Nearly 60 percent of Chinese high income consumers are frustrated with the lengthy queues they face when they visit their local bank, according to the latest Nielsen China Personal Finance Monitor.  When deciding which bank to use, Chinese want "easy-to-access banking services," while strong customer service ranked second.

"Banks appear to be neglecting the most important fundamental - that of customer experience," said Alvin Huen, Director, Client Solutions at The Nielsen Company China.  "Despite many organizations trying to manage the problem of long queues, it's still the number one problem affecting customer retention."

Four out of ten high income consumers regard the bank at which they have their credit card account as their most used bank, while access to online banking follows a close second.

"More than 80 percent of high income bank customers are using Internet banking.  To attract and retain these customers, banks should focus on satisfying their needs by taking a customer centric view and offering a variety of convenient services to cater to today's busy lifestyle," said Mr. Huen.

The Nielsen China Personal Finance Monitor is the first survey of its kind, and was launched in 2002 to provide insight into the changing needs of a rapidly evolving market.  With access to 1,200 respondents across six key cities, the 2008 report is the first to include a high income consumer report.

Read the full press release here.