Most Singapore banks fall short of brand promises, says Forrester

Forrester’s new Total Experience Score has shown that many financial services firms in Singapore are failing to align their brand promises with the actual experiences they deliver to customers.

The findings come from the first publication of Forrester’s Total Experience Score rankings for Singapore’s banking, investment, and health insurance sectors in 2025. The score is based on the company’s Brand Experience Index (BX Index) and Customer Experience Index (CX Index), making it the only measure that reflects brand impact across the entire customer lifecycle, according to Forrester.

Citibank, HSBC, and Raffles Health Insurance are identified as the top performers in the banking, investment, and health insurance segments, respectively. However, Forrester’s analysis shows that these successes are the exception, with most companies struggling to deliver consistent, trust-building experiences in line with their own brand promises.

Total Experience Score explained

The Total Experience Score reflects both prospective and existing customer perspectives, offering a composite view from cumulative interactions with each brand. Forrester says the score is designed to empower decision makers in customer experience, marketing, and digital business, helping them to understand the emotional drivers and trust factors behind customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Tom Mouhsian, Principal Analyst at Forrester, said: “Singapore’s financial services firms must rethink how they deliver value across the entire customer lifecycle, before and after the relationship starts. The Total Experience Score reveals that winning new customers and retaining existing ones requires more than just good branding; it demands consistent, emotionally resonant experiences. Total experience reflects the cumulative impact of every interaction across the customer lifecycle and is the most holistic measure of whether a brand is truly able to follow through on its promises, earn trust, and thus ensure sustainable growth and competitiveness.”

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Banks’ performance

Six Singapore banks were assessed: Citibank, DBS, HSBC, OCBC, Standard Chartered, and United Overseas Bank (UOB). According to Forrester, this sector displayed the weakest alignment between brand promise and actual customer experience. The data indicates that prospective customer perceptions of the sector are generally low, while existing customers rate their experiences as flat. Of all banks evaluated, only Citibank and DBS received high scores for both customer and noncustomer segments.

Forrester’s report points out that, in order to improve, banks must focus on factors such as creating welcoming branch environments and offering competitive interest rates. Simplifying account opening procedures and ensuring clear communication are also highlighted as means to enhance the overall customer experience.

Investment firms

Forrester assessed five investment firms – Citibank, DBS, HSBC, OCBC, and UOB – and found HSBC received the highest Total Experience Score in this sector. This was largely driven by high brand and customer experience ratings from wealthy clients. Prospective customers were generally positive about the brand promises in the investment sector, and actual customer experiences were solid.

The analysis noted a trend in which international brands generally outperformed their local counterparts in customer favourability. To improve further, the report recommends that investment firms should provide a diverse product range, maintain transparent fees, and deliver strong customer service to support both their brand and customer experience performance.

Health insurance results

The health insurance sector was evaluated across eight companies: AIA, FWD, Great Eastern, HSBC Life, Income Insurance, Prudential, Raffles Health Insurance (RHI), and Singlife. RHI secured the highest marks across all metrics due to its integrated healthcare ecosystem and high levels of trust among customers. However, Forrester notes an imbalance between the perceptions of noncustomers and those of existing customers, with the latter group being more critical.

Forrester suggests that health insurers should focus on offering affordable plans, ensuring policy clarity, and providing hassle-free service to enhance brand experience. Prioritising better personal data security and improving website functionality are recommended for boosting customer experience scores.

Forrester’s findings suggest that few financial services firms in Singapore have managed to unite their customer experiences with strong brand promises, with most struggling to develop the trust and loyalty required for ongoing competitiveness in the sector.