Discovery Bank takes top spot in new Ask Africa Banking Brand index

Johannesburg, 23 July 2024 – Research company, Ask Africa, yesterday, announced the results of their all-new Ask Africa Banking Brand Index © in which Discovery Bank took top spot for both brand connection and emotional satisfaction. Including views from clients across 11 major South African banks, Discovery Bank stood out as winning the hearts and minds of banking clients across all income groups with 72% of clients, almost 20% higher than the industry average, experiencing ‘Delight’ with the Bank and rating it at 9 and 10 out of 10. Overall, Discovery Bank outperformed the industry to take the prime position as the top banking brand.

Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery Bank, says, “Everyone who interacts with Discovery, will know we place the highest importance on our client satisfaction through our products and service. It is no different for Discovery Bank, the youngest business in our SA group. It’s gratifying to know that South Africans show conviction in our banking brand to deliver on its promise. Receiving ratings as high as 10 out of 10 for brand emotion and satisfaction – meaning our clients are not just satisfied but, in fact, delighted – makes me and the entire Discovery Bank team extremely proud. We always set the bar high so for us, these results show South Africans, and our clients, feel and experience every effort we make. I’d like to thank Ask Africa and all participants for this valuable acknowledgement of our purpose-led business and how it has our clients’ best interest at heart – it drives us to continue serving excellence in banking and service.”

Generally, client satisfaction scores have increased across the banking industry. Discovery Bank experienced the most significant increase and had the highest delight scores. With no clients in the sample feeling dissatisfied, the Bank had the highest scores of ‘Delight’ and satisfaction from 72% and 70% of participants, respectively, with the industry average at 54% and 47%. Discovery Bank also received higher ratings than the industry average in other perceptions the Index evaluated, which included:

• Disruptive banking – taking innovation a step further for clients (17.3% above the industry average)
• Excellent benefits and rewards (21.7% above the industry average),
• A company with my best interests at heart – not just about profits (20.3% above the industry average), and
• Company that recognises your family and your family’s banking needs (16.8% above the industry average).

Relating to the findings of the Index, Discovery Bank’s own data supports this positive client experience and sentiment.

Discovery Bank’s shared-value banking model leverages the Vitality Money programme to positively change behaviours in banking. A shared-value model in banking provides an effective platform to initiate the change clients need to make to improve their financial health.

By providing incentives for individuals to make better financial decisions, a shared-value model in banking can generate higher savings levels, lower the risk of over-indebtedness, and increase wealth and financial resilience for society as a whole.

Discovery Bank clients earned an additional over R61 million in interest on their savings deposits and reduced their repayments of interest by over R28 million in 2023. Discovery Bank clients earned (and spent) over seven billion Ðiscovery Miles in 2023 and saved over R640 million when booking more than 900,000 discounted local and international flights through Vitality Travel.

As a fully digital bank, the Discovery Bank app is central to the bank’s operations. As one of the highest rated banking apps in South Africa, it has an average rating of 4.8 in app stores. Further, clients rate the service of banking consultants at nearly 4.9 out of 5 on every interaction and the Bank has reported that over 90% of queries through social media are addressed in under two hours.

Over time, there has been a much greater awareness of the Discovery Bank brand and business purpose, attributed to the consistency that clients experience between the brand promise and the brand experience. Based on this latest Ask Africa Banking Brand Index ©, Discovery Bank is leading the industry in its positive perception and performance among South African banking clients.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About the Ask Afrika Banking Brand Index

Recognising brands that lead with purpose, the Ask Afrika benchmark shows how customers perceive and experience their banks, and how brands strengthen relationships by delivering on promises. The analysis provides the industry with further knowledge about customer perceptions and brand performance to enable improvements and foster stronger relationships with banking clients. The 2024 Ask Afrika Orange Index, in which Discovery Bank was previously voted retail bank with the best customer servicing experience in South Africa in both 2022 and 2023, will be announced in August 2024. This Index looks at emotional brand satisfaction, values and brand loyalty in more detail across industries, not only banking.