Technology in retail banking the key to customer loyalty says Visa

Technological developments in retail banking such as contactless payments, mobile banking and e-commerce have significantly contributed to higher levels of customer satisfaction according to a study commissioned by Visa.

Researcher RFi found that new payment and transaction technology was increasingly a key factor in determining a main financial institution (MFI) relationship and customers who hold their debit or credit cards with their MFI reported higher levels of satisfaction than customers who hold their primary cards with other institutions.

RFi also found that “digitally enhanced customers,” described in the report as those who interact with their bank via a mobile device, hold more products with their MFI than any other group of customers.

RELATED: Australian bank customers fastest adopters of mobile banking in the world

The research highlighted there has been a significant uptake of contactless payment technology with 62% of people who have a “tap and go” card stating that they have made a contactless payment and 26% of respondents reporting that they would use less cash for their spending needs over the next 12 months.

However, there remains a significant number of consumers concerned about security with 67% of respondents who said they have not made a contactless payment citing “concerns” have prevented them from doing so.

While contactless payment with cards is popular among consumers only 8% of respondents use their smartphones to make contactless payments. Visa head of product for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Rob Walls, admitted there was still more work that needed to be done around the process of getting payment card details into the phone and also making the phone as convenient to use as a card in a point of sale situation.

“The technology is going to change. The process will change,” he said.