Javelin Strategy & Research released the 2023 editions of its annual Mobile Banking Scorecard and Online Banking Scorecard. These deep-dives into the digital banking offerings of the 20 largest retail financial institutions in the United States highlight that competition among banks is as much about winning customers’ “share of mind” as it is about being top of wallet.
Across more than 250 criteria in each digital channel, Javelin’s analysts saw fresh signs that banks are stressing greater awareness of their digital functionality with an eye toward encouraging daily use and highlighting individual value propositions for customers. Personalizing consumer interactions is a primary tool that big banks are wielding to fend off volleys from rival institutions, neobanks, and financial apps.
“Banks are highlighting personalized insights and offers right after login,” notes Emmett Higdon, Director of Digital Banking at Javelin. “The focus has shifted from highlighting one-size-fits-all DIY tools to showing customers proactive ways to improve their individual financial habits and well-being.”
No bank performed better in 2023 than Bank of America, which earned Javelin’s Best in Class designation in both online and mobile banking. But as the stakes have risen, so has the level of competition. In the Mobile Banking Scorecard, now in its 17th year, Bank of America’s edge over U.S. Bank in the overall rankings dropped to just a single percentage point. In online banking, Chase closed the gap with BofA to less than three percentage points. Together with Truist, these four banks occupy the top three places in both channels.
Javelin’s analysts documented a notable shift in focus from transactional functionality to digital account awareness and analysis, as evidenced by:
- A rethinking of homepage promotion and navigation to stress deeper engagement.
- More purposeful personalization of data and insights to encourage more frequent visits.
- Investment in AI virtual assistants by 17 of the top 20 banks.
- Broader experimentation with financial fitness gamification, journeys, and recommendations.
- Deeper support for real-time customer service options such as live chat, scheduled callbacks, and video interactions.
"Top banks all want to be the first place customers turn when they think about their broad financial needs,” said Mark Schwanhausser, Director of Digital Banking at Javelin. “This year’s scorecards underscore the wide range of efforts to build engagement in numerous categories. Banks know that log-in, log-out relationships aren’t good enough anymore.”
About the Scorecards
Javelin measures mobile and online banking across six categories: Ease of Use, Security Empowerment, Money Movement, Financial Fitness, Customer Service, and Account Opening. Javelin analysts weight individual criteria features based on strategic value, consumer demand, and competitive differentiation. Categories are then weighted based on consumers’ satisfaction with each area as measured by Javelin’s annual Digital Banking Benchmarking survey of more than 10,000 online and mobile banking users.
