NEWS
South Africans lead the way in mobile
banking, Avaya survey reveals
Consumers in South Africa prefer a digital-first approach to
resolving their basic banking issues, only talking to a human
being if they have to, according to a new survey from Avaya.
The Customer Experience in Banking Survey, conducted
with YouGov, found that given the choice, the most popular
method for South Africa customers to contact their bank was
via a mobile app, selected by 30% of respondents, compared
with 26% in India, 24% in the UAE, and just 10% in France
and 8% in Germany.
Getting the customer experience right is vital to South
African banks as 67% of respondents would lodge a formal
complaint with their bank about bad customer service – again
the highest out of all nine countries surveyed. The biggest
frustrations South African respondents experience when
calling their bank include being kept waiting for a long time,
their call being transferred between customer service agents,
and being asked to visit the branch to solve their request.
Danny Drew, Managing Director, Avaya South Africa
Regardless of how they choose to contact their bank, 68%
of South African customers cited getting the same level of
experience and service across all channels as a priority. Danny
Drew, Managing Director, Avaya South Africa, said, “Mobile
is becoming an increasingly popular channel to interact with
banks here, as technologies like voice and video move digital.
Yet while we may reach customer support through a mobile
app, I think South African customers will always want to have
the option to speak to a person if needed.”
dotAfrica is the best option for Africa
in cyberspace
organisations ranging from banks to media companies are
registering .africa domain names. “Leading continental and
international brands are snapping up .africa domain names
because they recognise the importance of being associated
with Africa’s bright future online. With many positive stories
coming out of Africa, brands understand that .africa domain
names are valuable virtual real estate,” says Lucky Masilela, CEO
of the ZACR, the non-profit company tasked with administering
the new .africa domain name on behalf of the continent.
54 countries in Africa are now united under a single,
continent-wide domain name, staying true to the Oliver
Tambo and Abuja Declarations of the 1990s. These written
resolutions stated that ICT will be central to Africa’s future
wellbeing and .africa is surely amongst the top African-led ICT
initiatives of the last twenty years.
It is now possible to own an Internet address, or domain name,
ending with .africa. Already, more than 8,000 of the continent’s
and world’s biggest brands, businesses and individuals have
registered for this exciting new Internet address. Diverse
www.intelligentcio.com
“Initiatives like .africa help harness the power of new
technologies to solve old problems. dotAfrica is unique in
that it gives Africans an important sense of pride to help
motivate them to achieve the very best for their continent and
themselves. ZACR appeals to all Africans to take ownership of
.africa, because it truly belongs to us all,” concludes Masilela.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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