PRESS RELEASE: Absa named South Africa’s best bank in Service Excellence
Financial Services Group Absa topped the performance charts in customer dispute resolution and service excellence when the Bank won the South African Banking Ombudsman's Best Bank Award (in the Larger Bank category) at a gala dinner last week. Adjudicated by South Africa's Banking Ombudsman, the award highlights the number of complaints logged by customers and resolved by Banks.
Absa said that the award was a tremendous honour and recognition for how we are committed to treating our customers fairly and resolving their queries timeously. The level of banking complaints across Absa’s retail network continues to fall, and has reduced by 70% in the last 10 months.
Craig Bond, Chief Executive, Retail and Business Banking, Barclays Africa Group, attributed the award to the bank’s focus on ease of banking for customers. He said the big turnaround in performance for Absa was as a result of putting customer service at the heart of the bank’s strategy to build Africa's ‘Go-To’ bank.
The bank is in the midst of transforming a number of critical customer processes and experiences across its branch network, digital channels, ATM network and contact centres. Absa’s Clearwater, Alberton and Hyde Park branches are testament to how the bank has used customer experience design principles to move to a paperless environment with a rapid turnaround and improved customer service levels.
To further improve the customer experience, Absa has concentrated on bringing down customer fees with the introduction of Absa Value Bundles, which offers customers discounted monthly fees and rebates for taking up multiple products, and Absa Transact, a low-cost banking account with no penalty fees. Absa continues to enhance its award-winning Rewards programme, which offers discounts and real cash-back paid into customers’ accounts to reward product usage.
“Whilst this award is an important milestone on our journey to becoming Africa’s best customer service bank, we acknowledge that we have a long way to go in delighting all our customers at every touch point. We will continue to focus on making things easier for our customers and putting them at the centre of everything we do and every investment decision we make,” concludes Bond.
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For further information, please contact:
Nobubele Mkwananzi
Media Manager: Absa Retail Banking
Group Marketing and Communication
Tel: 011 – 846- 8583
Cell: 071 – 350- 7703
Email: nobubele.mkwananzi@absa.co.za
Group at a glance
Absa is wholly owned by Barclays Africa Group Limited (Barclays Africa Group or the Group), which is 62.3% owned by Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays) and is listed on the JSE Limited. The Group is one of Africa’s major financial services providers offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management as well as bancassurance. We combine our global product knowledge with regional expertise and have an extensive, well established local presence.
The Group was formed through combining Absa Group Limited and Barclays’ African operations on 31 July 2013. Reflecting the enlarged group’s pan-African focus, our name changed from Absa Group Limited to Barclays Africa Group Limited on 2 August 2013.
At 30 June 2013, Absa Group Limited had 718,2 million shares in issue and a market capitalisation of R103 billion. The Group had assets of R841 billion, 9 997 automated teller machines, 962 staffed outlets and 33 879 permanent employees.
Our registered head office is in Johannesburg, South Africa and we have majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Barclays Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia. We also have representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria as well as bancassurance operations in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Barclays Bank Kenya and Barclays Bank Botswana continue to be listed on their respective stock exchanges.
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