Discovery Bank tops ASK AFRICA Banking Brand Index© again, leading in trust and satisfaction

Research company, ASK AFRICA, today, announced the results of their second ASK AFRICA Banking Brand Index©, which includes views from clients across 10 major South African banks.

This analysis placed Discovery Bank in the top position among industry peers for the second year in a row, with Discovery Bank standing out as the banking brand with the highest brand connection and emotional brand satisfaction.

This research consisted of interviews with over 4,000 customers across the banking industry between March and August 2025. It reveals how clients perceive and engage with banks, and how successful banks are in building trust by fulfilling their promises. The Index provides insight into client satisfaction through brand performance and explores emotional satisfaction through values alignment and loyalty to evaluate the strength of customer-brand relationships. This year, Discovery Bank, once again, was the clear winner on both metrics - winning the hearts and minds of clients - and ranked higher than the industry average across every dimension of the Index.

Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery Bank, says, “It is an incredibly competitive industry and across the board, banks are elevating products, services, and experiences to build stronger customer relationships – and it shows through research like this. We are thrilled to know that the majority of clients experience ‘Delight’ in satisfaction with Discovery Bank, and rated both satisfaction and emotional connection with our brand at 9 and 10 out of 10.

Placing in first position for the second time is truly humbling, and it is gratifying to know that focus on every customer interaction, and every product and service innovation culminate in our clients being delighted with our performance and feeling a strong emotional connection with us. Their feedback on their experiences match what we set out to offer as a bank: innovation that takes banking into the future, smart and easy sign-up and use of products, providing complete trust in how we take care of their money and help them manage money for financial wellbeing.”

The latest ASK AFRICA Banking Brand Index© showed the overarching differentiation for Discovery Bank is its focus on innovation and its brand expertise, which drives trust. Its focus on innovation is evident in the bank’s continual cycle of product and service innovation. Discovery Bank has built a full-service banking suite that offers the convenience of entirely digital customer journeys, recently announcing the launch of its in-app calling feature, a significant step in its vision to deliver an even safer, faster, and more intelligent banking experience. Integrated directly into the Discovery Bank app, in-app calling allows clients to connect with a banker instantly, bypassing traditional identification, IVR menus and the risks associated with searching for contact numbers online.

“The banking sector is a central part of our economy and it’s important for people to trust and connect with us as we partner with them to manage their finances. This work by ASK AFRICA equips us with a deeper understanding of what clients need and how they feel. It’s through this understanding that we can, as an industry, identify and implement client experiences and products that they need to build even stronger client relationships. We are immensely proud of these results. It affirms the consistency between what our clients experience and what we promise and set out to deliver as a banking brand bringing people the future of banking, now.”