Although interest rates and inflation have started to trend downward, many bank customers in Canada are still feeling the economic squeeze and the majority of them express interest in receiving financial advice from their bank, according to the J.D. Power 2024 Canada Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of bank customers are “experiencing some level of financial distress1 and 80% indicate interest in receiving advice from their financial institution.”
Jennifer White, senior director for banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power said:
“Bank customers’ appetites for financial advice is high and an increase in quality advice will only increase their customer satisfaction. Therefore, providing personalized advice is mutually beneficial as customers who receive it are taking actions and benefitting financially, while banks are experiencing strong engagement and brand advocacy.”
Following are some key findings of the 2024 study:
- Advice recall high, especially among new immigrants and younger customers: More than half (52%) of all bank customers remember receiving financial advice from their bank. Specifically, immigrants who have lived in Canada for less than two years are more inclined to recall receiving financial advice from their bank (79%) than those who have lived in Canada longer (51%). Additionally, customers under the age of 40 also remember getting financial advice from their bank at a higher rate (61%) than do those in older age groups (47%).
- Most bank customers act on advice: More than three-fourths (77%) of customers who receive financial advice follow through and act on it. The most frequent actions taken in response to advice include shifting funds between accounts (29%); updating account settings (21%); downloading the mobile app (20%); and scheduling a meeting with a bank rep (20%).
- Satisfaction increases when customers take action: Overall satisfaction with retail banking advice increases 142 points (on a 1,000-point scale) when customers act based on specific advice from their bank.
- Banks still miss the mark on advice topics: The study finds gaps exist in nearly every category and topic when it comes to the advice delivered by the bank and the advice that customers are most interested in. The widest gap exists in the financial planning category, as the difference between those who are currently receiving that type of advice and those who want more is 16 percentage points, specifically, looking for more advice around tax reduction.
As covered, J.D. Power is a global firm focused on “consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics.”
An enabler of the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modelling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has “been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years.”
The world’s businesses across industries reportedly “rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.”
J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.