Retail Bank Customer Satisfaction Holds Steady but Trust Declines, J.D. Power Finds
March 28 2024 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
13% Likely to Switch Institutions in Next
12 Months
U.S. retail bank customers are losing faith in their bank, and
customer attrition is a concern. According to the J.D. Power 2024
U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction StudySM, released today, consumer
trust in retail banks has declined significantly during the past
two years, with unexpected fees, poor customer service and bad
press being key threats to a customer’s trust. This year, 13% of
bank customers say they are likely to switch institutions in the
next 12 months.
“Retail bank customers interact with their bank every three
days, on average, across a combination of digital, phone and
in-branch channels, and the tenor of those interactions has a
massive influence on customer satisfaction and overall levels of
trust,” said Jennifer White, senior director of banking and
payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “Despite widespread
efforts to improve the customer experience, many banks are missing
the mark on critical customer touch points by treating customers
like numbers. To retain deposits and build customer loyalty and
trust, banks need to do a better job of focusing on fundamental
interactions, proactively solving problems and delivering
personalized advice.”
Following are some key findings of the 2024 study:
- Bank customer satisfaction flat while trust declines:
Overall customer satisfaction held steady during the past year,
declining a single point (on a 1,000-point scale), but trust is
down significantly for a second consecutive year. The top
contributors to customers losing trust in their financial
institution are unexpected fees; delayed availability of deposited
funds; news reports about bad banking practices; errors blamed on
customer actions; and closed branches and reduced hours.
- Customer loyalty at risk: This year, 8% of retail bank
customers say they have changed their primary bank, up from 5% in
2018. What’s more, 13% of retail bank customers say they “probably
will” or “definitely will” switch banks in the next 12 months.
Fewer than half (46%) of bank customers say they are certain they
will remain with their current bank in the next year.
- Account fees and poor customer experiences are drag on
loyalty: Among those customers who are likely to switch banks
in the next 12 months, 29% say it is because they were charged
either too many or high fees for products and services and 26% say
they had a poor service experience.
- Back to basics of customer engagement: Overall branch
customer satisfaction scores are 123 points higher than average
(830 vs. 707, respectively) when banks deliver on absolute basics
of customer service, such as welcoming customers to the branch;
delivering fast service; thanking customers for their business; and
calling customers by name. Every contact and every interaction
influences customers’ experiences and their satisfaction.
The study measures customer satisfaction with retail banks in 15
geographic regions. Highest-ranking banks and scores by region are
as follows:
California: U.S. Bank (657) (for a fourth consecutive
year) Florida: Fifth Third Bank (689) Illinois: Wintrust
Community Banks (696) (for a third consecutive year) Lower
Midwest Region: BancFirst (718) (for a second consecutive
year) Mid-Atlantic Region: Capital One (692) New England
Region: Bangor Savings Bank (726) (for a seventh consecutive
year) North Central Region: City National Bank (707)
Northwest Region: Glacier Bank (703) New York Tri-State
Region: Capital One (673) Pennsylvania: Huntington
(693) (for a second consecutive year) South Central Region:
Chase (703) Southeast Region: United Community Bank
(724) Southwest Region: 1st Bank (687) (for a fourth
consecutive year) Texas: Frost (753) (for a 15th consecutive
year) Upper Midwest Region: Associated Bank (669)
See the rank chart for each segment at
http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2024028.
The U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, now in its 19th
year, measures satisfaction across seven dimensions (in order of
importance): trust; people; account offerings; allowing customers
to bank how and when they want; saving time and money; digital
channels; and resolving problems or complaints.
The 2024 study is based on responses from 105,355 retail
customers of the largest banks in the United States regarding their
experiences with their retail banking institution. It was fielded
from January 2023 through January 2024. National banks are defined
as banks with more than $300 billion in domestic deposits; regional
banks are those with $65 billion-$299 billion in domestic deposits;
and midsize banks are those with 45-100 branches nationally and at
least 20 branches within a respective region.
For more information about the U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction
Study, visit
https://www.jdpower.com/business/retail-banking-study-1.
About J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory
services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data,
artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities
to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering
incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands
and products for more than 55 years. The world's leading businesses
across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their
customer-facing strategies.
J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe, and Asia
Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings,
visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto-shopping tool can
be found at JDPower.com.
About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules:
www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info.
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Media Relations Contacts Geno Effler, J.D. Power; West
Coast; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com John Roderick; East
Coast; 631-584-2200; john@jroderick.com