Communications between credit card issuers and customers must improve to reverse the “significant decline” in U.S. consumer credit card satisfaction levels since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to J.D. Power’s latest study released last week.

The study found a “significant” decline in key cardholder satisfaction metrics since the start of the pandemic, with a 10-point drop (on a 1,000-point scale) in overall satisfaction. That drop was driven by declines in satisfaction with credit card terms and communications. According to J.D. Power, only 36% of credit card customers indicated that they’ve been proactively contacted by their card issuer during the past 12 months, compared with 60% of mortgage customers and 48% of retail banking customers.

“Communication with customers is critical to building trust and brand loyalty during uncertain economic times,” the report read.
This decline in customer satisfaction is unique to credit card issuers, the report noted, as customer satisfaction with other consumer financial services, like retail banks and primary mortgages, has improved during the pandemic.

J.D. Power’s U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study measures customer satisfaction with credit card issuers and regional banks. The research firm examines six factors — interaction, credit card terms, communication, benefits and services, rewards and key moments — and includes responses from more than 29,000 credit card customers between September 2019 and June 2020.

“Through the first two months of 2020, credit card customer satisfaction was on track to set record highs. That all reversed course when COVID-19 entered the equation, with satisfaction, trust, advocacy and brand image attributes resulting in sharp declines in May 2020,” John Cabell, director of banking and payments at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “We’re living in a moment of truth for card issuers, and results in the next few months will be key to determining whether this decline constitutes a lasting trend.”

Despite the drop off in customer satisfaction, 89% of credit card customers reported their current cards fully meet their needs, meaning the decline in satisfaction does not signal a near-term defection by customers, the report said.

This year’s ranking brings new leaders in credit card satisfaction. Among national issuers, with a tight 1-point lead, AmEx leapfrogged last year’s reigning champion, Discover, scoring 838 on a 1,000-point scale. Meanwhile, Regions Bank overtook BB&T, 2019’s leader in regional bank card issuers, which tied with PNC Bank for second place, by one point with a score of 816.