ACCESS BANK EMERGES OVERALL WINNER OF WEB-JURIST ‘BANK WEBSITE EFFECTIVENESS AWARD’
Access Bank website has been adjudged overall winner of the 2013 edition of the Web-Jurist ‘Website Effectiveness Award’ conducted by Philips Consulting. Justifying the Bank’s emergence as the Overall winner in the Banks category, a Web- Jurist report stated that the Bank has been consistent in the quality of service delivery via its website”.

The Bank’s performance is an improvement over last year’s when it was rated 3rd behind GT and Zenith Banks respectively. Similarly, this feat is a validation of Access Bank’s industry leadership in e-payment and compliance with best practice which requires provision of accurate, relevant and timely information on organisational websites at all times.

Analysing the Web-Jurist research report, Access Bank website was adjudged best in the technical aspects which included Navigation, Functionality and Security. Also the website was declared winner in the Website Content that had metrics such as Accuracy and Presentation. The awards came on the heels of the unveiling of the Bank’s re-vamped website which significantly enhanced its aesthetics and improved its functionality for improved customer experience.

Industry observers have described the Bank’s emergence as the overall winner of the Web- Jurist Award as a reward for its investment in online security management, citing its pioneering role as the first Nigerian Bank in West Africa to obtain the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Certification (PCIDSS) and its certification by the British Standard Institute with the ISO 27001 award - a global standard for information security management and Process efficiency.
Similarly, an international Web Analyst who had described Access Bank’s certification by the British Standard Institute as a tacit endorsement of the safety of transaction on its platforms and information assets which guarantees the highest level of security for customers’ details and information, said the Bank’s emergence as a overall winner in the Banks category affirms the credibility of the selection process.

The Web-Jurist award is the result of extensive survey conducted into website practices and effectiveness. It aims to identify the strength and weaknesses of websites, as a business platform in the digital world, and also determine the extent to which a website, being a tool in company’s e-business initiative, is successful in achieving the essence of its e-business strategy. The awards, which commenced in 2001, evaluate the effectiveness and performance of Nigerian websites based on set criteria agreed by e-business experts from Philips Consulting.

Winners are selected in categories that include: Aesthetics; technical aspects; site content, e-financial services, customer experience and performance. The award also recognizes other organizations across Banks, Discount Houses, Telecommunication and Insurance.

Note to organizers (and I say this as these have not been explicitly mentioned here):

From 2014 moving forward, include accessibility and SEO as part of the criteria.