TROY, Mich.–Even though consumer financial health, total deposits, annual household income and total investments have been declining, retail bank customer satisfaction is actually on the rise, according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, which offers some insights from which credit unions might want to learn.

According to J.D. Power, “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.”

“Retail banks have really upped their games when it comes to giving customers the resources they need to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Jennifer White, senior director of banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “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.”

The Key Findings

According to J.D. Power, some of the key findings of the 2025 study include:

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, J.D. Power said.

“In addition, year-over-year Net Promoter ScoresSM2 have increased three points (on a scale of -100 to 100); the likelihood of staying loyal (definitely will not switch banks) is up two percentage points; the likelihood to reuse the same bank (definitely will) is up three percentage points; and customer sentiment that their primary bank “completely supports me in challenging times” is up four percentage points,” J.D. Power said. “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,” J.D. Power said in releasing its analysis. “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 five 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 four percentage points.”

Problem Resolution in the Spotlight

J.D. Power is reporting that 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, J.D. Power said.

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, according to J.D. Power.

“Customers who are aware of these tools have overall satisfaction scores that are 96 points higher, on average, than those who are not,” J.D. Power reports.

Study Rankings

J.D. Power said its study measures customer satisfaction with retail banks in 15 geographic regions. Highest-ranking banks and scores by region are as follows:

• California: Chase (691) 
• Florida: Fifth Third Bank (688) (for a second consecutive year) and TD Bank (688) in a tie
• Illinois: Wintrust Community Banks (724) (for a fourth consecutive year)
• Lower Midwest Region: BancFirst (720) (for a third consecutive year)
• Mid-Atlantic Region: Capital One (694) (for a second consecutive year)
• New England Region: Bangor Savings Bank (711) (for an eighth consecutive year)
• North Central Region: Centier Bank (746)
• Northwest Region: Banner Bank (677)
• New York Tri-State Region: Liberty Bank (703)
• Pennsylvania: Chase (707) 
• South Central Region: Capital One (708)
• Southeast Region: United Community Bank (718) (for a second consecutive year)
• Southwest Region: 1st Bank (681) (for a fifth consecutive year)
• Texas: Frost (745) (for a 16th consecutive year)
• Upper Midwest Region: Gate City Bank (724)

About the Study

J.D. Power said the U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, now in its 20th year, measures satisfaction across seven dimensions (in order of importance): trust; people; account offerings; allowing customers to bank how and when they want; saving time and money; digital channels; and resolving problems or complaints.

The 2025 study is based on responses from 109,724 retail customers of the largest banks in the United States regarding their experiences with their retail banking institution. It was fielded from January 2024 through January 2025. National banks are defined as banks with more than $300 billion in domestic deposits; regional banks are those with $65 billion-$299 billion in domestic deposits and at least 200 branches nationally; and midsize banks are those with 45-100 branches nationally and at least 20 branches within a respective region.

For additional info:  https://www.jdpower.com/business/retail-banking-study-1.