Corporate Insight’s Experience Benchmarks offer a competitive benchmarking of a particular industry. Our latest are the Bank Experience Benchmarks. We compare digital offerings from banks in a competitive benchmarking assessment to determine best-in-class experiences based on 25 years of tracking banking platforms coupled with annual consumer surveys to determine what users most value.
For the Bank Experience Benchmarks, our research team issued two reports: one focused on desktop experiences from banking firms and the other on mobile experiences. We evaluated firms across six weighted categories made up of over 270 attributes. As part of the competitive benchmarking of banks, we assigned weights down to the attribute level according to data from a proprietary survey of consumer banking customers to ensure our overall grades line up with user expectations. Twenty leading banking firms were included in the analysis.
As part of the Benchmark, CI conducted a heuristic evaluation of nine core digital journeys that account holders commonly take (e.g., looking up a transaction, making a transfer and locking a debit card). We also assess the overall design and navigation of each platform.
These two benchmarking reports are available now. Here are some key takeaways from this year’s editions:
Leaders excel in areas important to users and bolster experiences with innovative features and functionality
Our Bank Experience Benchmark highlights the value of aligning platform functionality with user goals. While platform aesthetics can appeal to some users, it is far more important that users are able to accomplish core tasks like reviewing their transactions, making transfers and payments, and keeping their accounts secure. Therefore, leading firms excel in core aspects of digital experiences—transaction activity, money movement and account servicing—further supported by relevant features such as financial planning tools. Banks looking to stand out from competitors should ensure they first shine in essential experiences before building out supplementary offerings.
Bank of America leads in website experiences, followed by Chase and Truist. For mobile, Truist rises to the top with Chase and U.S. Bank right on its heels. These top firms stand out when it comes to the essentials across the benchmarking reports. Bank of America, for example takes first place in three key categories—Account Information, Profile & Settings and Design & Navigation—supplying users with comprehensive transaction details and alert options in well-organized interfaces that are easy to navigate. Truist stands out with above-average performances in every category and taking first in Account Servicing for its range of debit card security features and account services like automatic direct deposits. Both firms excel by supplementing core experiences with additional resources such as Bank of America’s robust Security Center with features to help users secure their accounts and Truist’s wealth of financial planning tools available in a single interface for a smoother user experience.
These competitive benchmarking reports provide lower ranking banks with a clear roadmap for improvement. Facilitating smooth user experiences for core functionality, like transaction activity and money movement, will further boost firm rankings. Even a few small enhancements in key areas can increase the rank of mid-tier firms. This especially true on mobile, where the spread of scores is tight and competition is fierce.
Truist takes the lead for its mobile app with room for improvement among fierce competition
Truist takes the top spot in the Mobile Experience Benchmark but falls just short of the highest possible tier for overall performance. While the firm finishes no lower than sixth in any major category it can improve its overall rank with small tweaks in key areas like mobile deposits and security features (e.g., credential reset options).
Mobile apps technically rank lower than their desktop counterparts, with the average overall mobile score coming in at 62 out of 100 compared to 64 out of 100 for web. However, scores between competitors are much closer for mobile apps with a 29-point difference between the first and last competitors, compared to 44 points for website competitors. This discrepancy signals a focus on newer technology, which is intentional for some firms like Chime that positions itself as a mobile-first fintech.
The smaller range of scores between bank’s mobile apps also align with consumer preferences. According to our annual survey of consumer card holders, mobile apps are the most popular platform with 53% of respondents saying they consider their bank’s mobile app to be their primary platform. This is particularly true for younger generations who show a large preference for mobile with 69% of Gen Z being mobile-first users compared to 39% of Boomers. While firms should continue to improve their mobile apps to meet the expectations of younger generations, it is still important that firms also invest in website platforms as 34% of survey respondents consider websites to be their primary banking platform.
Firms improve virtual assistant and live chat capabilities as the race to employ generative AI continues
Generative AI (GenAI) is a hot topic in the financial services sector, especially regarding customer service solutions. While customers still value the ability to speak to a representative over the phone, the expansion of virtual assistant (VA) and live chat functionality provide consumers with other viable ways to seek support. In recent years, major firms have made updates to their interactive customer service options, including the following:
- Wells Fargo introduced a mobile app VA and later became one of the first to offer the VA in Spanish.
- U.S. Bank added unique capabilities such as a card tracking tool and the ability to prioritize upcoming bills.
- Bank of America announced and later launched the ability to connect to a live representative within its industry-leading VA, Erica.
Some firms already train VAs with large language models (LLMs), as outlined in our recent Mobile Monitor report. Others are looking to GenAI as the future of VA technology that can create opportunities for personalized recommendations and enhanced account security. Employing GenAI will be important to match consumer expectations, particularly those of younger consumers who are more likely to be familiar with the technology with 70% of Gen Z respondents in a recent CI survey having previously used the technology.
However, consumers express valid concerns regarding the inclusion of GenAI in financial services, with 45% of respondents being more concerned than excited about the technology. Many worry about the data necessary for GenAI to function properly, a concern even greater when it comes to the privacy of financial data. Legal infrastructure may also struggle to protect banks and consumers against security breaches and AI-powered fraud attempts, as the technology is developing rapidly. The presence of hallucinations, or false information, from LLMs and GenAI also create regulatory issues and additional concerns about the legitimacy of information returns.
That said, 69% of survey respondents believe that AI will have a major influence on daily life in the U.S. within the next decade, signaling the importance of firms staying on top of the everchanging AI landscape.
The Bank Experience Benchmarks: Competitive Benchmarking for Banks
To learn more about the Bank Experience Benchmarks, fill out the form at the bottom of this page. Or watch the below preview video for a sneak peak at the process behind these competitive benchmarking reports.
Julianna Sansevero
Julianna Sansevero is a senior analyst on CI's Bank and Credit Card research team.