Factors influencing customer satisfaction with Kenya commercial bank agency banking in Bungoma county
Abstract
KCB Agency banking is a recent model that hopes to enhance access to financial
services by allowing small-scale business operators to be engaged in banking services as
satellites. This was largely as a result of pressure experienced by KCB banks to reduce
operational costs and congestion experienced in its banking halls. The purpose of the
study was to assess the Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction with Kenya
Commercial Bank Agency Banking in Bungoma County. In particular, the specific
objectives were to establish the extent at which customer education of agency banking
influences customer satisfaction, determine how service quality influences customer
satisfaction, examine how agent float influences customer satisfaction and ascertain how
agency banking accessibility influences customer satisfaction. The target population
comprised of 120 KCB agents and approximately 1,320 customers. A sample size of 24
agents and 240 customers was chosen using cluster sampling. The Theory of
Disconfirmation was adopted as postulated by Szymanski and Henard. Questionnaires
and interview schedules were used as data collection instruments. Data was descriptively,
summarized and presented in tables and frequencies and percentages using SPSS.
Findings revealed that on objective of Customer level of education and awareness and
customer satisfaction; half, (50.0%) respondents indicated to some extent that customers
were aware of the existence of KCB agency banking. The overall diffusion and adoption
of KCB Agency banking was 47.6% hence agency banking is clearly an innovation that
requires time to reach critical mass. Concerning the objective of Service quality and
customer satisfaction; 40.9% of respondents agreed that agents’ transaction methods and
systems operation time influenced customer satisfaction and KCB agency banking has
not effectively embraced the use of technology where 65.6% disagreed. The probability
of reliability in system and its availability was half (50.0%). On objective of Agent float
and customer satisfaction; 71.7% of the respondents unanimously agreed that transaction
limits depend on availability of float which has a bearing on customer satisfaction. 43.4%
of the respondents disagreed on the reliability of agents float hence they were not
motivated enough to transact with the KCB agents and 58.7% of the respondents cited
that there was no uniformity of deposits and withdrawals. KCB Agents handle customers
Complaint resolution professionally by 51.0% responses. With objective of Agency
banking accessibility and customer satisfaction; 54.5% cited that the agents’ outlets were
accessible. The distance between the agents outlets and bank branch to customers had a
little bearing or insignificant on satisfaction of the customers and an equal proportion of
the respondents agreed and disagreed at 30.3% responses that they preferred doing
transactions with KCB Agents than the Bank branch and 70.7% of the respondents
strongly agreed that KCB Agency banking hours were adequate for the customers. The
study recommends that increased marketing will significantly improve the awareness and
education level on the entire process of diffusion and adoption of the agency banking.
Service quality has a significant bearing on customer satisfaction and KCB bank should
effectively embrace the use of Information and Communication Technology in agency
banking and also ensure that their banks agents have enough float and cash to serve their
customers.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5963]