The relationship between digitisation, customer service and customer loyalty in the South African banking industry

Digitisation has forced modernisation across many industries over the last decade; it has created a world of trade without boundaries, seamless integration with technology, improving business and quality of life in general. The banking industry in South Africa has been impacted by the rapid emergence of financial technology (Fintech) companies who are challenging the status quo of traditional banking. Their fundamental difference from traditional banks is their ability to create a solution for problems in the market at rapid speed; they use digitisation as their core foundation when developing products to satisfy consumer needs. They are introducing banking capabilities faster and more efficiently than traditional banks, creating a new breed of client needs. Customers want a more robust, seamless, and quicker client experience from traditional banks, which are being offered via Fintechs. The objectives of this study were to identify what impact does digitisation have on customer service and customer loyalty in the South African banking environment, it aimed to establish what role digitisation embodies in a face to face customer service environment, whilst exploring if there is a need for physical banker engagement to reduce attrition and build loyalty. To achieve the objectives, data was collected via electronic surveys, which was distributed to 250 participants in which 103 completed surveys was received. Participants were South African adults who owned a bank account. Quantitative methodology was used given the population size of South African banked individuals. The overall conclusion is that digitisation directly affects customer service and customer loyalty, decisions are made factoring in digitisation when considering a bank as a service provider. Whilst it has a direct influence, and affects the overall decision-making process by consumers, good customer service, irrespective of the delivery channel, is still critical and fundamentally the key driver when opting to use a bank.Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 202