Tracking Trends in the Financial Services Industry
The financial services industry is undergoing massive change as traditional providers seek to transform digitally and keep pace with new entrants. Financial services leaders must stay informed on how consumers are reacting to and shaping the future of the industry through their interactions with financial services providers, their financial goals and preferences, and their overall financial well-being.
To help leaders stay abreast of consumer trends, Morning Consult is tracking consumers’ trust in, usage of and satisfaction with financial services providers through a monthly survey of U.S. adults. Find a more detailed methodology for this monthly tracker below.
Key Takeaways
Trust in banks is holding steady following the failure of First Republic Bank and its purchase by JPMorgan Chase. Even with the Federal Reserve’s takeover of the regional bank and quick sale, 68% of U.S. adults say they trust banks “a lot” or “some,” compared with a similar 64% last month and 66% a year ago. Satisfaction is also holding steady, with 94% of consumers saying they’re satisfied with their bank.
Meanwhile, digital banks have enjoyed a 7-point increase in trust year over year, likely due to growing consumer usage of and interest in high-yield savings accounts. At the same time, there’s been an increase in consumers thinking about opening a new digital bank account in the next six months; 18% are considering doing so, compared with 10% who said the same a year ago.
Digital wallet use has been picking up steam as well, with just over 7 in 10 Americans saying they used a digital wallet in April, up 9 percentage points year over year. Other nonbank financial services are holding steady: Similar shares said they cashed a check outside of their bank or credit union, sent money abroad without using their bank, or purchased a money order at an alternate financial institution (10%, 11% and 11%, respectively).
Progress Toward Financial Goals
Trust in the Financial Services Industry
Trust in Financial Services Companies
Usage of Multiple Providers
Satisfaction With Primary Financial Services Providers
Interactions With Primary Providers
Bank Branch, ATM and Digital Wallet Usage
Consumers Opening New Accounts
Intention to Switch Providers
Overdraft and Usage of Alternative Financial Services
Source of This Data
Methodology
The Morning Consult Financial Services Monthly Trend Tracker relies on data collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. The interviews are conducted online, and the data are weighted to approximate a representative sample of U.S. adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race and region. Results from the full survey have a monthly sample size of 2,200 to 4,400 U.S. adults and an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com
The author would like to thank Charlotte Principato for her contributions to this research.
Caroline Smith is a manager of financial services intelligence at Morning Consult, where she analyzes high-frequency data to help the company deliver real-time insights to the financial services sector.
