Majority of Americans Aren’t Happy with Their Bank

More than half of Americans reported their banks could be doing more to satisfy them, according to research.

A new survey from GFT found that 58% of Americans weren’t happy with their bank and felt they are falling short on both digital and traditional banking features.

The survey found that customers across developed markets considered fraud protection and an easy-to-use-digital banking app to be ‘non-negotiable’ features. In the US, 35% also felt human communication was non-negotiable.

GTF surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers, and another 10,000 consumers across the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan and Poland, investigating customers’ sentiment towards banks.

While there were high levels of dissatisfaction, the survey also found most customers were not willing to change banks, with only 14% saying they were willing to do so. A large majority (70%) said they were firm on not changing, leaving 16% undecided.

In the US, trust in banks has remained high. Compared to 2022, 50% of respondents said their level of trust in their bank has remained the same, while 28% trust their bank even more than previously.

The high levels of trust are partly due to the customers’ money being insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which 39% of US respondents said was the important factor in establishing trust in their bank.

Marco Santos, CEO Americas at GFT, said: “As recently as last year, US consumers weren’t sure whether it would be traditional banks or fintechs managing their money for the long haul. Just a year later, new regulated programs [and] forthcoming open banking initiatives have given banks the gravitas to establish that they aren’t going anywhere.”