While less than half of U.S. banks said they were very or extremely satisfied with their core technology provider, these vendors overestimated their effectiveness in helping banks, according to a survey from the American Bankers Association.

ABA’s Core Platforms Survey, released this week at the trade group’s conference for community bankers, found that 47 percent of banks classified themselves as extremely or very satisfied with the vendor that provides the technology for day-to-day operations, the ABA said in a statement.

The survey found that 42 percent of banks were dissatisfied with their core provider. Among banks that had a core provider other than one of the three major providers – FIS, Fiserv and Jack Henry – satisfaction was higher, with 62 percent of these banks saying they were extremely or somewhat satisfied.

Despite levels of dissatisfaction, only 21 percent of the banks surveyed said they were likely to switch core providers when their contract was up for renewal.

“The relationship banks have with their core providers directly impacts their ability to implement the modern, innovative tools they need to compete in today’s marketplace,” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said in the statement. “These survey results show that there is still plenty of room for improvement in the bank-core relationship, and ABA remains committed to helping make that happen.”

Conducted in October 2022 as part of the work of the ABA’s banker-led core platforms committee, the survey also included responses from core providers for the first time.

“The survey reveals a clear perception gap between banks and core providers on how well core processor solutions are helping banks succeed,” ABA said in the statement.

The ABA said banks and core platform providers agreed on the importance of certain attributes that drive bank success, but core providers overestimated their effectiveness in helping banks meet those goals.

While the survey’s rating system showed that the two sides generally agreed on the importance of the attributes, core providers scored their own effectiveness 1.67 points higher on a five-point scale than banks. The ABA said this “effectiveness gap” is at the center of banks’ frustrations with core providers.

“The survey suggests core providers have an opportunity to bridge the gap between bank evaluations of their technology solutions and customer service and their own performance assessments,” Kimberly Kirk, chair of ABA’s core platforms committee Chair and chief operations officer of Queensborough National Bank & Trust in Louisville, Georgia, said in the statement. “Hopefully this survey can highlight specific areas where the cores can proactively engage with their bank customers.”