In an uncertain economic environment in which overall consumer financial health, total deposits, annual household income and total investments are declining, retail bank customer satisfaction is on the rise. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, released today, this counterintuitive improvement in bank customer satisfaction is the direct result of concerted bank efforts to build more personalized, engaged relationships that empower their customers to better manage their finances.
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“Retail banks have really upped their games when it comes to giving customers the resources they need to navigate a challenging economic environment,” said Jennifer White, senior director of banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “Those efforts include not only delivering on the basics of transactional efficiency and customer engagement but also undertaking more meaningful efforts to empower customers to understand and avoid unnecessary fees, resolve problems quickly and utilize additional personal financial management tools and supportive services.”
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Following are some key findings of the 2025 study:
- Retail bank customer satisfaction rises sharply: Overall customer satisfaction with primary retail banking partners is 655 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is 11 points higher than the 2024 study. In addition, year-over-year Net Promoter Scores have increased 3 points (on a scale of -100 to 100); the likelihood of staying loyal (definitely will not switch banks) is up 2 percentage points; the likelihood to reuse the same bank (definitely will) is up 3 percentage points; and customer sentiment that their primary bank “completely supports me in challenging times” is up 4 percentage points. All of these gains are statistically significant.
- Banks make progress on fees: Unexpected fees have been the number one obstacle to retail bank customer satisfaction for several years. This year, banks have stepped up their efforts to educate customers on fee structure and ways to avoid fees, which has played a key role in boosting customer satisfaction scores. The percentage of customers who say they completely understand their bank’s fee structure has risen 5 percentage points from a year ago and the percentage of customers who say their bank completely communicated how to avoid being charged fees is up 4 percentage points.
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- Problem resolution in the spotlight: Among customers who told their bank of a problem in the past 12 months—such as an instance of fraud, an incorrect statement or inaccurate charge—66% of those who had their problems resolved said that this occurred within one day—up from 62% in 2024—and 59% had it resolved with one contact—up from 56%. In total, 85% of customers who experienced a problem had that problem resolved, driving a 246-point improvement in overall satisfaction scores.
- Awareness of supportive services rising: Customer awareness of financial health tools and supportive services such as credit score monitoring, spending and budgeting tools and easy access to direct deposit has increased from a year ago. Customers who are aware of these tools have overall satisfaction scores that are 96 points higher, on average, than those who are not.
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Source – Businesswire
