Managing Customer Loyalty in the Digital Era of the Banking Industry

Abstract: The Swedish banking industry is in the midst of digital disruption and face new EU directives, which may alter the financial market. It is believed that FinTech companies will play a significant role in shaping the future financial landscape and challenge traditional banking. The primary purpose of this thesis is to develop an understanding of how banks intend to manage customer loyalty given perceived market changes. The thesis seeks to answer the research question: What challenges related to customer loyalty do banks perceive with the new EU directive in the midst of digital disruption? Interviews were carried out from Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank. In addition, secondary sources including, documents and statistical data were collected. The research design is predominantly qualitative and the approach is deductive. The thesis concludes that loyalty can be derived from customer satisfaction, which is achieved through trust, image and experience. Furthermore, the thesis identifies that loyalty will play an important role in the transformation of the future financial market as diversified products and services will be tailored towards segmented customer groups. The thesis concludes with a discussion on specific challenges banks may face when managing customer loyalty.