Standard Chartered Bank has once again emerged as Ghana’s leading retail bank for customer service, retaining the top position in the 2025 KPMG West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey.
The achievement marks the second consecutive year the bank has led the retail segment, reinforcing its reputation as a benchmark for customer-centric banking in a rapidly evolving financial services landscape.
The KPMG survey evaluates banks in Ghana and Nigeria, providing insights into how financial institutions are adapting to changing consumer expectations across the region. This year’s findings point to a decisive shift beyond basic digital access toward a more competitive environment shaped by reliability, personalization, and intelligent engagement.
Standing out in a digital-first banking era
As digital access becomes a minimum requirement rather than a differentiator, Standard Chartered distinguished itself through superior performance in mobile app stability and transactional security. These areas have become central to customer satisfaction as more consumers rely on digital channels as their primary interface with banks.
The bank recorded a CX Score of 82.9 in the retail banking category, placing it ahead of other major lenders operating in Ghana. Beyond the headline score, Standard Chartered featured among the top five performers across nearly all of the ten most important experience measures assessed for retail customers. This consistent performance underscores the depth of its customer experience strategy rather than isolated strengths.
Standard Chartered’s leadership was evident across key stages of the customer journey. The survey highlighted strong results in onboarding, account maintenance, and transaction processing, areas where speed and simplicity are increasingly valued. The bank’s digital-only options and efficient processing times were cited as major contributors to its high ratings.
These strengths align with broader consumer preferences that favor seamless interactions over traditional branch-based services. Customers now expect intuitive platforms, fast resolution of issues, and secure transactions as standard features of modern banking.
Leadership perspective on customer-centricity
Reacting to the recognition, Yvonne Gyebi, Head of Wealth and Retail Banking at Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, expressed appreciation to clients, stakeholders, and staff. She emphasized that the back-to-back wins reflect a deliberate and sustained focus on client-centricity.
According to her, exceptional service at Standard Chartered is viewed as a continuous journey rather than a fixed destination. The bank remains committed to listening to customer feedback and innovating to exceed expectations, with the goal of making banking simple, seamless, and delightful.
The survey highlights a notable shift in consumer behavior across West Africa, with Ghana showing particularly strong momentum toward digital resilience. For the first time in three years, ATM services have declined in priority for Ghanaian customers. In their place is an urgent demand for reliable digital platforms that function consistently without disruption.
Mobile banking usage has surged to 69 percent weekly usage, driven largely by younger customers, especially Gen Z. This demographic increasingly relies on mobile apps as their primary financial touchpoint, reinforcing the importance of technical uptime as a core driver of customer experience rather than a background operational concern.
Trust, empathy, and the evolving CX equation
As macroeconomic indicators show early signs of stabilization, the survey suggests that trust is being earned more deliberately through transparency and value delivery. In Nigeria, integrity remains the highest-rated pillar of customer experience. In Ghana, empathy leads, reflecting customer expectations for proactive support in a more conservative financial environment.
Banks are now expected to move beyond hygiene factors such as basic security and accessibility. The next phase of competition favors orchestrated experiences where services adapt to actual customer behavior and anticipate needs rather than simply responding to requests.
With banks expected to expand lending activity in the coming years, the report indicates that institutions combining strong digital performance with insight-driven engagement will be best positioned to succeed. Standard Chartered’s ability to deliver reliability where expectations are highest has enabled it to maintain its foothold at the summit of Ghana’s retail banking market.
The bank’s sustained leadership in customer experience demonstrates that consistent investment in digital resilience, coupled with a deep understanding of customer needs, can translate into measurable competitive advantage.
Standard Chartered’s second consecutive top ranking signals more than just recognition. It reflects an ongoing commitment to shaping the future of retail banking in Ghana through innovation, reliability, and empathy. As customer expectations continue to evolve, the bank’s performance sets a clear standard for peers seeking to remain relevant in a digital-first era.
By aligning technology, people, and purpose, Standard Chartered continues to redefine what customer excellence means in Ghana’s banking industry.
READ ALSO: Agric Minister Courts U.S. Investors to Drive Ghana’s Agricultural Reset
