Consumers want banks to do more than just hold their money. They want their banks to help them meet their financial goals.
In fact, a new consumer report by CSI shows that 83% of American consumers agree with that statement. That number jumped to 87% for consumers with an annual household income of $100,000 or more, suggesting that these consumers don’t just want their banks to help them meet their financial goals, but also tell them how to do it.
This is probably why so many banks have been rolling out budget management features, PFM tools or even robo-advisors. Just yesterday, JPMorgan Chase unveiled a digital investment platform called You Invest, which lets customers trade up to 100 stocks and ETFs free of charge. When it comes to budgeting tools, there is no dearth of that either. Earlier this month, Bank of America began rolling out marketing emails pointing customers to use virtual assistant Erica to help with budget management tasks. Last week, BBVA Compass unveiled a financial tool in partnership with data aggregator MX. This tool allows users to keep track of spending, budget expenses, reach saving goals and automate bill payments. In a special panel discussion in New York this week, Capital One reiterated its efforts to help customers maintain good credit score, and improve their spending habits through its credit score tool, CreditWise. Even consumer lender Marcus by Goldman Sachs has realized the value a PFM offering can have for its customers. It purchased Clarity Money back in April. Speaking of which, Marcus today launched in the U.K. today.
The good news according to the CSI Consumer Survey is that 86% of Americans said the current digital banking offerings from their FIs “fully meet their needs.” The report shows overall consumers are turning to digital banking and mobile payments for daily transactions. The report found that more than 4 in 5 consumers are “generally satisfied” with their banking app.
Bank Innovation conducted a similar survey earlier this summer. The results of this survey showed a similar sentiment, in which 36.7% of the 267 respondents said they were “very satisfied” with their banking apps, and 27.7% said they were “extremely satisfied,” while only 10.5% said they were “not at all satisfied” with it.
Further, the CSI poll, which was released earlier this week, shows that a large section of users (49%) view mobile payments as a more secure way of making payments than using debit or credit cards. That number jumps to 57% for consumers between 18 and 44 years old. It drops to 33% for those 65 years and older. Overall, however, the survey found that 81% of respondents trusted that their banks adequately protect their data against breaches and hackers.

In the report, Steve Powless, CSI’s chairman and CEO, stated:
And while the majority are satisfied with their current digital services, that doesn’t mean banks can rest on their laurels. With consumers expecting banks to anticipate their needs, financial institutions constantly need to innovate and educate their customers on the newest tools available to meet financial goals.
CSI (Computer Services Inc.) provides core processing and payments processing solutions to FIs and banks. This survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CSI from May 22-24, 2018. Over 2,000 consumers age 18 and older were surveyed.
Read the full report here.






