ACSI: Banks and Credit Unions Tie in Customer Satisfaction

Banks match credit unions in consumer satisfaction.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®), banks and credit unions both scored an 81. Regional and community banks had a score of 84.

Credit unions saw a dip in customer satisfaction of 1.2 percent year over year, while banks were unchanged.

ACSI found that credit unions offered better in-person customer service than banks, but not by much. Credit unions scored an 89, while banks scored 88.

Credit unions also led banks in speed of service at branches (88 to 85) and call center satisfaction (84 to 81).

However, banking mobile apps were superior in quality (86 to 85) and more reliable (85 to 83).

Read the press release.

Customer Satisfaction with CUs Tumbles, As Membership Grows

The American Customer Satisfaction Index reported that consumer satisfaction with credit unions tumbled in 2015 compared to a year ago as the growth in new members strained credit union resources.

Customer satisfaction with credit unions declined by 4.7 percent to 81, and their edge over smaller banks (80) shrinks to a virtual tie.

Compared to 2014, credit unions scored lower in all customer experience categories except for the number of ATM locations.

Credit unions receive their best marks for staff courtesy (90) and transaction speed (89), although both are down from very high scores of 93 in 2014.

Credit union call centers are showing signs of strain as satisfaction fell from 90 in 2014 to 85 in 2015.

Satisfaction with credit union websites slipped from 89 to 86.

Credit union members assigned a lower scores to the variety of financial services available (down from 87 to 84), ease of adding or making changes to accounts (down from 87 to 83), and ease of understanding information about accounts (down from 86 to 82).

Members continue to believe that their credit union offers competitive interest rates (80), although not quite as competitive as in 2014 (84).

The report found that despite a general deterioration in service over the past year, credit unions go nearly head-to-head with smaller regional and community banks for most customer experience elements. While the two are deadlocked for website satisfaction, credit unions receive a higher mark for call centers. The report found that regional and community banks edge past credit unions in four areas: service variety, account changes, account information, and ATM locations.

Compared with national banks and super regional banks, credit unions earn superior satisfaction scores in all but two areas -- the number and location of branches and ATMs.

The report noted that the influx of new members had put pressure on credit unions with regard to customer service and credit unions are struggling to maintain their historically high satisfaction levels.


Read the press release.

Customer Satisfaction at CUs Fell in 2012

Customer satisfaction with credit unions fell in 2012, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Credit union satisfaction fell 5.7 points to an ACSI score of 82.

ACSI commented that "a change toward more fees and higher minimum balance requirements could be worrisome given the industry’s weaker customer service this year. For credit unions, maintaining high customer satisfaction will demand more resources, along with judicious competitive monitoring of fees and costs."

Despite the decline in customer satisfaction, the survey noted that customer service score at credit unions is still the highest for the financial services industry.

Read the report.

Space Coast CU Number 1 in Consumer Complaints

Space Coast Credit Union is in a galaxy of its own when it comes to consumer complaints.

According to the Florida Bank Complaint Analysis, an annual statewide analysis of consumer complaints conducted by Miami economist and bank consultant Ken Thomas, Melbourne-based Space Coast Credit Union had 48 complaints last year. When controlled for size, Space Coast CU had nearly three times as many complaints than any other institution.

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Customer Satisfaction at CUs Drop

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, credit unions suffered a sharp drop in customer satisfaction. The satisfaction index fell by almost 5 percent to 80.

Difficulties associated with managing rapid growth along with financial losses were cited as contributing factors to the decline in customer satisfaction. The December 14 press release states:

"Since credit unions can’t raise capital by selling stock, the only recourse to recover losses is through cost-cutting, which usually leads to less customer service, or raising fees, which leads to higher customer cost."

Credit unions and community banks have the same satisfaction index.

To read the press release, click here.