Industry News

01/09/2009 - Despite the fact that the global recession has caused many banks to cut back on lending, Canadian consumers remain satisfied with the country's major retail banks, according to the latest Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power and Associates.

The study found that overall consumer satisfaction averaged 747 points on a 1,000-point scale, marking an increase of 3 percent since 2008.

Canadian retail banks performed better than their U.S. counterparts, which have seen declining consumer satisfaction for the past two years, the survey found.

"Among retail bank customers in Canada, satisfaction, loyalty and commitment to their primary financial institutions have remained largely unaffected during these volatile times," said Lubo Li, senior director of research at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, the needs and preferences of bank customers are changing, and banks will need to evolve with them in order to meet or surpass their expectations."

As consumers continue to trust their banks - and as banks increase their offerings to help retain customers - the use of credit cards and other lending-based financing will likely stay strong throughout the recession.

Therefore, as the shift to plastic payment methods is expected to continue its strong recent growth, it is more important than ever for stores to have credit card merchant accounts to avoid missing out on sales.