Bank customers’ experience with phone, branch, online and automated customer engagement channels dropped during the second half of 2025, according to a recent JD Power study.
Customer satisfaction with retail banks in 15 geographic regions was ranked. The retail banks with the highest levels of overall satisfaction treated routine customer experiences such as alerts, funds transfers, fees and face-to-face interactions as opportunities to reinforce clarity and confidence.
For national banks, satisfaction with the problem resolution experience spiked 49 points from 2024 to 587 while it dropped 27 points to 548 for midsize banks.
The average retail bank checking account customer maintains three deposit accounts at different institutions. Within the past 3 months, 20 percent of customers have moved their money from their primary bank, a 17 percent increase. Those who are financially healthy, the affluent/mass affluent wealth bracket and those under age 40 years old were more likely to make the change.
The 2026 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study is based on retail customers’ responses of the largest U.S. banks from January 2025 through January 2026. The study measures satisfaction levels for trust, people, account offerings, allowing customers to bank how and when they want, saving time and money, digital channels, and resolving problems or complaints.