RFi Group Data shows how Digital Payment Customers are Key to Driving Bank Profitability for the Future

The Payments Proposition:

• 71% of consumers globally took out a chequing account as their first product with their Main Bank
• Customers who have a card relationship with their main bank are more likely to be satisfied with the bank (74% are highly satisfied), more likely to be advocates of the bank (average NPS score of 33) and less likely to switch (80% very unlikely to switch in the next 12 months).

The importance of digital:

• 73% of Canadian consumers are comfortable taking out a payments product from a digital-only provider.

According to the latest research conducted by global business intelligence provider RFi Group, digital payment customers are key to driving bank profitability in the future. Charles Green, CEO, RFi Group will be presenting these findings at the Canadian Payments Innovation Forum on 16^th November in Toronto.

The research shows the importance of the main bank relationship for cross-sell opportunities, and therefore profitability for banks. Globally, consumers hold an average of 2.4 products with their main financial institution, compared to an average of 1.7 for their secondary bank. With a chequing account being the most likely product to be held with the main bank, and with cards and payments so heavily linked to this product, it is apparent that payments are an integral force for driving bank profitability.

In addition, RFi Group statistics intrinsically link digital engagement with advocacy and cross sell, with highly digitally engaged customers holding 2.6 unique banking products and an average NPS score of 28, against digitally unengaged customers, who hold on average 1.9 unique products and an average NPS score of 10.

This is an important issue when considering that consumers are becoming more comfortable with digital-only providers, creating a potential threat to traditional players; Almost two thirds of Canadian consumers (65%) are comfortable using a digital-only provider for their financial needs, with payments being the area they would be most comfortable dealing with direct banks.

One potential avenue for banks to better engage with digital customers is through messaging services, and there is already evidence of this shift within the Canadian market. From RBC enabling bill payments via Siri, to Paypal integrating with Skype, to TD allowing customer interaction via Twitter chatbot, the new mindset seems to indicate that Canadian financial institutions are now seeking to engage with customers through channels they are already using, rather than forcing them to use proprietary apps. The RFi Group study will look at global best practice in this area as well as consumer appetite to see how the Canadian market could develop.

To register to see Charles Green’s presentation or access RFi Group data, please contact Nish Gnana, ngnana@rfigroup.com

For more information regarding this press release, please contact Sarah Hollinshead, shollinshead@rfigroup.com