Mobile banking has finally made good on the promise to drive improved levels of customer satisfaction among small business customers, while also reducing bank reliance on individual account managers. According to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study,SM released today, 61% of small business customers now use their bank’s mobile app compared with 53% in 2018. More importantly, that growing majority of mobile banking users are expressing significantly higher levels of satisfaction than those who do not use mobile banking.
“Bank investments in mobile offerings are starting to pay off in the form of higher satisfaction scores as a critical mass of small business customers adopts the technology,” said Bob Neuhaus, Vice President, J.D. Power Banking Intelligence. “This has been a major challenge for banks for many years as they’ve tried to balance the high-touch customer service needs of the small business banking segment with the high cost of providing hands-on account management. Now, for the first time, we’re starting to see well-designed mobile banking offerings contribute to improved customer relationship management.”
Following are some key findings of the 2019 study:
- Small business banking customer satisfaction reaches record high: Overall small business bank customer satisfaction is 820 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2019, up 20 points from 2018—with satisfaction scores increasing across every aspect of the small business banking experience.
- Mobile banking adoption reaches tipping point among small business customers: The total number of small business customers using their bank’s mobile app has increased to 61% in 2019, up from 53% in 2018. The small business customer mobile adoption rate is also trending higher than mobile banking adoption rates in the retail banking sector. Through the first two fielding waves of the upcoming J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study,SM mobile banking usage stands at just 53%.
- Among mobile banking users, retention and satisfaction are significantly higher: Among small business customers who have used their bank’s mobile app, 67% say they “definitely will” reuse their bank for their next business banking product/service, vs. just 53% among non-users of mobile offerings. Overall satisfaction among mobile users is 43 points higher, on average, than among non-users (837 vs. 794, respectively).
- Mobile banking users more likely to be high growth, younger: Analyzing the demographics of small business users of mobile banking offerings, 71% are classified as high-growth businesses while 52% are moderate- or low-growth businesses; 71% are age 40 or less and 54% are age 40 or older.
Study Rankings
Huntington ranks highest in the Midwest region with a score of 852, followed by Chase (830) and PNC Bank (827).
Capital One ranks highest in the Northeast region with a score of 850. Chase (842) ranks second and Citizens Bank (833) ranks third.
TD Bank ranks highest in the South region with a score of 854. Chase (844) and Regions Bank (844) rank second in a tie.
Chase ranks highest in the West region for a seventh consecutive year, with a score of 831. Bank of the West (820) ranks second and Union Bank (814) ranks third.
The 2019 U.S. Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study includes responses from 8,287 small business owners or financial decision-makers who use business banking services. The study was fielded from June through August 2019.
For more information about the U.S. Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study, visit
https://www.jdpower.com/resource/us-small-business-banking-satisfaction-study.
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