![]() Many offer state-of-the-art digital banking platforms. Here’s what to consider if you are planning to open a bank account.īank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo, as well as most large national banks, have a significant nationwide presence of branches and ATMs. Not every kind of bank will work best for your needs. Those obstacles include the time it takes to transfer direct-deposit payments to a new account and making new automatic bill payment arrangements. “It could very well be that consumers can’t get over the obstacles to switching banks.” “I don’t think that means consumers are letting banks off the hook for their bad practices,” says Christina Tetreault, senior staff attorney for Consumers Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports. Only 11 percent of our surveyed members closed an account because of concerns about their institution’s lack of social responsibility. Given that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took enforcement actions against more than two dozen banks since 2012, it may be surprising that consumers like their banks so much.īut our findings suggest that the overwhelming majority of consumers overlook alleged wrongdoing on everything from mortgage redlining and illegal student loan servicing practices to charging for unauthorized overdraft protection and deceptive marketing. “Ally provides higher-interest rates on my savings account and certificates of deposit compared with my local physical bank,” says Thomas Fararo, a retired Pennsylvania resident and one of the Consumer Reports members who graded banks and credit unions in our survey.Īlly, Capital One 360, and Discover were all paying 1.75 percent to 2.05 percent on 12-month CDs in March, compared with 0.02 to 0.07 percent paid by Chase Bank and Bank of America. Like credit unions, online banks also offer better interest rates than traditional banks. These three companies also provided easy-to-use online transactions and useful websites. Among the nine in this category, USAA, Schwab Bank, and Ally Bank were rated the highest in overall customer satisfaction. Members also gave high ratings to online-only banks. For example, credit unions were charging 2.79 percent on average on a 48-month new-car loan in the fourth quarter of 2017, while banks were charging 4.64 percent, according to the National Credit Union Association, using data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. One reason is that credit unions generally charge lower interest rates on loans. Overall, our members relied more on credit unions than banks for savings accounts, credit cards issued by the financial institution, loans, CDs, and mortgages. “We take customer satisfaction very seriously,” Klein says. According to Klein, since our survey was fielded last summer, HSBC has started to institute a new internet banking platform, redesign its website, and extend branch hours. Matt Klein, an HSBC spokesman, says the bank is making changes. Fewer than half its customers were highly satisfied with the basics such as the bank’s branch locations, its hours, and its website. ![]() Our members gave the bank poor marks for five of the six attributes we considered. In CR’s survey, HSBC stood out among the lowest-rated banks. ![]() ![]() While Bank of America and Wells Fargo-which is still dealing with the aftermath of a fake-account scandal-fell behind in customer satisfaction, both say they are seeing improvements. Power, also shows that many consumers appreciated Chase’s ATM and branch network, and mobile and online services, as well as the quality, clarity, and relevance on the advice provided about financial products it offers. Other banking surveys, such as one from J.D. While the nation’s biggest banks generally scored lower than the smaller banks, our respondents gave Chase a higher overall satisfaction score than they gave to Bank of America and Wells Fargo. ![]()
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