Customers more satisfied with banks than CUs, report shows

For the first time since the inception of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, banks had a higher customer satisfaction than credit unions. Both, however, dipped in their respective ACSI scores: banks at 80, down 1.2 percent, and credit unions at 79, down 2.5 percent.

The index measured satisfaction among finance, insurance and healthcare based on interviews with more than 30,000 Americans chosen at random.

Among banks, regional and community institutions continue to lead the pack, despite a 1.2 percent drop to 83. National banks are up 1.3 percent to 78, which ties with super regional banks for the first time.

Customer satisfaction with internet investment services rose 2.5 percent to a score of 81, which bested financial advisors for the first time in three years of ACSI measurement.

The national banks, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America and Chase, are all at or within one point of their record-high satisfaction scores. Wells Fargo surged by 3 percent, despite its tumultuous past few years.

“As technology improves, so does customer satisfaction,” said David VanAmburg, managing director at the ACSI.

“Customers want mobile options, and big banks have the resources to deliver,” VanAmburg said. “The personalized service that’s the hallmark of smaller banks and credit unions may no longer be as critical to customers, especially a younger demographic.”

ACSI has been a national economic indicator for 25 years, and measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with more than 400 companies in 46 industries and 10 economic sectors.