When was the last time you went to a bricks-and-mortar bank for your everyday banking needs?
According to Canstar’s 2024 research into Kiwis’ banking habits, just 3% of us still bank at a high street branch, down from 4% in 2022. While 3% use phone banking, the overwhelming majority of us prefer digital banking: 70% use mobile apps (up from 61% two years ago). This rise in app use has come at the expense of online banking, as the number banking through their institutions’ websites has dropped from 31%, in 2022, to 23%, this year.
But while online services have become an integral part of the banking and financial landscape, not all apps and banking websites are created equally. Banks offer widely different digital services, and levels of user-friendliness vary.
That’s why, annually, Canstar’s expert research team compares digital platforms across New Zealand and awards the best provider our award for Bank of the Year | Digital Banking.
To decide on the winner of the award, our research team uses a sophisticated methodology that recognises institutions that offer quality digital services – across mobile phone apps and websites – and rates new features that enhance the consumer experience.
Our team also undertakes a user-experience study. This year we engaged 3851 bank customers, and asked them to rate their user experience of their bank’s digital platforms.
This year our research team looked at the different online features offered by these institutions: ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, SBS, The Co-operative Bank, TSB and Westpac.
The main categories covered:
To read more on our winner, the ASB, just click on the button below: