The Online Banking Services in the UK - Case Study Example

An Evaluation of the Six Antecedents of Customer Service in NatWest Online Banking Online banking was first introduced to the public in 1994, and within ten years had gained 100 million users worldwide. (Yoon, 2010: 1296) Yoon (2010) has identified six antecedents of customer service for online banking, factors that determine whether or not the customer has a positive experience with online banking, and by extension, whether or not the bank offering the services does so successfully. In this paper, the online banking services of the UK-based NatWest Bank (www.natwest.com/personal/online-banking.ashx) are analysed in the context of these six antecedents: Ease of Use, Design, Speed, Security, Information Content, and Customer Support Service. Ease of Use Conducting banking transactions online is almost entirely a self-service process; while banks do offer various forms of customer support and assistance (discussed below), the fundamental idea behind online banking is to provide a means by which the customer can use banking services at his convenience rather than being obliged to visit a branch office during certain business hours. Yoon (2010: 1297) points out that ease of use is frequently tested as a determinant of website quality and online transactions, including banking services. Ease of use is one half of the technology acceptance model frequently cited by research on consumer perceptions and attitudes toward online services, and along with usefulness – which is discussed below in the context of Information Content – is considered a critical factor in customers’ having a positive experience. (Suh & Han, 2002: 251; Udo, et al., 2010: 482; Lee, et al., 2011: 116) Another important aspect of ease of use is how well the new processes for the customer in online banking reflect familiar functions for the users. (Lin, 2011: 253) In other words, even though the experience is obviously quite different from conducting a transaction with a teller over the counter, the customer should still be comfortable that he understands what is happening and that the result of performing certain actions – such as “clicking” on a screen button – has a familiar, anticipated outcome. The NatWest online banking facility is not particularly outstanding in terms of ease of use. The main screen of the online banking portal (the link given above) is rather plain in appearance, and takes a moment or two of visual searching to find the particular link a customer might want. For new customers, the website is perhaps easier to use, since links to instructional information, security information, and specific advice for first-timers (provided by a link titled “New to Online Banking?”) are prominently displayed. Once a customer is logged in to the facility, some of this unnecessary information disappears and makes the site a bit easier to use, but overall, the website seems to assume a fairly high degree of technical familiarity on the customer’s part, which many customers might find troublesome. Design Design relates to ease of use in that the design of an online banking website determines how the customer and the website interact or “communicate” with each other. (Yoon, 2010: 1297) A clear design with instantly recognisable functions such as search, navigation, and fast links to security information and customer support increases customer interactivity with the website, which in turn leads to higher perceptions of the website’s convenience and usability. (Sohail & Shanmugham, 2003: 210) The design of the NatWest online banking facility is, to put it plainly, rather unexciting. Each page is laid out in grid form, with virtually all the links to various services and functions being simple text links, in most cases formatted in small and not very noticeable fonts and styles. On the one hand it is easy to see why this is the case given the large amount of information provided in the website (discussed further below), but on the other hand it gives one the impression that the website was designed with the main objective simply being to include all the necessary information, rather than focusing on making the website efficient or easy to use. Speed In a sense, speed of conducting banking transactions is the most basic objective of online banking. The benefit to the customer is that he can manage his banking activities at a time and place which is most convenient for him, without having to rely on visiting a specific branch office location during specific hours, and perhaps spending even more time waiting in a queue. The speed at which transactions can be completed online is therefore a key consideration for a customer in deciding whether to continue using the services. (Yoon, 2010: 1297) There is one pitfall in this for the bank, however, in that the speed at which functions can be completed is at least partly determined by the quality of the internet connection between the customer and the banking website, which of course the bank has no control over; therefore, a good design and fast transaction speed within the website is critical. Although some less attractive aspects of the design have already been noted, in terms of speed NatWest’s online banking site performs very well. When switching from one page to another, the new page loads within seconds, and simple online transactions (it was not possible to test more complex transactions, such as loan applications, for practical reasons) such as making a transfer between accounts are completed very quickly. The pedestrian design of the website probably contributes to the fast speed, since it lacks much graphics or other features that would slow it down. Security Security concerns can be divided into two major categories: First, security of the transaction, or in other words, assurance that the customer’s desired transaction is completed as expected; and second, security of the customer’s personal information. Providing customers adequate assurance that security is properly maintained and that it is “safe” to conduct banking online is a key to customer acceptance of online banking, and perhaps the biggest factor in some customers’ reluctance to try it. (Yoon, 2010: 1297; Udo, et al., 2010: 484) Part of the problem is that because online banking transactions are