Even as the role of the bank branch changes—moving away from basic transactional functions to more complex financial matters—customers’ ability to find the branch they need and the information they’re seeking has never been more important. Banks and other financial institutions that can build a better bank locator—one that’s not buried on the website or mobile app and one that has robust information readily available—can exceed what basic web searches offer and, more important, satisfy their customers.

This Javelin Strategy & Research report examines the bank locator functionality of the top five U.S. banks, focusing on 35 factors in three categories: filtration features, display of information, and ease of use. Although all of the banks rise to the challenge of building a strong locator to varying degrees, there is much room for improvement in the areas of prominence on websites and apps and being clear about which branches customers can visit for their particular needs.

Key questions discussed in this report:

• How can FIs set their branch locators apart from what a web search provides?
• What features of a branch locator generate the most customer satisfaction?
• How do top-five U.S. banks compare in the robustness of their bank locators?

Companies Mentioned:

Bank of America, BMO Harris, Chase Bank, Citibank, Google, MetaLocator, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Wave2