JD Power: Banks Still Failing To Turn Personalized Advice Into Lasting Engagement
By CU Today Staff —
TROY, Mich.— Retail banks have invested heavily in financial advice and support tools designed to create a more personalized customer experience, but many are still struggling to turn those capabilities into sustained customer adoption and engagement, according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Financial Health Support and Advice Study.
While 47% of customers recall receiving at least one form of banking advice, engagement remains inconsistent, with limited evidence that advice is driving sustained financial action. At the same time, financial well-being remains sharply divided: 38% of customers are financially healthy and 40% are financially vulnerable, which is down 3 percentage points from 2025 but still elevated when compared with long-term trends, underscoring persistent strain beneath surface-level stability, JD Power said.
“Personalization is still more promise than reality. Overall awareness of existing banking and credit card support tools is growing, but that growth is not translating into sustained engagement. Adoption continues to lag, highlighting a gap between awareness and action, while financial well-being remains polarized with nearly as many customers financially vulnerable as financially healthy,” said Jennifer White, managing director of financial services intelligence at JD Power. “In this challenging economic environment, financial institutions have a unique opportunity to connect with their customers on a meaningful, emotional level, but achieving that requires moving beyond one-off interactions and creating a more consistent, engaged customer experience.”
Following are some key findings of the 2026 study:
Bank of America ranks highest in customer satisfaction with retail banking advice for a second consecutive year, with a score of 643 (on a 1,000-point scale). Citi (631) ranks second and Capital One (629) and Wells Fargo (629) each rank third in a tie.
Capital One ranks highest in customer satisfaction with banking health support with a score of 621. Chase (607) ranks second and Bank of America (596) ranks third.
American Express ranks highest in customer satisfaction with credit card health support with a score of 641. Bank of America (606) ranks second and PNC (597) ranks third.
The U.S. Financial Health Support and Advice Study measures customer satisfaction with banking and credit card health support and retail banking advice. The banking and credit card support segments are based on 29,855 and 23,941 respondents, respectively, who have a primary banking or credit card relationship with a qualifying bank or issuer. Among the banking customers, 12,350 who received advice or guidance in the past 12 months are included in the retail banking advice segment.
The study was fielded from March 2025 through March 2026. The Banking Financial Health Support Index and Credit Card Financial Health Support Index are based on data fielded from September 2025 through March 2026.
Originally reported by CU Today.