Saudi banking customers keen om mobile banking excellence
As Saudi Arabia continues to make strides in diversifying its economy, the country’s banking sector is being reshaped. Both established banks and new digital-first services are moving to offer services to consumers that can satisfy modern banking needs.
A total of 86% of banking customers in KSA are more interested in apps that give a better overview of various financial products like bank accounts, insurance, pensions, and investments. That is according to a survey conducted by management consultancy Capco, that polled Saudis on their expectations from financial services.
In fact, a total of 81% of respondents said that they typically access their banking products using mobile apps. That is compared to only 36% that do so using a computer.
Saudi consumers have become more trustful of mobile and digital banking services in the past two years, with nearly half of respondents saying their confidence has significantly improved.
That improvement in confidence comes with other banking services as well, like tech companies that offer financial services and digital banks without brick-and-mortar branches. This likely shows KSA financial services consumers are quite open to new tech-based solutions to everyday banking needs.
“It is worth noting that two processes traditionally regarded as barriers to opening a new account – account applications and onboarding – are both perceived as having become smoother. For example, 79% of our respondents say they find onboarding to be either easy or extremely easy compared to two years ago,” notes the report.
When it comes to AI features in banking apps, most respondents said that they are either comfortable or extremely comfortable with AI guiding their day-to-day financial decisions. Only 10% expressed being uncomfortable with the use of the emerging technology.
Overall, the factors that most drive consumers to a particular financial service are better accessibility and a wide range of services. A total of 47% of respondents listed both of those motivators as their top reasons for choosing a bank or financial institution.
A significant number of Saudis said that they would be happy to adopt more for premium services, with 30% saying they would definitely do so and another 39% saying they would consider it. That means that KSA consumers are keen on having more for value-added services like cashback options, points systems, and monthly offers.
Overall, the survey confirms that Saudi banking customers are looking for banking apps that offer a wide range of different financial and non-financial services.
“The appetite for an app that provides access to a wide array of financial services in one place could be a positive for those banks looking to offer a broad range of convenient digital services, and for those banks and fintechs best able to take advantage of open banking trends in KSA and the wider Middle East,” notes the Capco report.
“The idea of tailoring banking services and products more closely to customers’ needs and lifestyles has been an increasingly visible trend in financial services. KSA’s retail banking consumers are warm to the concept and willing to share the necessary personal data.”