A detailed analysis of consumer sentiment towards leading retail banks in Saudi Arabia has revealed a slight overall improvement in sentiment. However, persistent operational issues continue to affect the overall perception and reputation of these financial institutions.
PwC Middle East’s latest KSA Banking Sentiment Index report in collaboration with DataEQ, has analysed consumer sentiment towards nine major banks in Saudi Arabia: Al Bilad Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, Alinma Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank, STC Pay, Saudi Awwal Bank, Saudi Investment Bank, and Saudi National Bank.
Based on over 62,800 public mentions from May 1 to December 31, 2023, the industry aggregate net sentiment improved slightly year-on-year, from -0.8% to 0.1%. Reputational conversations contributed positively to net sentiment, driven by community programmes and educational initiatives.
While there has been positive sentiment, areas for improvement remain, particularly in addressing operational challenges, such as customer service response times and technical downtimes. Enhancing turnaround times for service requests will further strengthen consumer confidence and satisfaction.
Net sentiment scores across the banks varied significantly, with five banks achieving positive scores while four banks scored negatively.The leading bank scored 47.1 percentage points higher than the least performing bank, demonstrating the large spread of performance across the industry.
Discussions around digital channels increased by 6.5 percentage points. While digital channels had a better net sentiment score of -64.8% compared to traditional channels, technical issues and app downtimes remain prevalent.
Mark Stanley, Partner Financial Service Consulting at PwC Middle East, commented, “With customers increasingly preferring to use digital channels for engagement with their bank, there is an opportunity to leverage valuable customer feedback for real-time insight. More importantly, there is an obligation to deliver effective, fair, and compliant customer service on these channels.”
Upon analysing the major topics of conversation across the Saudi banking industry, it was evident that while consumers are attracted to well-priced products, there are ongoing opportunities for improvement in customer service and digital platforms. Products generated the highest volume of conversations, with sentiment largely negative, reflected in a score of -12.2%.This has mainly been driven by discussions around mortgage/home loans, credit solutions, and insurance products. Mortgages and home loans were a concern, with customers citing high rates, delays in application processing, and instalment payment challenges.
Customer service remained a key area of concern for Saudi banks, though it saw a reduction in volume of negative feedback and an improvement in net sentiment. Turnaround time was the common pain point for all banks, making up 84.3% of total customer service complaints. A frequent concern was the extended response times to submitted complaints or requests, with some customers reporting waits of over a week without updates.
Compared to traditional channels, digital channels experienced a higher share of conversation, with an increase of 6.5 percentage points from the previous index. While both traditional and digital channels experienced negative sentiment, digital channels recorded a better net sentiment score of -64.8%, 18.3 percentage points higher than traditional channels. Among digital platforms, mobile apps had the best performing net sentiment score of -63.6%. Complaints mainly revolved around technical issues, downtime, and inability to complete processes and requests using the app. Customers frequently faced difficulties in accessing accounts, problems with making transactions, errors, and delays in receiving verification codes.
Melanie Malherbe, Managing Director at DataEQ, said: “This year’s index reveals that while banks have made strong reputational efforts, operational challenges still need to be addressed. Improving operations, while continuing to build a strong reputation, will be essential for customer acquisition and retention moving forward.”
She added: “Enhancing customer service remains critical at this stage and banks need to implement robust customer service improvement programmes, focusing on timely and effective resolution of customer issues to enhance overall satisfaction.”
PwC Middle East remains committed to helping banks navigate the evolving financial landscape, with a focus on creating a more consumer-oriented and resilient future.
