We conducted our first survey in recent weeks on consumer financial services habits and are sharing a summary of some of the main findings on this page as well as the survey parameters. For questions, comments or feedback shoot us an e-mail: editor@bankdash.com.

Finding #1: 60% of Millennials Have $2,500 or Less in Savings

This wasn’t one of the motivating questions for us in conducting this survey but the result was striking enough that we just had to share it. We defined Millennials are consumers aged between 25 and 44 years of age. If the majority of Millennials have less than $2,500 in total savings, then it follows logically that the vast majority must have a net worth that is $0 or negative. This is one of the findings from our survey that warrants further investigating and monitoring.

Finding #2: Adoption of Digital Financial Services is 75%

Based on our survey, 75% of consumers now use a digital option (online through your desktop computer or mobile browser, or through the Bank or Credit Union’s mobile application). For the younger generation this figure is slightly higher at 77% for Millennials and 83% for Gen Z. Interestingly, digital adoption is lower for paying bills. Specifically, it is 10% lower across consumers. A lot of the decline is coming from a much lower percentage of people using their mobile application to pay bills than use it to check their account balances, which could have to do with consumer habits or discomfort with transacting on mobile devices.

Finding #3: Bank and Credit Union Customers Care About Customer Service

Most (including us) would have thought that the promotions banks offered and the interest rates on products would be the characteristics consumers cared most about when selecting banks and credit unions. However the survey results showed a clear preference among the population for customer service, fee transparency and technology (meaning online and mobile banking options). Another interesting trend is that customer service seems to grow in importance the older consumers get.

Finding #4: Customers Value Having Bank and Credit Union Branches

This finding is somewhat of a paradox. On the one hand digital adoption for financial services is 75% and among the non-digital options visiting a branch was not that significant. Yet when we asked consumers about the importance of having a Bank or Credit Union branch that they could physically go to, their responses clearly indicate that branches are important. To 65% of all consumers, having an accessible branch is important or very important. The results suggests that reducing a bank or credit union’s branch network might actually be a mistake. It also helps explain why banks like Wells Fargo tout the fact that they have over 4,800 branches and that a Wells Fargo branch or ATM is within 2 miles of over half of U.S. census households and small businesses in their footprint. Branches are here to stay.

Finding #5: Millennials Are The Biggest Offenders When It Comes to NSF/Overdraft Fees

This finding is all the more surprising given the earlier finding about the level of savings Millennials have. The survey results indicated that while Millennials represented 31% of the overall survey respondents, when it came to NSF or Overdraft fees, 47% of consumers who said that they had been charged one such fee at least once over the past year were Millennials. We’ve previously discussed NSF Fees, and at this stage there are a lot of options for consumers to avoid having to pay them, so this finding suggests a knowledge gap.

Finding #6: Credit Union Customers Are Much Happier Than Bank Customers

To begin with, 89% of all consumers indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their Bank or Credit Union. This is a very noteworthy statistic and much higher than we would have expected. Importantly, across all age groups on average at least 75% of consumers were satisfied or very satisfied. When we look at the response break down by Bank and Credit Union, it was immediately clear that Credit Union customers are significantly happier with their financial services provider than Bank customers. 68% of credit union customers indicated that they were very satisfied compared with 49% of Bank customers.

Send us an e-mail at editor@bankdash.com if you have any comments or questions and if you’d like a copy of our slide deck which has many more findings.

Survey Parameters

• Conducted February to March 2022
• N = 1,200
• Geography: United States
• Median Income: $50,000
• Married %: 45%
• Demographics: balanced across United States population
• Gender: 50% Male, 50% Female
• Age range: 18+
• Gen Z defined as 18-24, Millennial defined as 24-44