Community Banks Can Gain From Large Bank Customer Dissatisfaction: Survey

A recent poll of large bank customers found dissatisfaction with their primary bank, but a lack of willingness to switch.

Nearly half of customers of large national banks report not feeling loyal to their primary bank, according to the Consumer Banking Insights Poll. The poll of 1,000 bank customers was conducted online by Harris Poll in December on behalf of community banks that offer Kasasa, a turn-key, free checking account product from technology vendor BancVue.

The poll found that 46 percent of those surveyed who are customers at large, national banks do not feel "very loyal" to their primary bank. Further, 58 percent of respondents said they don’t believe their primary bank has their best interests at heart, and 42 percent feel their bank takes advantage of them with fees.

However, the poll found that dissatisfaction alone is usually not enough to sway customers of large banks to switch primary financial institutions. While 23 percent reported they’re at least "somewhat likely" to switch their checking account to a local community bank or credit union this year, 63 percent say they have never considered opening a checking account at a local community financial institution.

According to the poll, 24 percent of large bank customers say they don’t consider a community financial institution because they don’t believe they can offer the same benefits. Additionally, 83 percent of large bank customers say a recognizable brand name is at least somewhat important to them when choosing a bank.

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Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio