Royal Bank of Canada ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction for a second consecutive year among Canada’s Big Five banks, just pipping Toronto Dominion to the post. In the Midsize segment, Tangerine tops JD Power’s eagerly watched poll for the sixth successive year. Douglas Blakey takes a closer look at the results

RBI’s global retail bank of the year, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), has asserted its leadership in the annual JD Power Canadian Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.
Now in its 12th year, the report measures customer satisfaction with retail banks in two segments: the Big Five, and Midsize Banks.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Big Five and Midsize

This time last year, champagne corks were popping at RBC HQ as the bank knocked Toronto Dominion (TD) off top spot among the Big Five, a position it had held for 10 successive years.

At the time, RBC CEO Dave McKay told the writer that the bank was immensely honoured to have knocked TD off top spot; he will be gratified to see RBC retain top position, as this speaks to the bank’s commitment to customer service, reflected in a net promoter score that has doubled in the past decade.

JD Power measures customer satisfaction via seven factors, listed in order of importance: product, self-service, personal service, facilities, communication, financial advisor, and problem resolution. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

This year’s final results could not have been closer: RBC scoring 760 points out of 1,000, just ahead of TD with 759.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

This year’s JD Power report also features a Canadian Banking App Satisfaction Study based on five factors, in order of importance: ease of navigation, appearance, availability of key information, range of services, and clarity of information.

In a close-run thing, RBC’s app topped the poll with a score of 840, ahead of Scotiabank which scored 835, and Bank of Montreal (BMO) with 833.
Key findings of the 2017 survey include:

  • Canadian banks mastering mobile: Mobile banking usage among customers has nearly doubled over the past three years, with 43% of Canadian retail bank customers now using mobile banking. Satisfaction with the mobile channel has also improved, with a mobile satisfaction index score of 807 points.
  • Need to look beyond mobile: More than half (58%) of customers have used four or more interaction channels in the past year. Meanwhile, customer satisfaction declined in 2017 for most channels, including website (-1 point), branch (-10), assisted online (-11), call centre (-13), and automated phone (-15).
  • Benefits of getting the basics right: Overall satisfaction scores are 83 points higher among customers who were greeted at the branch entrance, and 63 points higher among those whose teller addressed them by name, yet just 60% of customers say they were greeted at the door and just 47% say they were addressed by name.
  • Certain changes can negatively affect trust: Banks can harm the level of trust that is established with their customers when they make changes to agreed-upon terms of financial accounts and products. The introduction of new fees is associated with a 50-point decrease in overall satisfaction, while changing the amount of existing fees is associated with a 45-point decrease. Changes to interest rates cause overall satisfaction scores to fall 31 points.

In the mid-sized banking survey, Scotiabank’s digital subsidiary,Tangerine, with a score of 820, performed particularly well in product, personal service, self-service and communication. President’s Choice Financial ranked second with a score of 801.

The 2017 report is based on responses from more than 13,000 customers who use a primary financial institution for personal banking and was conducted in March and April. The app satisfaction survey was based on responses from more than 1,600 m-banking users.”