TROY, Mich. — Consumers are increasingly turning to personal loans to cope with higher living costs and elevated interest rates, although overall satisfaction with lenders remains largely unchanged, according to a new study released by J.D. Power in which two credit unions finished near the top of the rankings.
The J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study found financially vulnerable borrowers are relying more heavily on personal loans to consolidate debt and manage unexpected expenses, while non-bank lenders continue gaining ground on traditional banks in customer satisfaction.
“We’re seeing a clear opportunity for banks to learn from what non-bank lenders are doing well,” Bruce Gehrke said in a statement accompanying the report.
Gehrke said non-bank lenders are improving satisfaction among financially vulnerable customers by emphasizing “speed, simplicity and certainty,” warning that banks risk losing market share if they fail to adapt.
The Findings
Among the report’s findings:
- Overall customer satisfaction with personal loan providers rose slightly to 706 on a 1,000-point scale, up two points from 2025.
- The percentage of financially healthy customers increased to 27% from 25% a year earlier.
- Financially vulnerable customers declined slightly to 45%, down from 47% in 2025.
- Speed of funding emerged as a key driver of customer satisfaction. Satisfaction scores fell 41 points when loan approval took longer than one hour and dropped 47 points when funding required more than one day after approval.
- Non-bank lenders outperformed banks on funding speed, with 68% of customers receiving funds within one day, compared with 58% at banks.
- Non-bank lenders, however, generated lower satisfaction during the approval process because customers relied more heavily on representatives. According to J.D. Power, 70% of non-bank borrowers required representative assistance during final approval, compared with 61% at banks.
The study said reliance on representatives created friction for non-bank lenders despite strong digital experiences.
The Rankings
In the rankings:
- American Express ranked highest in customer satisfaction for a fourth consecutive year with a score of 779.
- PenFed Credit Union ranked second with a score of 736.
- Discover ranked third at 731.
J.D. Power said the study measured customer satisfaction across seven dimensions, including whether the loan met borrowing needs, trust, ease of obtaining the loan, customer service, digital channels and communication. The report was based on responses from 6,513 personal loan customers surveyed between March 2025 and March 2026.
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