The award is a recognition of Africanbank's Excelerate25 strategy.

Africanbank's CMO Sbusiso Kumalo says, "Our strategic transformation through Excelerate25 is focussed on building a customer-centric, data-driven, scalable and digital-first business — we are building bridges, not just for today but for a future where every South African has the opportunity to thrive."

The Ask Afrika Orange Index is the most comprehensive CX research study in the country, with 45 000 South African participants. This year's study evaluated the experiences and expectations of South African consumers across 200 brands in 26 industries.

With a rigorous design involving 154 variables, 31 core measures and testing customer experience interactions across 21 contact channels, the study provides a robust and independent evaluation of brand performance, says Africanbank.

Dr Sarina de Beer, director of global products at Ask Afrika, has highlighted the significance of the banking sector in this year's rankings, with six banking brands featuring in the top 10.

"Our banking industry is generally speaking delivering excellent CX, with banking brands being six of the top 10 brands in the index. Banking brands also showed a nine index point increase in being rated the most authentic brands, compared to the average of five index points across all the industries who showed an increased rating," adds de Beer.

Africanbank's customer-centric approach places a strong emphasis on human connection, empathy and the value of time, which resonated strongly with the theme of authenticity that was central to this year's index, according to de Beer.

"Humans need humans to feel human," de Beer says, highlighting the importance of ensuring that even digital and AI-driven interactions are perceived as authentic and human-centred.

Kumalo concludes, "Our founders' audacious spirit in creating a bank 'for the people, by the people, serving the people' laid the foundation for a mission that transcends banking — it's about empowering individuals, businesses and communities to achieve their dreams."

Africanbank concludes that it is proud to be recognised among the top performers and remains committed to continually enhancing its customer experience.

For more information, visit www.africanbank.co.za. You can also follow Africanbank on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of Facebook