Consumers overwhelmingly ranked convenience as the most important attribute followed by product features, security, and service.
"Forty-four percent of those consumers surveyed ranked convenience as the most important reason for staying with their current financial institution," said Chad Watkins, research manager of this study at Informa Research Services. "It was quite a surprise that only 19% ranked security as their most important reason."
Additionally, the convenience category was broken down further for participants to rank convenience by locations, number of ATMs, easy online access, and convenient hours.
"Forty-six percent of the consumers surveyed ranked convenient locations as the number one reason for staying with their current bank," continued Watkins. "With the wide variety of delivery channels, it still comes down to location, location, location."
Not to say that security isn’t an issue. When consumers were asked about the important security attributes of their bank, 46% expressed that the most important feature was that their deposits were insured by the U.S. government. Consumers conveyed that trustworthiness and the reputation of their bank were the next factors of security they considered when deciding to stay with their bank.
"We have heard a lot of negative news about financial institutions in 2008," said Watkins. "Clearly, it is important to get back to the basics and remember that with all of our industry’s innovations, convenience is still the biggest driver for where a consumer chooses to conduct their business."
