Public satisfaction with financial institutions, their services and service channels continues to grow

From May 2018 to May 2019, the Composite Index rose from 51.1 to 52.9 points (of a maximum 100). According to the results of the index, the level of satisfaction was driven by five major factors.

The greatest contributor was the level of satisfaction with remote channels for lending and insurance services and with the non-bank payment infrastructure. This was followed by the degree of confidence in non-bank financial institutions and satisfaction with their products (services) and then by the level of satisfaction with the quality of remote access to bank accounts. Satisfaction with the banking payment infrastructure and the work of banks, their products (services) and confidence in them were the least significant contributors.

The number of factors was up as compared to the earlier calculations of the Composite Index, which may point to the higher consumer expectations regarding the work of financial institutions and the quality of services they provide. In addition, the rapid development of technologies and their deployment in the financial sector may also increase the range of criteria for consumers to assess their satisfaction level.

Remote financial service channels are becoming increasingly popular with each year. However, the survey findings published in the recent annual issue of the Review of Financial Inclusion in 2018 demonstrate that the level of satisfaction with some channels was declining, which may also be caused by a rise in consumer expectations. There was a reduction in the percentage of Russians who gave the highest scores (4 or 5) simultaneously by all the criteria (ease of access, affordable cost, protection level, security, acceptable waiting time) for online lending and online insurance.

The main reason for the rise in the Composite Index versus the previous year is the higher confidence in non-bank financial institutions and satisfaction with their products/services. Increased confidence in banks and satisfaction with their work and products/services also pushed up the Composite Index, although to a lesser extent than for non-bank financial institutions. Namely, the survey recorded a growth in the percentage of adults who positively assessed the work of the following financial institutions (among those who dealt with them): pawnshops (the index was up by 31.1 pp compared to the survey findings of May 2018), insurance agents (by 21.5 pp), microfinance organisations (17.5 pp), consumer credit cooperatives (16.1 pp), agricultural consumer credit cooperatives (15.0 pp), and credit institutions (3.7 pp). The level of satisfaction declined in relation to non-governmental pension funds (by 2.8 pp) and brokers (by 1.1 pp).