High-Stakes Moments in Banking
Customer expectations for communication, channels, and AI
Where are banking customers’ expectations the highest? How do their preferences for channels and AI change? And most importantly, what should banks do to respond with confidence and keep more customers?
As banks modernize their digital journeys, they’re navigating a growing set of demands
Regulatory and compliance change
Rising standards for privacy and security
Complex workflows with fragmented products, platforms, and data
In this environment, it’s easy to lose sight of a simpler question:
What do customers actually want from their interactions with their bank?
This report is designed to check that baseline. We’ll show you new customer input that clarifies which moments matter most, what customers expect when the stakes are high, and how their channel preferences and openness to AI change depending on the situation.
Methodology: We commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct a survey of 2,079 U.S. adults, including 1,977 with at least one bank account. Sample data is accurate within +/-2.5%.
Confidence is high, but there’s a trouble spot
First off: Customers' confidence in their primary bank looks solid. But digging deeper into the survey, we find vulnerabilities in the banking customer experience—which is also to say, ways banks can set themselves apart in CX to strengthen customer loyalty.
Customer Confidence
Share of consumers who agree with the following statements
| Category | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| My bank makes it easy to understand my accounts and transactions | 44% | 37% | 81% |
| I feel confident managing my finances with my bank | 41% | 37% | 78% |
| I trust my bank to clearly communicate important updates | 40% | 37% | 77% |
| My bank understands my financial needs | 29% | 30% | 59% |
- My bank makes it easy to understand my accounts and transactions81%
- I feel confident managing my finances with my bank78%
- I trust my bank to clearly communicate important updates77%
- My bank understands my financial needs59%
Customers are essentially saying
Can I understand my banking? Yes
Does my bank understand my needs? I'm not so sure
Customers’ confidence doesn’t automatically translate into their feeling known
“Feeling known” is important for high-stakes customer moments—when the bank needs to communicate clearly and quickly. These are events like suspicious transactions, account security issues, or disputes.
Click to learn what this means for...
“Understandable” communications aren’t the same as “personal.” If customers can’t see how a message connects to their situation, they hesitate or abandon it.
Communication Clarity Delta
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| 54% | 54 |
Communication Improvement
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| 73% | 73 |
The three most common experiences where customers felt most frustrated
