For the second year in a row, Capital One is the top-ranked retail bank in the US for overall customer satisfaction, outscoring eight other national banks for the distinction. The nine national banks in the study, ranked from highest to lowest, were: Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, JP Morgan Chase, US Bank, Citibank, Bank of America, Truist, and Wells Fargo.
In the 2021 U.S. National Banking Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power, the core drivers of customer satisfaction at the nation’s largest banks are convenience, tailored account offerings, and helping customers save time or money.
Paul McAdam, senior director of banking services at J.D. Power, said customers expect the nation’s largest banks to meet them on their terms across all channels to deliver a flexible and highly engaging experience.
“Retail banking customers say the most important steps banks can take to deliver that highly personalized level of service are to provide relevant account alerts and guidance on ways to save money and optimize spending,” said McAdam. The move by Capital One in early December to eliminate overdraft fees—becoming the nation’s largest bank to do so in the process—was a powerful way for a financial institution to personalize the banking experience, McAdam pointed out, because it shows the bank being proactive to help customers avoid fees.
Now in its fifth year, the national banking satisfaction study by global consumer analysis and marketing research firm J.D. Power provides a comprehensive view of the CX with all retail bank product lines for nine national banks in the US. The study evaluates bank CX across seven factors: 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 study, which defines a national bank as a US bank holding company with domestic deposits exceeding $200 billion, is based on responses from a survey of 8,015 retail banking customers fielded between August and October this year.
McLean, Virginia-based Capital One scored 692 on a 1,000-point scale for the current year—even higher than its score of 688 in 2020 when the bank first claimed the top spot. Capital One performed highest in providing digital channels, helping customers save time or money, delivering account offerings that meet customer needs, and allowing customers to bank how and when they want.
PNC came in second with a score of 684. Although the Pittsburgh-based bank was number one in resolving customer problems and instilling overall brand trust, its score this year was four points lower than in the 2020 survey.
Toronto-based TD Bank was in third place with a score of 673, taking the top spot for the people factor, with representatives, tellers, and call center agents who excel at customer relations. The bank scored one point lower in 2021 than in 2020, tracking with the general trend. On average, the national banks in this year’s study scored five points lower in 2021 than in 2020. Both Chase and US Bank netted an above-industry average score of 663, while Citibank, Bank of America, Truist, and Wells Fargo scored below the industry average.
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
