Press Release Finance Study 2026

Customer Satisfaction Holds Steady Across Financial Services as Digital and AI Investments Drive Diverging Performance, ACSI Data Show

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Feb. 24, 2026) — Customer satisfaction across financial services in 2026 remains steady overall, although performance continues to shift meaningfully within and across industries.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Finance Study 2026, banks overall are unchanged at 80 (on a scale of 0 to 100), but segment divergence widens as super regional banks slide 3% to 77 while regional and community banks remain strong with a stable ACSI score of 83. National banks are steady at 79. Despite these pressures, the bank industry overall posts improvements across all customer experience metrics, with the most notable gains in the number of branch and ATM locations and in-branch transaction speed.

Credit unions decline 1% to a score of 78, falling further behind banks for customer satisfaction. While credit unions continue to outpace banks in staff courtesy and in branch efficiency, banks outperform credit unions in mobile app performance, ATM and branch locations, and website satisfaction. Improvements in account management processes for banks further widen this gap.

Financial advisors climb 1% to post an industry-leading — and record high — ACSI score of 82, marking their fifth year of improvement. Gains in trust, advisor interactions, account opening, and digital tools strengthen the industry, with Merrill (up 6% to 82) and Wells Fargo (up 4% to 81) demonstrating strong upward movement.

Online investment platforms show the greatest year-over-year improvement, rising 3% to 79. Nearly all digital experience metrics including navigation, transactions, mobile quality, and customer support register meaningful gains. Merrill Edge delivers a notable recovery after surging 10% to 76, while Charles Schwab (up 1%) and Vanguard (up 3%) improve to 79 a piece, reinforcing the sector’s continued digital-first momentum.

“AI-driven modernization is increasingly reinforcing these digital experience gains across financial services,” said Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. “Banks and wealth firms are scaling generative AI capabilities such as agent assist, personalization, and virtual assistants, which are improving operational efficiency while also supporting higher levels of customer satisfaction in digital channels. This trend aligns with banks’ strong digital performance, financial advisors’ continued gains in digital tools and account opening, and the rebound in online investment platforms where navigation, transactions, and mobile quality all improve substantially.”

Other key takeaways from the study include:

Banks

• Chase is now the sole leader of the national bank segment at 80. Bank of America slips 1% to tie Wells Fargo (up 1%) at 79. Citibank finishes last despite improving 1% to 75.
• USAA Bank, which offers services to military-affiliated individuals and families only, leads super regional banks despite sliding 2% to 82. In its ACSI debut, Huntington Bank is just 1 point below USAA at 81. TD Bank (down 1%) follows at 80, rounding out the top tier of the segment.

Financial Advisors

• While remaining among the top-rated brands, Fidelity drops 1% to 82 to tie Merrill for the lead among reported firms.
• New to the industry ranking, both Chase and Edward Jones receive ACSI scores of 77, while Ameriprise Financial debuts at 78.

Online Investment

• Despite a 2% decline in customer satisfaction, Fidelity retains the top spot among online investment firms with a score of 81.
• Chase, newly ranked this year, posts a score of 76, placing it on par with Merrill Edge, while new entrant Coinbase debuts at the low end with an ACSI score of 69.

The ACSI Finance Study 2026 is based on 14,210 completed surveys. Customers were chosen at random and contacted via email between January and December 2025. Download the full study and follow the ACSI on LinkedIn and X at @theACSI.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.

About the ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI^®) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with approximately 400 companies in about 40 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from interviews with roughly 200,000 customers annually. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.

ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.