With competition from rival banks posing the biggest challenge for banks’ marketing teams, banks are finding it difficult to stand out and attract digital-native customers, according to Capgemini Research Institute.
The World Banking Report 2025 revealed 83% of banks’ marketing team cited intense competition from new-age banks and other card providers as their biggest challenge.
This was closely followed by ineffective messaging and value propositions (72%), insufficient customer insights (66%) and a complicated application process (34%).
Even though banks are turning to reward programmes to stand out in the competitive market, the report found that these efforts are falling short.
This was evidenced as 88% of industry executives ranked an expanding reward ecosystem as the most effective way of boosting customer engagement and satisfaction.
However, not all reward programmes are translating into satisfied and loyal customers as only 26% of cardholders are currently satisfied with their cards while 50% are indifferent and 24% are outright dissatisfied.
According to the report, these results suggests that customer loyalty is weak, with 74% of cardholders at risk of switching banks.
To stand out in a competitive market, the report recommended that banks focus on delivering a seamless customer experience across all touchpoints and channels as efficient service is key to differentiation.
This was supported by 86% of banking executives reporting plans to prioritise omnichannel experiences over the next 12 months to enhance client engagement.
In addition, many digital-first card holders expressed frustration over long wait times, inconsistent communication and a disconnect between digital channels and branch representatives as the source of their frustration, according to the report.