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Digital-only banks best traditional FIs in customer satisfaction, study finds

April 19, 2019

New research from FIS Inc., a provider of financial services technology, shows that digital-only banks have overtaken traditional financial institutions in consumer satisfaction in the U.S.

The 2019 FIS Performance Against Customer Expectations study, in a survey of 1,749 U.S. consumers, found that direct-to-consumer banks — typically digital-only banks — had the highest consumer satisfaction of any category, overtaking credit unions, the leader from the 2018 study. Digital banks also had the lowest rate of respondents leaving their bank.

Other key U.S. findings from this year's FIS PACE report:

• Nearly three-quarters (73%) of consumer banking interactions are digital in nature.
• Mobile is the most-used channel for banking, at 42% of surveyed consumers — higher than online channels (31%), ATMs (12%), branches (10%), and telephone (6%).
• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of younger millennials (age 18–26) said they had not used a branch in the prior month.
• Three-quarters of younger millennials said that someone referred them to their primary banking institution.
• Since the 2018 study, millennials' satisfaction with community banks has dropped by nearly one-half, indicating that these FIs are not meeting the digital needs of younger generations.

"The battleground for winning and keeping today's banking consumers is in the front lines of customer experience," Bruce Lowthers, co-chief operating officer at FIS, said in the release. "While security and trustworthiness continue to be critical attributes, more consumers are choosing their banking providers on the basis of a convenient, frictionless digital experience. For banks and credit unions of all sizes, these survey results reinforce the importance of modernizing every touch point of their customer journeys."

The PACE study surveyed 1,749 consumers in the United States.

Downloadadditional details and additional country-specific findings from the study.