Mozo People’s Choice Awards shows record satisfaction for big four banks

DO YOU love your bank? Apparently, yes. Yes you do. It seems the age of bank bashing is officially over.

Is the era of bank bashing finally over?

DO YOU love your bank? Apparently, yes, yes you do. It seems the age of bank bashing is officially over.

At least, that’s according to financial comparison website Mozo, which has just released the results of its fifth annual People’s Choice Awards.

The survey of more than 25,000 Australians found the big four banks enjoying their highest levels of popularity since the awards began.

Customer satisfaction has jumped 13 per cent for the big four, while home loan satisfaction was up 12 per cent.

Out of 200 banking providers, the big four scored an average of 7.76 out of 10 and saw the biggest jump in satisfaction, closing the gap on credit unions, mutuals and other banks.

Despite the big four gaining ground, ING Direct took the top honour, being named best bank for the fifth year running with a satisfaction score of 9.

Overall banking satisfaction was 7.85, up from 7.17 in 2011. Sixty-eight per cent of respondents claimed to be ‘fans’ of their bank — scoring them 8 or more out of 10 — while just 10 per cent gave their bank a ‘fail’ score of four or less.

Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said a combination of low interest rates and technology made for happier banking customers.

Mozo director Kirsty Lamont told news.com.au the result was surprising, but it really came down to two things.

“Firstly, lower interest rates make for happier banking customers, and secondly, people are engaging more with their banking now through technology improvements such as mobile banking and contactless payments,” she said.

Ms Lamont said the big four had benefited the most from record low interest rates as customers were less likely to switch.

Out of the big four, Commonwealth Bank saw the biggest improvement in its satisfaction score, although NAB took the top spot with a score of 7.95 and 70 per cent of customers as ‘fans’.

“The fact that NAB has consistently been named the best of the big four shows they’re clearly doing something right,” she said.

“Part of that goes to their promise that they treat existing customers the same as new ones — you constantly see ads out there offering new customers sweeteners, honeymoon rates and intro deals, but NAB rewards customers for their loyalty.”

By age group, under-25s were the happiest with their banks (8.2), while the grumpiest age bracket was those aged 45-54 (7.63).

Originally published as Mozo People’s Choice Awards shows record satisfaction for big four banks