How Charlotte’s big 3 banks ranked in new customer satisfaction study. Only one improved
Banks in the Charlotte area slipped slightly in keeping customers happy, except for one, according to a new national satisfaction survey that was released Tuesday.
Customer satisfaction with bank and credit unions overall is stable compared to last year, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index Survey.
But there’s more volatility among individual banks because of the industry’s “highly competitive nature,” said Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus for ACSI, in a news release.
“Companies cannot afford to be complacent, as the ability to adapt and deliver exceptional customer experiences will be key to standing out from the crowd,” Morgeson said.
The ACSI Finance Study 2025 is based on 11,979 surveys from throughout last year. Customers were chosen at random and contacted via email. Four industries were measured: banks, credit unions, financial advisors and online investment. A scale of 0 to 100 was used for the rankings.
Overall, financial industries showed strong customer satisfaction with a score of 77 despite a 3% decline for online investments, according to the survey.
Customer satisfaction for banks and credit unions remained unchanged from last year, with scores of 80 and 79, respectively.
Overall, the bank customer experience shows mostly minor changes, with branch scores and staff courtesy experiencing the largest declines, the study found.
Here are the rankings assigned to Charlotte’s big three banks, Wells Fargo, Truist and Bank of America.
Bank of America
Charlotte-based Bank of America, tied again this year with Chase Bank at the top of the national banks category. But both banks slipped 1% in customer satisfaction with a new score of 80 compared to the prior year.
Bank of America Bank has 3,700 financial centers and 15,000 ATMs in the U.S., according to the company.
Merrill, a wealth management and investment division of Bank of America, had the lowest score for online investment. Its score plunged 9% to 69 this year.
Massive changes to the Merrill’s mobile app experience factor into the plunge as customer evaluations of mobile app reliability and quality suffer losses, the survey found.
Merrill also had the lowest score in the financial advisors industry scoring 77, unchanged from the prior year.
Bank of America, the second largest bank in the U.S., has 213,000 employees companywide with more than 19,000 workers in the Charlotte region.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo scored 1% higher in satisfaction, with a score of 78. It was the only national bank to improve.
Wells Fargo ranks third, ahead of Citibank, which score dropped 6% to 74 this year in overall customer satisfaction.
In contrast to its peers, Wells Fargo improved significantly in its call center satisfaction, according to the survey. The bank’s improvements come as it continues to recover from several scandals.
Wells Fargo has closed 10 consent orders since 2019 but the bank’s biggest punishment remains in effect among its five remaining consent orders. The 2018 $1.95 trillion asset cap prevents the bank from growing until regulators believe it has fixed problems dating back to its 2016 fake accounts scandal.
The San Francisco-based company employs about 27,000 jobs in Charlotte, which is the largest employment hub for the bank.
Truist
Charlotte-based Truist had an ACSI score of 77 that was unchanged this year.
Truist has about 50,000 workers in the U.S., including more than 3,000 workers in the Charlotte area.
Truist’s score is tied with Fifth Third Bank and Citizens Bank. Fifth Third, which plans to open nine branches in the Charlotte market through 2028, saw no change. Citizens Bank’s score dropped 1%.
Military-affiliated USAA Bank led the super regional banks category despite a 3% decrease to an ACSI score of 84. It received praise for the high quality of its website, mobile app and call center experience.
Several banks saw higher satisfaction than Truist.
Regions Bank score of 83 was up 5%; TD Bank scored 81, up 3%; PNC Bank scored 80, up 1%; Capital One scored 79, up 1%; KeyBank scored 79, up 3%. U.S. Bank’s score of 79 was unchanged this year.
Pittsburg-based PNC Bank plans to add at least 25 branches to the Charlotte area over the next five years as part of its nationwide $1.5 billion branch investment plan.
BMO (formerly Bank of the West) was the lowest score of 71, dropping 8%.
About ACSI
The American Customer Satisfaction Index has been a national economic indicator for more than 25 years.
About 400 companies in 40 industries and 10 economic sectors are measured and analyzed. This includes services of federal and local government agencies.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 8:00 AM with the headline "How Charlotte’s big 3 banks ranked in new customer satisfaction study. Only one improved."