Credit unions have traditionally been known for delivering more personalized customer service than national banks, due largely to their smaller, more niche customer bases. But according to a recent Finance and Insurance report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI), banks are now delivering better service than their credit union counterparts.
The report revealed that while credit union customer satisfaction has decreased by 1.2 percent year-over-year, banking customers’ satisfaction has remained the same during the same period.
One of the main reasons why credit unions are falling behind is that they aren’t able to keep up with the digital innovation happening at bigger banks. As banks perfect online banking and strengthen their mobile apps, credit unions aren’t all making the same changes and improvements. While many maintain the “neighborhood bank” feel, according to the report, that is no longer enough to ward off competition from more convenient banking options, like big-name or even online banks.
In a company statement, David VanAmburg, managing director at the ACSI, noted this change:
“Digital is everything right now. With the boom in mobile banking apps, customers don’t even have to go into branches. Depositing checks or applying for a loan through an app is more appealing than the charm of the old-school, small-town customer service offered by credit unions.”
With regard to specific players in banking, Capital One, SunTrust, and Chase led the pack in customer satisfaction, scoring 81, 81, and 80 out of 100 points, respectively. TD Bank and Citi took fourth and fifth place, while Bank of America took twelfth place and Wells Fargo took 14th. The score differential between the leader and the rest of the top 14, however, was in the single digits, which points to how tough competition is becoming in the space.
The ACSI Finance and Insurance Report was based on interviews with more than 25,000 customers, which were conducted between October 2017 and September 2018.