paperless, many customers may be uncomfortable without having firm proof such as a paper receipt that a transaction was completed successfully. (Kuisma, et al., 2007: 81) The way to counteract this uncertainty is to provide clear information as to how transactions are recorded and can be confirmed by the customer, as well as a clear explanation of how sensitive information is handled, and how the customer can obtain assistance or register a complaint. (Yousafzai, et al., 2003: 851) But that fact that studies are now finding that security is less of an inhibiting factor in consumers’ acceptance of online banking or shopping indicates that most businesses regard these security measures as things that must be included automatically in their websites, so that customers have grown accustomed to regarding them as “must-haves”. (Sohail & Shanmugham, 2003: 215; Udo, et al., 2010: 489) In some respects it is difficult to give a comprehensive assessment of a website’s security attributes unless a problem is encountered that the bank must resolve; as noted above, proper security and an absences of problems is the norm. In that respect, NatWest’s online banking service performs appropriately. Assurance to customers is also clearly a priority for NatWest. The main page of the online banking facility presents a hyperlink in heading-style text about “Bank safely online” almost in the centre of the page, and every successive page of the website contains the same link in a prominent location, usually at the top of the left-hand sidebar. Therefore, a fair rating for NatWest’s security characteristics would be that they are at the very least normative and appropriate, and make a good effort toward signalling reliability and credibility to customers. Information Content The information content of a banking website relates to the site’s usefulness in the sense of providing customers a number of functions. In some studies, this “usefulness” is actually more important in determining customers’ acceptance of the technology than ease of use. (Sohail & Shanmugham, 2003: 210; Kuisma, et al., 2007: 78) For this reason, most online banking sites now include a number of other services for customers apart from basic banking transactions, such as personal financial management and investments, lending services, and real estate. (Yoon, 2010: 1297) The NatWest online service offers a vast array of banking services, essentially the full range of services that would be available to a customer visiting a branch in person. So in terms of pure “usefulness” NatWest should be rated very highly. The large amount of content, however, does contribute to the ease of use problems, because keeping such a large amount of information and functions well-organised is obviously challenging. One problem that is encountered frequently is difficulty in navigating back to the basic online banking portal after accessing links to other services such as loans or insurance products. Thus the high amount of information content contributes to problems in design, which in turn reduces ease of use. Customer Support Service Customer support service involves answering customer questions and concerns, and solving problems with the transactions done online or the function of the website. The two characteristics on which customer support service can be measured are interactivity and responsiveness. (Chang & Chen, 2008: 2930) Interactivity relates to the different ways in which help is offered to customers; for example, an “FAQ” section, a contact message form, or a live chat facility. Responsiveness is the way in which the website communicates with the customer, which relates to the ease of use factor explained above (Yoon, 2010: 1298); highly responsive websites provide something familiar to customers needing help when the website provides feedback that is similar to what the customer would receive if he were interacting with a bank employee in person. Customer service and support is given as much if not more attention by NatWest as online security, and the online banking service must be given very high marks in this regard. In addition to extensive explanatory information about the various services offered, the website provides a “common questions” section for most of the pages, and relies heavily on a 24-hour, live chat facility; in fact, this appears to be NatWest’s preferred method of addressing customer concerns and questions, as most support-related links will open a live chat window. This is in general a very good format; it makes the online banking process less impersonal, and gives the customer the impression that he is conducting business with actual people rather than a collection of computer programmes. The one drawback to it, however, is that it does increase the amount of time required to resolve a question; even a very simple question takes several additional minutes to answer by way of the chat facility – although to be fair, the information received is quite clear and very helpful. Summary In summary, NatWest’s online banking services deserve a good rating in terms of the six antecedents of customer service. The bank has obviously chosen function over form, and as a result, the online banking website suffers a bit in terms of ease of use due to very high information content, and a perhaps less than ideal design to manage it. On the other hand, the website does perform very well in terms of speed, and a great deal of attention has been given to security and customer support information and assistance. References Chang, H.H., and Chen, S.W. (2008) “The impact of customer interface quality, satisfaction and switching costs on e-loyalty: Internet experience as a moderator”. Computers in Human Behavior, 24: 2927–2944. Kuisma, T., Laukkanen, T., and Hiltunen, M. (2007) “Mapping the reasons for resistance to Internet banking: A means-end approach”. International Journal of Information Management, 27: 75–85. Lee, K-W., Tsai, M-T., and Lanting, M.C.L. (2011) “From marketplace to marketspace: Investigating the consumer switch to online banking”. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 10:115–125. Lin, H-F. (2011) “An empirical investigation of mobile banking adoption: The effect of innovation attributes and knowledge-based trust”. 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