22 percent of customers in the Kingdom would like to see better and more custom product offering from their bank.

“Banks are moving away from the ‘one-size- to-all’ product strategy, with newer products and promotions being introduced, targeted at specific customer segments; for example, fitness app-linked accounts for the fitness enthusiast, credit cards for frequent travelers, shoppers or parents, and loans for new residents. These are all positive steps in the right direction,” she said.

The call seems to be for a greater focus by banks on sophisticated customer segmentation, smarter product-bundling, along with cross-selling and up-selling based on comprehensive customer insights.

As per the UAE Central Bank data, there are in all 960 bank branches and 5,100 ATMs in the UAE, as of December 2015. However, the UAE’s many respondents say that is not enough. Over 12 percent of survey respondents would like to see a wider branch network, and many others also want better ATM coverage in the UAE. The number is even higher in the Kingdom at 17 percent.

More transparent and competitive rates on loans, more efficient online channels and better phone banking assistance are just some of the other areas where respondents would like to see improvements.

“These findings indicate that customer expectations are outpacing the induction of improvements and innovations from technology. Banks, therefore, need to realize that their success will not just be driven by adding more bells and whistles but by balancing functionality with ease of use and then clearly communicating features and benefits to customers,” Musa said.

“At Souqalmal.com, we have always endeavored to understand specific customer needs and the results of our BSI are a great tool to provide feedback to our partner banks. With 750,000 visits a month, we are able to get very good insights of what customers are after,” she added.

The Souqalmal FINTECH event in collaboration with Google is scheduled to take place in Dubai on Feb. 25.