South Africa’s banking sector recorded its strongest sentiment performance in a decade in 2025, as improved digital engagement and campaign maturity helped lift overall sentiment to 27 percent, despite persistent operational challenges.
According to the latest South African Banking Sentiment Index published by UK-based data intelligence firm DataEQ, the improved performance reflects stronger brand engagement across the sector, even as issues around service reliability and fairness remain.
The 10th edition of the index analysed 4.8 million online consumer mentions between September 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025. Industry net sentiment rose by seven percentage points from 20 percent in the previous edition, marking its highest level since the index began.
“This year’s Index reflects an impressive sentiment performance across the sector, with all banks benefiting from stronger engagement and strategic campaigns,” said Aimee Malan, managing director of DataEQ Consulting. “However, sentiment is not uniform across experience areas, with reliability, fairness, and service continuing to challenge customers.”
DataEQ’s analysis shows that from 2016 to 2021, industry sentiment was largely shaped by negative customer experiences, including service delays, branch congestion, debit order disputes, and digital reliability concerns.
Industry net sentiment hit its lowest point in 2016 and 2019 at minus 13 percent. Service disruptions during the Covid-19 period further weighed on sentiment in 2020 and 2021. However, sentiment stabilised from late 2021 as banks accelerated digital-first strategies.
A structural shift occurred in 2022, driven by increased promotional and engagement-led activity. Industry net sentiment improved from minus eight percent in 2022 to nine percent, rose further to 24 percent in 2023, and reached a decade high of 27 percent in 2025.
Discovery Bank retained its position as the most positively referenced bank, posting an industry-leading 61 percent net sentiment. The performance was driven by strong advocacy around rewards programmes, personalised benefits, and overall customer experience, supported by campaign hashtags such as #DiscoveryBestBank and #TreatMeTuesday.
First National Bank (FNB) followed with 46 percent net sentiment, underpinned by positive discussions around its eWallet service, FNB Connect, and branch service quality. Its #LoveFNB campaign further boosted sentiment, with customers highlighting app usability, payment convenience, and eBucks rewards.
Absa ranked third with 43 percent net sentiment, reflecting positive feedback on rewards, cashback offerings, app functionality, and brand initiatives such as the She’s Next Programme.
Campaign-driven engagement played a decisive role in shaping overall sentiment. When campaign-related conversation was included, industry net sentiment stood at 27 percent, but fell sharply to five percent when excluded.
The impact was most pronounced in operational sentiment, which dropped from 29 percent to minus 15 percent without campaign engagement. Reputational sentiment also declined significantly, falling from 28 percent with campaigns to 15 percent without.
Despite the improved headline numbers, trust-related metrics revealed persistent weaknesses across key customer experience pillars, including security, access, fairness and transparency, service quality and reliability.
Net sentiment was most negatively affected by reliability and fairness concerns, with scores of minus 86 percent and minus 88 percent, respectively. Other pressure points included security (minus 85 percent), access (minus 78 percent), and service and customer care (minus 36 percent).
Common contributors to negative sentiment included system downtime, billing and payment issues, slow turnaround times, and concerns around staff conduct and competency.
For the first time, the index assessed customer vulnerability, a growing focus across global financial services. The analysis found that vulnerability-related experiences featured prominently where personal circumstances intersected with banking processes.
Net sentiment across vulnerability dimensions remained deeply negative, with economic vulnerability at minus 79 percent, life-circumstance vulnerability at minus 69 percent, and social-demographic vulnerability at minus 52 percent.
Customers experiencing debt stress, income shocks, illness, bereavement, emergencies, mobility challenges, or digital access barriers reported heightened frustration when banking processes failed to adapt to their needs.
“Online consumer feedback captures the complex realities customers face when engaging with their banks,” said Edzani Phiri, lead banking analyst at DataEQ. “Interpreting these unstructured signals will be critical as the sector responds to evolving expectations around service quality, trust, and customer vulnerability.”