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Canstar recognises excellence in mobile and online banking services with its 2022 Digital Banking Awards
02 June 2022
This year, Canstar is pleased to announce the winners of its first-ever Digital Banking Awards. Find out who won, and what made them stand out from the pack.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things about our daily lives, and the way we access our money is one of them. In Australia and around the world, the past few years have seen many consumers shift towards online banking, in a trend that seems set to continue.
As more of us do our daily banking online – whether we’re paying bills, transferring funds or just checking balances – it stands to reason that we want the most from our online banking services. So, how do we know if we’re onto a winner?
At a glance:
- Numbers crunched:
- 74 institutions assessed
- 2 award-winning banks
- Winners list:
- Bank of the Year – Digital Banking: Commonwealth Bank
- Customer-Owned Bank of the Year – Digital Banking: Beyond Bank
What are Canstar’s Digital Banking Awards?
Canstar’s Digital Banking Awards recognise providers that offer quality online and mobile banking services to Aussie customers, offering an array of helpful features and a smooth user experience.
The Awards are an evolution of two earlier offerings: Canstar’s Online and Mobile Banking Awards. The Awards have been renamed and consolidated this year to recognise advances in the industry and an increased uptake of digital banking by Aussies.
This year’s Awards recognise both the bank and customer-owned bank (a category that considers mutual banks, credit unions and building societies) found to offer the best digital banking experience for customers in 2022.
How are the Digital Banking Awards decided?
Canstar’s Digital Banking Awards use a unique and sophisticated award methodology that compares institutions on their online banking platforms and scores them in the two key areas of functionality and customer satisfaction.
The functionality score comprises a number of key features for both desktop and mobile banking, with the mobile banking portion considering both mobile-optimised websites and apps. The functionality score considers five key areas:
- Research and application: The availability of tools such as calculators to assist customers with financial decisions, as well as online application functions for products such as credit cards, home loans and personal loans.
- Payments and transactions: The availability of features such as different bill-paying functions and contactless payment options, as well as considerations such as transfer limits and settlement times for sending money online.
- Banking assistant: The availability of account information including balances, transaction history, bank statements and search functions, as well as budgeting tools and transaction behaviour trackers.
- Support: The availability of customer service channels such as call centres and online chat.
- Security: The security processes available through online banking, including secondary authentication, automatic log-off, automatic lock-out, strange transaction protocols and the extent of customer liability for not-at-fault transactions.
The customer satisfaction component applies only to the Bank of the Year Award. It is weighted based on customer satisfaction in various areas, with ease of login and transfers and payments both important variables.
For a more detailed breakdown of what each of these categories comprises, you can read the methodology for the award.
Who won Canstar’s Digital Banking Award for 2022?
Two Aussie banks stood out this year in offering the best digital experience to customers. One of them was a big four bank, and the other a customer-owned institution.
Bank of the Year – Digital Banking Award: Commonwealth Bank
Commonwealth Bank is Australia’s largest institution for deposits and home loan lending, and has been a consistent winner in Canstar’s awards. It previously picked up our Online Banking Award every year since 2010, and the Mobile Banking Award every year since the first one in 2016. Its success this year means it has now won the inaugural Bank of the Year – Digital Banking Award as well.
In this year’s Awards, Commonwealth Bank stood out from the competition in several key areas, scoring particularly highly in the payments and transactions and banking assistant categories, as well as for the security and support it offers its customers.
Customer-Owned Bank of the Year – Digital Banking Award: Beyond Bank
Beyond Bank is also a familiar fixture in Canstar’s Awards – in the customer-owned category, it picked up the Online Banking Award for the past seven years in a row, and the Mobile Banking Award for the last six. This year represents its first win in Canstar’s newly combined Digital Banking Award.
In 2022, Beyond Bank stood out particularly strongly in the banking assistant category, offering customers easy access to important information related to their accounts, and also scored particularly strongly in the payments and transactions metric for Canstar’s methodology.
Main image source: 220 Selfmade studio/Shutterstock.com.
About Canstar’s Research team
Canstar’s Research team provides the expertise that powers our Star Ratings and Awards, designed to help consumers make better-informed financial decisions. As Australia’s biggest financial comparison site, Canstar researches and rates products from more than 775 brands, across more than 30 finance categories. Our expert researchers analyse products we rate by comparing price and features, with the top products being recognised with a 5-Star Rating. Our Star Ratings are made available for consumers to view for free via Canstar’s comparison tables. Providers whose products perform strongly in our Star Ratings may be recognised with an Outstanding Value Award.
→ Discover Canstar’s latest Star Ratings and Award winners
This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Tom Letts and Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
