Whether you’re an entrepreneur, employee, or someone who just wants a safe place to ensure security of funds, your choice of bank will be one of the most important decisions you’ll make.
However, circumstances could require that a bank is changed to get the type of services you need, especially if your bank doesn’t evolve as fast as you do.
Below are some reasons to change banks.
Excess Fees and Charges
How does it feel when you get constant debit alerts on your phone or email for all sorts of charges you cannot keep track of anymore. Annoying right?
One of the major reasons to switch banks is excess charges and fees deducted from your account. It is a well-known fact in Nigeria that banks charge for all sorts of things: card maintenance fees, and account maintenance fees, to name a few. A thorough look at all these charges over a long period of time will show that these will amount to a lot.
Though the Central Bank of Nigeria has occasionally tried to regulate the charges on various products and services offered by banks, some banks still charge more compared to others.
It is better to find out from others or the bank itself what the charges are, and the reasons for the charges you incur, depending on the type of account you use. If you notice that you are not getting enough value compared to others, it is totally fine to change your bank.
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To earn higher rates
Every individual wants to get value for whatever is paid for. If a customer places money in a bank for a period, the expectation is for safety of principal and interest. So if a bank doesn’t match the expectation of a decent interest in relation to charges incurred, the customer should not hesitate to look for better alternatives.
Location
It is only logical that a customer would want to open and maintain an account with a bank close to where they live or work. This is necessary to reduce additional cost and stress.
It is the responsibility of banks to do their own market research to determine how well a branch will perform in a particular geographical area; however, according to research on behavioural psychology of customers, most account holders will want to see their banks branches and ATMs on their street corners, or places close by to enhance their familiarity with the brand.
Quality Service Delivery
Poor service delivery will affect any business, more so banks that need customers’ deposits for survival.
According to a 2019 survey done by Afrinvest titled, “The Nigerian Banking Experience,” thousands of respondents were surveyed and the result showed that quality service was the most valuable expectation of customers from their banks.
With the increase in the use of internet banking platforms and electronic channels to conduct transactions, customers prefer banks that have convenient e-banking channels that make it easier to conduct transactions, e.g. self-service transactions on e-banking platforms.
Customers who aren’t familiar with e-banking and want that ease of withdrawing from the ATM at the branch, but experience delay in receiving cash would be frustrated and this would prompt the customer to switch to a more efficient bank.