The Most Important Banking Features Accra Residents Look For

An Accra Street Journal Finance & Banking Guide

Executive Introduction

The question “Where do you bank?” is rapidly becoming obsolete. The question that matters now is “How do you bank?”.

Accra’s banking customers are no longer loyal to institutions—they are loyal to experiences. Banking in 2026 is evaluated against fintechs and global service leaders, not just other banks. This is because basic banking services have become standardised and widely accessible. The real differentiator is how a bank makes a customer feel: seen, valued, and understood.

This ASJ report analyses the most critical features Accra residents look for in a bank, drawing on the latest KPMG customer experience surveys, bank announcements, and industry trends. The evidence shows that customers want three things above all: seamless digital experiences, trust and security, and personalisation that actually feels personal.

Part 1: The Digital-First Imperative

The Shift Away from ATMs

Ghana’s banking landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by a decisive shift away from traditional cash channels in favour of mobile-first services. ATM usage fell sharply to 16% in 2025, down from 34% in 2024. Over the same period, mobile money usage surged to 80%, reflecting a clear preference for convenience, speed, and reliability over physical access to cash.

However, mobile banking apps face growing pressure. While they remain the second most-used channel at 44% weekly usage, this represents a decline from 50% in 2024. This is particularly concerning because mobile apps are intended to be the primary digital relationship channel for banks.

The USSD Channel’s Resilience

USSD banking continues to play a critical supporting role, with 26% of respondents using it weekly. Its resilience reflects the importance of inclusivity and reliability in Ghana’s digital ecosystem—it works on basic phones without needing data.

Key Digital Features Customers Demand

According to KPMG’s analysis, what matters most to Accra residents is ease of transferring money between accounts and mobile wallets and cash availability at ATMs. These measures ranked high in importance and showed strong satisfaction scores.

Banks are responding in kind. UMB launched a revamped SpeedApp in February 2026 with improved speed, stronger security, and a more intuitive interface. According to a bank executive, “This is not just a cosmetic upgrade. The revamped SpeedApp delivers a faster, more reliable, and secure digital banking experience—one that customers can trust every day”.

Similarly, NIB PLC launched a new Mobile App in January 2026, allowing customers to open accounts, transfer funds, pay bills, buy airtime, and access real-time services anytime, anywhere.

Features that matter:

• Ease of transfers between accounts and wallets

• Fast, intuitive interfaces with simplified navigation

• Real-time transaction alerts and balance inquiries

• Reliable uptime and system availability

• Bill payments and airtime purchases

• Account opening via mobile app

Part 2: Trust, Security, and Professionalism

The Trust Deficit

Trust emerged as the most critical driver of customer satisfaction across all sectors in the 2025 Ghana Customer Service Index, which assessed over 5,000 respondents. However, the national customer satisfaction score declined sharply from 72% to 59%, dropping Ghana’s rating from a B to a D-plus.

This decline indicates that while banks are improving on some fronts, overall consumer confidence is fragile. Customers are more cautious and deliberate with their financial decisions, rewarding banks that can consistently demonstrate security and competence.

Security Features That Matter

Accra residents view transaction security as non-negotiable. The 2025 KPMG survey found that corporate clients, in particular, place strong focus on transaction security, alongside the ease and timeliness of loan processing.

Banks are prioritising enhanced authentication protocols and strengthened transaction safeguards. UMB’s updated SpeedApp, for example, includes reinforced authentication and improved security features to protect customers.

Staff Professionalism

Customers closely associate empathy with staff professionalism—a top-five priority across all banking segments for the second consecutive year. This highlights the need for human-centred banking experiences, even in a digital-first world.

Where Banks Are Leading

Source: The High Street Business

Part 3: The Personalisation Paradox

The Weakest Pillar

Personalisation is the weakest-performing pillar of customer experience across all banking segments in Ghana, according to the 2024 KPMG survey. Customers feel that “personalised” services are often generic and mass-delivered, offering little sense of exclusivity.

This “personalisation paradox” is a major gap in the market. The next phase of banking competition will be defined by speed, effective problem resolution, and meaningful personalisation.

Embedding Finance into Daily Life

Prudential Bank’s Head of Digital Transformation, Terrance Addy, argues that the future of banking will be defined by embedded finance—banking woven into shopping, travel, and bill payments until it feels invisible. “The banking part should be so seamless it becomes almost invisible. That is the goal”.

Banks are using AI to drive hyper-personalisation. Services will anticipate needs rather than waiting to be requested. “Your bank will know you are planning a trip and automatically offer travel insurance or foreign exchange”.

Real-Time Feedback

Prudential Bank uses analytics and real-time feedback to refine its digital platforms, tracking usage patterns to identify what works and what needs fixing. “When customers use our platforms repeatedly, it means we have earned their trust”.

Part 4: The Hybrid Model

Digital Push, Physical Anchor

Despite the digital trajectory, banks are not abandoning branches. Prudential Bank, which has 39 branches nationwide, is repositioning these locations as experience centres and community hubs—places to learn digital tools, attend workshops, and engage beyond transactions.

The rationale is clear: a full move to digital-only banking risks cutting off older customers and small businesses, some of whom value face-to-face service. “Some customers feel safer walking into a branch and speaking to a familiar face. That peace of mind cannot be replicated by an app”.

The NIB Ubuntu Initiative

NIB PLC launched the Ubuntu Cultural Change Initiative alongside its mobile app in early 2026. The values-based programme aims to deepen service excellence, strengthen internal cohesion, and cultivate a truly customer-first culture, embedding empathy, humility, and mutual respect in customer interactions.

ASJ Conclusion

Accra’s banking customers have become harder to impress. They expect their banking to be fast, secure, and invisible—woven into their daily lives rather than demanding their attention. They reward banks that offer seamless digital experiences, strong security, professional service, and genuine personalisation.

The message from customers is unmistakable: banking must be fast, frictionless, and mobile. But the most successful banks will be those that balance digital efficiency with human trust—offering the convenience of apps alongside the reassurance of a familiar branch.

The future of banking in Accra is not either/or. It is both/and.

Quick Reference: What Accra Residents Look For

Last Updated on July 11, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.

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