News

Banks reach parity with CUs in customer satisfaction

November 15, 2018

Customer satisfaction with the finance and insurance sector is the highest it's been in 24 years, having achieved a 1.4 percent bump in customer satisfaction to a score of 78.3 out of 100 in the ACSI Finance and Insurance Report 2018.

This year's report also marks another milestone: Banks are even with credit unions in customer satisfaction for the first time in a decade.

"The 2008 financial crisis was a boon for credit union membership," ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg said in a press release. "Many customers, fed up with big banks, took their business to credit unions where they received better, more individually tailored service. But with the economy much improved, there's less incentive to join credit unions — particularly if they no longer provide higher levels of satisfaction than banks do."

That said, not all banks have been equally successful at copying credit union style service. National banks as a whole own the bottom ACSI score of 77 in the banking category. 

Among national banks, Chase rates the highest score of 80, largely for its mobile banking app and its easy-to-access brick-and-mortar locations and ATMs. Wells Fargo sits in last place with an ACSI score of 74.

Among super regional banks Capital One and SunTrust Bank rated scores of 81. TD Bank remains at 80, while Regions Bank drops 2 percent into a three-way tie with U.S. Bank and BB&T (each down 1 percent) at 79. With a score of 75, Fifth Third Bank occupies the lowest spot in the category.

Despite a year-over-year ACSI decrease of 1.2 percent, regional and community banks lead the banking category with a score of 84.

Credit unions offer better in-person customer service than banks, but not by much — the former scored 89; the latter scored 88. Credit unions also lead banks in speed of service at branches (88 versus 85) and call center satisfaction (84 versus 81). However, banking mobile apps are superior in quality (86 to 85) and more reliable (85 to 83).

"Digital is everything right now, and it's helped banks close the gap," said VanAmburg. "With the boom in mobile banking apps, customers don't even have to go into branches. Depositing checks or applying for a loan through an app is more appealing than the charm of the old school, small town customer service offered by credit unions."

Credit unions can improve customer satisfaction by providing more financial services, making it easier to open and change accounts, and offering more competitive interest rates.