Observations From The Fintech Snark Tank

Bankers are obsessed with discovering the “secrets” of getting consumers to change banks, while market researchers feed that obsession with survey data that purports to reveal those secrets.

Sadly, bankers are barking up the wrong tree, and most surveys do little to help those bankers understand consumers’ real behaviors and attitudes.

Extremely Likely, My Foot

A consumer study from S&P Global—which asked mobile banking users which mobile banking features might get them to switch banks—reveals the contradictory responses consumers often provide.

Roughly a third of respondents said that mobile banking features like account alerts, fraudulent transaction disputes, card spending limits, chatbots, and digital account statements would make them “extremely likely” to switch banks.

In addition, about three in 10 respondents said reporting lost or stolen cards, cardless ATM access, turning debit/credit cards on or off, and person-to-person (P2P) payments were features that would lead them to be “extremely likely” to switch banks.

But consider this: Minna Technologies evaluated the mobile banking apps of 24 large banks and fintechs, identifying which of them offer 30 mobile banking features.

Of the financial institutions evaluated, all of them provide account alerts, 22 enable customers to lock and unlock cards, 11 have chatbots, and 10 offer cardless ATM withdrawals.

So why aren’t millions of mobile banking customers switching to those banks?