ADIB Response To COVID-19 Praised by Customers - RFI Research

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading financial institution, was found to be the market leader for customer experience in a study conducted by RFi Research. Actions taken by ADIB throughout the COVID-19 pandemic resonated very well among its customers, with the study finding that:

• 73% of ADIB customers said they were extremely satisfied with the bank’s measures to ease the impact of the pandemic.
• ADIB exceeded the market average in all aspects of its COVID-19 response, including information and guidance, proactivity and transparency of communication, speed of response and digital services.

The RFi Research also found ADIB to have the UAE banking industry’s highest Net Promoter Score, a metric measuring the likelihood that customers would recommend a bank, for its overall customer relationships, branches, accounts and cards.

Maher Al Ruz, Group Chief Customer Officer, said: “We appreciate 2020 has been extremely challenging for many of our customers given the COVID-19 pandemic. Our focus during this time has been to provide continuous support, guidance and aid to help our customers manage their finances. We supported our customers through proactive management – issuing new products, launching dedicated services, and rolling out new digital services. These initiatives and efforts have genuinely resonated well with our customers. It is satisfying to see it reflected in the findings of RFi Research’s study which will only spur us on to further enhance our banking experience, whether in branches or through our digital channels.”

Simon Haddad, an analyst at RFi Research, added: “Actions taken by ADIB during the COVID-19 pandemic have resonated well among its customers and that in turn has further enhanced the bank's perception. Customer satisfaction with measures taken by ADIB to ease the impact of the pandemic was the highest in the market, while the bank continues to lead the UAE banking industry, in terms of its Net Promoter Score, across most of the areas we studied.”

The RFi Research H2 2020 fieldwork, part of a bi-annual series, was conducted for the between 28 October 2020 and 6 January 2021. In total more than 1000 consumers were interviewed, comprising a mix of priority and retail banking customers.

In 2020, ADIB supported the country’s economic recovery by helping customers through the deferral of finance repayments and fee waivers to help alleviate the financial pressures faced by individuals and businesses. The bank also launched several innovative solutions that enable customers to conduct their banking transactions in a flexible, convenient and secure way.

ADIB’s efforts to remain at the forefront of digital banking have been widely recognised. ADIB was named “Middle East’s Best Islamic Digital Bank” by Global Finance. It has also been named World’s Best Islamic Bank by FT’s The Banker Magazine.