UAE banks failing consumers

UAE banks failing consumers

A new survey has revealed that as many as one in five UAE consumers is considering ditching their banks. This guest article from cashy.me, who conducted the research, explains all.

October 4, 2010 4:33 by kippreport

cashy provides an invaluable resource to consumers in the UAE since it went live in July in both English and Arabic. The website, which is powered by Zeedna – a social media publishing platform developed by Baraka Ventures to support the rapid expansion of online communities – allows consumers to compare credit cards, current accounts and savings products from financial services providers in the Arab world.

Dubai Islamic Bank and HSBC Middle East are the two most used banks in the UAE, with 21 percent of respondents saying they used these banks for some form of financial product or service.

The study also highlighted what people are looking for in a bank. Although 58 percent said they chose their main bank because it was a company requirement that their salary was transferred into an account with that bank, people would prefer to select their bank based on other criteria.

Nima continued: “For consumers in the UAE it’s all about trust and transparency; 70 percent said it is ‘very important’ to use a bank they could trust, while 65 percent want a bank that is transparent in its dealings; the worrying thing is that consumers find these traits so hard to find.”

Credit card providers fared little better than current account providers. More than one-third (38 percent) of people have cancelled a credit card in the past 12 months. Again, customer service abuses and fees are the reason; high interest rates (40 percent) and superfluous charges (37 percent) being cited as the deciding factor in card cancellation.

“Free for life” option (62 percent), annual fee waiver (41 percent) and cashback facility (37 percent) are the top three features that are most likely to make people switch from one credit card to another.

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