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A major shift is occurring in the West African financial sector as core digital banking capabilities which were once a competitive advantage have become the minimum requirement for survival.

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As digital reliability becomes a baseline, the next phase of growth will be defined by trust and intelligence and banks which fail to move from transaction providers to strategic partners risk losing relevance to a generation that expects their bank to be as smart as their smartphone.

According to the 2025 KPMG West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience (CX) Survey, banks in Nigeria and Ghana are now entering a high-stakes competition to move beyond functional delivery toward intuitive, AI-shaped experiences.

The report identified Artificial Intelligence as the primary catalyst for this new era. Even when AI is not visible to the user, exposure to advanced tech in other industries has redefined expectations for speed and insight.

There is a high adoption rate as 92 percent of Nigerians surveyed regularly use Artificial Intelligence, the second-highest level globally.

Read also: Traditional banks trail as fintechs set new customer experience benchmarks

The survey identified the institutions currently winning the battle for the customer based on feedback from over 24,000 retail customers in Nigeria and 11,000 in Ghana.

In Nigeria (Retail), Sterling Bank claimed the top spot, lauded for a platform that feels like a ‘lifestyle app’. Wema Bank followed in second, for its intuitive digital onboarding.

While in Ghana (Retail), Standard Chartered Bank led the rankings, followed closely by Zenith Bank and Prudential Bank.

The report also noted that there is willingness to trust as approximately 79 percent of Nigerians express a willingness to trust Artificial Intelligence in their financial dealings.

Six out of ten respondents have already integrated AI into their personal lives, signaling that the market is primed for ‘hyper-personalised’ banking that anticipates needs rather than just reacting to them.

There is digital dominance and the cashless pivot as mobile banking has fully matured from a transaction channel into the primary relationship interface.

Weekly mobile banking usage jumped from 58 percent in 2024 to 69 percent in 2025, driven largely by Gen Z (73 percent) and Millennials (69 percent).

There has also been investment in Infrastructure as major Nigerian banks spent over N150 billion in the first half of 2025 alone to upgrade core systems and strengthen cybersecurity.

The report noted that traditional channels are fading as ATM weekly usage plummeted from 44 percent to 32 percent in a year. Agency banking also saw a decline as customers gained comfort with direct digital payments.

The report reveals a new breed of customers which are referred to as ‘expectation-literate’ customers who benchmark their bank not against other banks, but against fintechs and global service leaders.

In Nigeria, Integrity remains the highest-rated pillar, showing that while tech is vital, trust is the foundational expectation.

While traditional banks have narrowed the gap, fintechs such as OPay continue to set the benchmark for mobile uptime and real-time transparency.