Polaris Bank is most improved retail bank in Nigeria, KPMG survey says

A new survey by KPMG Nigeria has listed Polaris Bank as the most improved bank under the retail segment.

The study titled ‘2022 KPMG Nigeria Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey’ said Polaris Bank moved up five places to sixth position in the retail segment and it was also rated as third under the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment.

KPMG Nigeria said many customers praised the bank for its personalised service, proactive approach to problem-solving, and faster turnaround times.

The firm said its survey showed that the bank also significantly improved its mobile banking propositions.

“Customers say that onboarding and the payments experience have also improved,” KPMG Nigeria said.

“Businesses also rated Polaris Bank highly for the quality of its payment solutions and, importantly, the timeliness of resolving POS-related complaints.”

KPMG Nigeria said Polaris Bank (in third place) was the other new entrant in the top five, amongst Sterling Bank, Wema Bank, and Zenith Bank.

The firm said GTBank emerged as the leading bank in the SME segment.

KPMG Nigeria said point of sale (POS) related issues such as timeliness of settlements and resolution of disputes were some of the most critical measures for SMEs this year.

The firm said VULTe, Polaris Bank’s digital platform, has been a game changer, making life seamless for personalised and business offerings.

Between October 2022 and February 2023, KPMG Nigeria said over N1.5 billion loans were disbursed through VULTe to individuals and SMEs to aid personal and business growth in the country.

The firm also said VULTe’s performance surpassed its competitors and earned recognition from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement Systems (NIBBS).

Speaking on his experience with Polaris Bank, Chibuzor Nwachukwu, a civil servant living in Abuja, said the bank has made significant improvements in VULTe, its digital banking platform.

He said VULTe enabled customers to access their accounts, make transactions, and manage their finances more conveniently and seamlessly.

“This has been particularly great. I found it most useful especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as many customers I know have had to rely on the digital bank to conduct their daily transactions,” Nwachukwu said.