National Banking Preferences

Everyone values something different in their banking relationship. For some it's rates and fees while for others it's service location and product choice. Consumer banking preferences are shaped by a variety of personal factors such as income level and age.

Report Number 409

From the Center for

Consumer Decision Making

Executive Summary

We conducted a national survey of 985 respondents to get meaningful insights on consumer banking preferences and the importance of specific financial services. Our results found:

Young consumers, age 18-24 rank fees as their greatest concern but don’t put as much weight into fees as those 45 and older.
When looking at the average age and income levels of respondents who bank with credit unions we find that almost 30% of credit union respondents have an annual household income of $50,000-74,999.
Rates, digital services, and product choice become less important as one ages.
When looking at banking preferences based on income, we find that the majority of respondents, regardless of income level, prefer banks to credit unions, lower fees and wide choice of generic loan and deposit products to limited choice of customized loan and deposit products.