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Financial Services in the UK

  Financial Services in the UK

  • Sector average score 59 Financial Services in the UK
  • Knowledge & Expertise 62
  • Style of Communication 65
  • Speed of Resolving Problems 62
  • Valuing the Customer 63

It’s four straight quarters at the top for Nationwide and – with an Overall Effort Score of 68 – it’s not just the highest score in the UK Financial Services table, it’s the highest score across all markets the CEI monitors.

First Direct similarly has held second place for four quarters, but its Overall Effort Score has dipped slightly this wave, widening the gap with Nationwide.

Lloyds has also held third place for the second quarter running.

The CEI tells a a positive story for two of the digital banks we monitor. Starling is now at fourth place, lapping Santander. It has increased its Effort Score every quarter in 2024, rising from 11th place a the start of the year – making it one of the biggest improvers seen across all our rankings.

Revolut, which started this year in last place (16th) is now at 13th, just ahead of RBS and Metro Bank

 
Rank
Brand
Effort
i
  Effort

The Overall Effort Score is calculated using modelling on the results recorded in each of the four pillars

  Score breakdown Hide
Knowledge
&
Expertise
i
  Knowledge & Expertise

Having knowledgable customer service agents that can clearly explain details to customers impacts the score in the ‘Knowledge & Expertise’ pillar

Style
of
Communication
i
  Style of Communication

How polite customer service staff are and whether they can communicate in a customers’ chosen language contribute to ‘Style of Communication’ 

Speed
of
Resolving
Problems
i
  Speed of Resolving Problems

A quick resolution and short holding times ensure a strong ‘Speed Solving the Problem’ score

Valuing
the
Customer
i
  Valuing the Customer

Companies that make their customers feel valued and understand their needs perform well in the ‘Understanding & Valuing the Customer’ pillar

NPS
i
  NPS

NPS scores can be used to compare and contrast with Effort for an additional perspective

1
Nationwide
68
   
Knowledge & Expertise 69
Style of Communication 74
Speed of Resolving Problems 66
Valuing the Customer 69
NPS -3
2
First Direct
66
   
Knowledge & Expertise 68
Style of Communication 69
Speed of Resolving Problems 63
Valuing the Customer 68
NPS -39
3
Lloyds Bank (part of LBG)
65
   
Knowledge & Expertise 65
Style of Communication 69
Speed of Resolving Problems 63
Valuing the Customer 67
NPS -16
4
Starling Bank
64
   
Knowledge & Expertise 64
Style of Communication 68
Speed of Resolving Problems 62
Valuing the Customer 66
NPS -40
5
Santander
63
   
Knowledge & Expertise 63
Style of Communication 70
Speed of Resolving Problems 62
Valuing the Customer 64
NPS -17
6
Bank of Scotland (part of LBG)
62
   
Knowledge & Expertise 61
Style of Communication 62
Speed of Resolving Problems 61
Valuing the Customer 67
NPS -48
6
Barclays
62
   
Knowledge & Expertise 62
Style of Communication 66
Speed of Resolving Problems 59
Valuing the Customer 63
NPS -13
8
Monzo
61
   
Knowledge & Expertise 62
Style of Communication 62
Speed of Resolving Problems 61
Valuing the Customer 62
NPS -32
8
HSBC
61
   
Knowledge & Expertise 60
Style of Communication 65
Speed of Resolving Problems 58
Valuing the Customer 61
NPS -21
10
Halifax (part of LBG)
60
   
Knowledge & Expertise 60
Style of Communication 66
Speed of Resolving Problems 58
Valuing the Customer 62
NPS -19
11
Natwest
59
   
Knowledge & Expertise 58
Style of Communication 67
Speed of Resolving Problems 58
Valuing the Customer 61
NPS -28
12
Sainsbury's Bank
57
   
Knowledge & Expertise 56
Style of Communication 62
Speed of Resolving Problems 58
Valuing the Customer 58
NPS -45
13
Virgin Money
55
   
Knowledge & Expertise 57
Style of Communication 63
Speed of Resolving Problems 52
Valuing the Customer 56
NPS -35
13
Revolut
55
   
Knowledge & Expertise 53
Style of Communication 58
Speed of Resolving Problems 52
Valuing the Customer 56
NPS -33
15
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
54
   
Knowledge & Expertise 54
Style of Communication 59
Speed of Resolving Problems 51
Valuing the Customer 55
NPS -47
16
Metro Bank
49
   
Knowledge & Expertise 48
Style of Communication 57
Speed of Resolving Problems 46
Valuing the Customer 48
NPS -50
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Last updated: Oct 2024 Next update: Jan 2025
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  Nationwide

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  First Direct

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  Lloyds Bank (part of LBG)

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  Starling Bank

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  Santander

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  Bank of Scotland (part of LBG)

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  Barclays

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  Monzo

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  HSBC

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  Halifax (part of LBG)

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  Natwest

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  Sainsbury's Bank

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  Virgin Money

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  Revolut

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  Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)

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  Metro Bank

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Last updated: Oct 2024 Next update: Jan 2025
  • Traditional banks beware. While Monzo has dropped from sixth to eighth place this quarter, this is as an anomaly as far as the digital banks are concerned. Revolut and Starling are now firm contenders for Customer Effort.
We say Revolut’s increase is down to consistent gains it has scored in the Knowledge & Expertise pillar. Traditional banks should really have the advantage here so what can they do to ensure they are sharing this in a way that requires less effort from their customers?
Image 05

Customer Effort Scores for the quarter are presented in the rankings, ordered by highest Overall Effort Score first, to show which brand scored highest with its customers for that period. Individual brand ratings against the four pillars take us underneath that Overall Effort Score, with brand-specific explanatory analysis from the CEI Editorial team.

You can use the display above to toggle between score, ranking and individual pillars. Clicking 'Performance Tracker'  enables you to analyse the performance over time.

The Customer Effort Index is calculated using a self-referential scale that is recomputed every wave based on what the minimum and maximum values are. This enables us to see how each brand is performing compared to the others within the data set. See About for more on the methodology. 

ContactEngine sponsors the Customer Effort Index

ContactEngine believes that a great customer experience is an effortless one, where life is made as easy as possible for the customer. ContactEngine commissioned the Customer Effort Index to measure how real people perceive the effort it takes to be a customer of some of the leading brands in the world. By enabling a comparison of effort not only within an industry, but across industries, we can identify and learn from the brands who lead on making it easy for their customers to do business with them.

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