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Banking apps and websites are ubiquitous and necessary to a bank’s success. Customers no longer like a banking app – they require one. The gap between the best-performing and lowest-performing apps and websites has shrunk to its lowest level to date, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Banking and Credit Card Mobile App Satisfaction Studies.
“We’re seeing the digital customer experience for banking and credit card apps and websites plateau as most players have refined their digital properties around a well-defined set of proven industry best practices,” Sean Gelles, senior director of banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “However, as the consumer technology landscape rapidly evolves with generative artificial intelligence and other advanced tools becoming part of consumers’ everyday lives, banks and credit card companies are under growing pressure to innovate and elevate digital offerings.”
While some banking apps may suffer from a lack of standout features, Massachusetts’ financial institutions have shown an ability to innovate, boasting features that increase customer satisfaction while also maintaining functionality. They also take activities that used to take place in a branch into the digital world.
Earlier this year, Boston-based Berkshire Bank launched a feature within the bank’s mobile application that accommodates payroll changes.
“As long as your HR works with some of the largest payroll providers, you don’t have to go to your payroll providers’ app,” said Sumant Pustake, Berkshire’s executive vice president and chief strategy and marketing officer. “You do it within our app.”
Berkshire also recently launched a peer-to-peer payment option that can be utilized by its members. Customers can send funds to friends and family via the receiver’s cell phone number.
Berkshire’s open API is part of its ability to regularly add and improve app features. Instead of waiting for solutions from providers who serve a wealth of financial institutions, Berkshire can control testing and the roadmap for the app, and has the ability to plug in third-party fintech products.
Though developing a functional and impactful mobile app can be costly, Gelles believes that these products are over all a cost saver for institutions.
“I was at American Express for many years, and from an economic perspective of building out these really powerful and engaging and sticky digital experiences, it is a major cost expenditure saver, because every time someone completes a journey in the app or on the website, that’s a call that hasn’t been made to the call center, or a visit that hasn’t been made to the branch,” he said. “Once you build the app, there’s innovation that has to happen. There’s maintenance, but it’s not like every time there’s a service that’s needed by the customer, there’s a cost associated with that.”
Apps Drive Satisfaction
Mobile apps have become a key platform for financial institutions to maintain or increase customer satisfaction. These applications can make the difference when it comes to a consumer jumping ship to a competitor or sticking with a financial institution for the long term.
“We have 1.1 million members across the U.S. – more than half of them are outside of our branch footprint – so the digital experience is the only experience they have of DCU,” said Sue Burton, Digital Federal Credit Union’s senior vice president of experience. “So we’re really working to make it both very fully functional in terms of transactions, but also really helpful. How does it guide you? How does it support your planning where you’re not able to access that human touch in a branch?”
Competition remains high as digital-only branches look to pry deposits away from local institutions. If local and regional banks want to keep a customer, a well-functioning mobile app is required. Competition also comes from outside the financial world – customers also use apps like Amazon and Apple Pay, which can set expectations for their app-use experience.
“Consumers have choice, and I think they want to feel comfortable where they’re at,” Metro Credit Union President and CEO Robert Cashman said. “When it comes to money, finances, it’s emotional. Anything you can do to make an emotional connection with somebody is really important.”
While unique and innovative features are nice, it’s also important that an app functions properly.
Sam Minton
“I think we all have such a low tolerance for frustration in any interaction that we have today,” Burton said. “We have personas that we use and design for. We created an online, persistent digital community where we’re continuously testing ideas and thoughts with groups of members. We do a lot of rigorous usability testing and journey mapping to make sure that we’ve got a really good experience.”
Gelles noted that digital banking satisfaction correlates with overall bank satisfaction.
“You really have two benefits that accrue to the financial institution,” he said. “You have cost savings and you have satisfaction. Satisfaction drives retention. It creates advocates for your brand.”
