Bank and Credit Card Digital Platforms Show Solid Fundamentals, but Gaps Emerge in Critical Moments
- Core digital banking and credit card experience remains strong overall
- Only 28% of bank and credit card app customers use virtual assistants, with higher overall satisfaction among those users
- Virtual assistant satisfaction drops sharply for fraud, disputes and problem resolution
The nation’s banks and credit card providers are rapidly expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered virtual assistants across their mobile apps and websites, but the technology can sometimes introduce more headaches than solutions. While virtual assistants handle simple, transactional tasks effectively, they struggle to support customers through more complex scenarios, according to a series of recent studies of bank and credit card mobile app and online users, released today by JD Power.
The studies—JD Power 2026 U.S. Banking Mobile App Satisfaction Study;SM JD Power 2026 U.S. Online Banking Satisfaction Study;SM JD Power 2026 U.S. Credit Card Mobile App Satisfaction Study;SM and JD Power 2026 U.S. Online Credit Card Satisfaction StudySM —track overall customer satisfaction with banking and credit card providers’ digital offerings.
“While AI virtual assistants can streamline simple tasks, they consistently fall short in resolving complex customer service and fraud-related issues, where limited escalation options often trap customers in frustrating self-service loops that erode trust instead of connecting them to the help they need,” said Jennifer White, managing director of financial services intelligence at JD Power. “Banks and credit card providers need to move beyond basic automation and prioritize virtual assistant designs that can reliably handle complex service and fraud-related needs, with seamless escalation to human support when needed.”
Following are some key findings of the 2026 study:
- Core digital experience remains strong despite AI friction: Despite ongoing challenges with virtual assistants, overall satisfaction with digital banking remains strong. Overall satisfaction with U.S. national banking mobile apps is 723 (on a 1,000-point scale), while overall satisfaction with credit card mobile apps is 713. Much of this strength is driven by the core digital experience, in which most bank and credit card mobile apps deliver on the fundamentals, particularly in areas such as fast and seamless login, modern design and intuitive navigation.
- Virtual assistant adoption remains low but represents high-impact opportunity: While only 28% of national bank and credit card app customers use virtual assistants, their use is associated with higher satisfaction overall, particularly when the tool is perceived as comprehensive. Among users of virtual assistants in national banking and credit card apps, overall satisfaction (736) is 18 points higher compared with non-users, and satisfaction specifically with virtual assistants continues to rise steadily as perceived comprehensiveness increases. However, satisfaction with virtual assistants drops sharply when users attempt to resolve problems, dispute charges or identify fraud, highlighting a critical gap in handling sensitive, security and customer service needs.
- Virtual assistant users tend to be tech-oriented and younger: Virtual assistant users are more likely to be heavier mobile app users with higher tech savviness who skew younger than users in other age groups. Among the 39% of users who describe themselves as tech-savvy, 50% are Gen Z1 and 36% are Millennials, with both age groups logging much higher usage compared with their older counterparts. Affluent customers are also comparatively less likely to use virtual assistants.
“When virtual assistants hit that sweet spot of being both easy to use and comprehensive in terms of overall capability, bank and credit card customers end up having an incredibly positive digital experience,” said Jon Sundberg, director of digital solutions at JD Power. “Right now, however, while many providers have adopted virtual assistant capabilities, very few have managed to deliver both ease of use and task breadth simultaneously. This is really the next frontier for bank and credit card providers, and a critical piece of the equation to get right as customers increasingly become comfortable seeking financial information using AI-powered tools.”
