Choosing a primary financial institution is about much more than interest rates or product offerings. Consumer behavior is often driven by familiarity, convenience, and long-standing relationships, making it difficult for banks to win customers away from established providers. At the same time, financial institutions continue investing in digital and self-service channels while looking for new ways to strengthen customer engagement. Recent data from Mercator Advisory Group highlights what consumers value most in their banking relationships, how they prefer to interact with their bank, and why building trust remains more important than simply promoting new financial products.
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Data for today’s episode is provided by Mercator Advisory Group’s report – ATM Banking: It’s Not Just About Cash Withdrawal Anymore.
- On average, consumers own 5.3 accounts across all types of financial institutions
- Inertia is the leading driver for selecting a primary financial institution, cited by 58%
- Other reasons for selecting a primary bank include:
- “I feel most comfortable” (49%)
- “My credit card is issued here” (26%)
- “My investments are held here” (14%)
- The bank’s branch/teller remains the most popular contact method, 23%
- Consumers are largely satisfied with the various types of bank contacts, on average 84% satisfaction score
- BUT, only one in three consumers are interested in hearing about new products from their primary bank
About the report
Mercator Advisory Group’s most recent Insight Summary Report, ATM Banking: It’s Not Just About Cash Withdrawal Anymore, reveals that U.S. customers are increasingly relying on ATMs to fulfill their banking needs. The report is from the Banking and Channels Survey in the bi-annual CustomerMonitor Survey Series, a part of Mercator’s Primary Data Service. It is based on findings from Mercator Advisory Group’s CustomerMonitor Survey Series online survey of 3,000 U.S. adult consumers in November 2018.
