The findings: Deloitte’s July 2025 ConsumerSignals report gives us a glimpse into US banking customers’ current stressors and banks’ upcoming challenges. We saw that: deposits are about to drop, housing prices stress every generation, consumers are curbing their splurging, and they’re more worried than they were last year. Our take: Though US banking customers are facing a number of stressors, they’re demonstrating resilience and savvy that has helped them pull through. That resilience could be informed by advice from financial experts they trust, including at their FIs.
The findings: Top performers innovate and grow more quickly than midtier credit unions because of key behaviors, per PYMNTS. Our take: Midtier credit unions are often caught in a reactive cycle, innovating simply to keep pace with competitors. The core takeaway is that top performers innovate to profoundly understand and meet their members' evolving needs—not to keep up with competitors. This shift frees top credit unions from the slow and costly process of building every solution in-house—or foregoing innovation altogether. Instead, they are able to strategically embrace partnerships to rapidly deploy solutions their members truly value, like robust digital features and seamless experiences.
The problem: Young adults don’t see value in life insurance beyond its death benefits, as we explore in “US Life Insurance Trends 2025.” That narrow view also means they overlook the value of estate planning—a space where life insurers have a strong presence, per Insurance News Net. Our take: Many life insurers offer estate planning services. But even when they don’t, insurers that encourage current and prospective clients to make estate plans can demonstrate their commitment to their customers’ financial well-being and strengthen the relationship.
The news: Over 38,600 residential structures were within the flood zone of the Guadalupe River disaster in Texas over July 4th, per Realtor.com. And the aftermath has revealed alarming gaps in locals’ insurance coverage. Our take: To close the gap, they must help customers understand the value of their services and what affects pricing. Insurers should: Build campaigns around why separate flood insurance is needed, educate consumers on the factors that influence flood insurance premiums, and highlight preventative measures homeowners can take to reduce flood risk.
The news: We’ve covered banking customer anxieties about inflation, tariff chaos, and broader economic warning signs. Banks have been offering products and advice to help customers plan for the future and strengthen their financial standings. But some financial institutions (FIs) may be failing to address customers’ more pressing financial needs. Our take: For customers showing signs of financial stress, banks must pivot from long-term planning advice to addressing immediate financial survival. This requires delivering highly personalized, practical guidance on urgent concerns like budgeting and debt management. To identify customers in need of help, FIs can analyze their financial health, emergency savings, and how often they nearly or completely empty out their accounts to pay their bills. These steps can prove the FI’s value and build trust in the short term.
The news: Nearly four in 10 customers aren’t very satisfied with their auto insurers, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 US Auto Insurance Study. This makes them significantly less likely to renew and more likely to shop for a new provider. Even customers with higher premiums, multiple premiums, and long tenures aren’t locked in: Just 51% of customers in this high-value lifetime group said they will definitely renew. Our take: Auto insurers must prioritize the customer experience or risk attrition. And since almost half of their highest-value customers could be considering a switch, making swift changes can help them prevent financial losses.
The news: JPMorgan is reportedly considering offering loans directly backed by clients' Bitcoin and other crypto assets, per Bitcoin Magazine. This would be a first for the big bank, moving beyond accepting only Bitcoin exchange-traded funds as collateral. Our take: As regulations around crypto continue to ease, more financial institutions (FIs) will explore incorporating digital currencies into their offerings. While crypto may not be the best path for all FIs, JPMorgan's move to consider Bitcoin-backed lending signifies a critical inflection point in traditional finance. Banks have seen crypto firms encroach on their territory as they seek banking charters. But an expansion of crypto offerings by traditional banks would allow them to strike back with more-comprehensive lending products their competitors may not yet be able to offer.
41% of US buy now, pay later (BNPL) users have bought clothing, shoes, and outfit accessories with the services, according to April data from LendingTree and QuestionPro.
The news: We've been discussing how millennials’ and Gen Zers’ very different goals require separate marketing strategies. Coinlaw recently pinpointed three areas where their banking preferences differ the most. These include Gen Z’s mobile-first mindset, their preference for big banks, and where both generations seek advice. Our take: It's not just about what products you offer or what your advertising features—it's how and where you do it. Gen Zers and millennials take different approaches to engaging with banks, the information they put out, and their services. Banks’ marketing strategies should account for this to ensure their messaging is hitting their target audience.
The news: Anticipatory banking describes a bank predicting and meeting account holders’ needs before they are communicated, per a recent Alkami explainer. It uses integrated technology and data to bring personalization to the next level. Our take: Anticipatory banking is a fundamental shift FIs must make to stay competitive and relevant. By leveraging AI to predict customer needs, banks can move from reactive service to proactive engagement. The sooner they embrace this transformation, the better they will fit into their customers' evolving financial journeys
The news: The Financial Brand recently featured Citizens Bank’s comprehensive strategy for improving the customer experience. What stood out to us were Citizen Bank’s people-first approach, hyper-local strategy, and data-driven decisions. Our take: While no single strategy—be it a people-first approach, hyperlocal focus, or digital innovation—would alone future-proof a bank's business. But Citizens' integrated pursuit of all three forms a truly comprehensive, powerful, and competitive strategy, positioning the bank effectively against traditional rivals and agile fintechs.
The news: We’ve recently covered a fintech, a stablecoin issuer, an auto manufacturer, foreign banks, and credit unions that are considering, applying for, or in the process of acquiring US banking licenses. Some have already succeeded, inspiring others to follow suit. And according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, banking charter applications have increased 70% since 2024. Our take: We predict traditional banks will push for regulatory changes that prevent the steady inflow of new banks that haven’t had to follow the more stringent requirements of the past. Banks’ long-standing customer relationships will be a central pillar of their defense strategy. Banks must increasingly leverage their established trust, extensive branch networks, and comprehensive product suites to highlight their stability and one-stop-shop convenience compared to specialized fintechs or more limited new entrants.
The news: A recent survey by The Harris Poll for Current.com found that Gen Zers and millennials value financial health more than physical attractiveness in a potential romantic partner. Among both generations, 33% prioritize a partner’s emergency savings over their looks. This contrasts sharply with 23% of Gen Xers and 18% of baby boomers, who are more likely than Gen Zers to have emergency savings themselves and may not prioritize this in a partner. Our take: We’ve covered how Gen Zers are putting their financial goals on pause to prioritize summer fun and living in the moment. And we recommended that financial institutions (FIs) gently remind Gen Zers of their financial goals and how to reach them while still supporting their priorities.
The news: Insurance premiums are set to rise by 15% next year for the people who buy through the Affordable Care Act, per a new KFF analysis. Our take: While the Trump administration is eliminating the ACA tax credits, states where the president won the election account for 88% of ACA enrollment growth since 2020, per KFF research in April. When premium increases roll out across the ACA marketplace, and spillover into higher costs for hospitals and healthcare services, we expect plenty of political finger-pointing over fault, but little agreement on ways to improve US healthcare and keep consumers out of medical debt.
The news: Lloyds has launched an internal genAI -powered knowledge hub, Athena, to help customer-facing employees sift through banking and customer information faster—empowering more personalized and helpful experiences, per PYMNTS. Our take: We’ve recommended that banks focus on implementing genAI-powered solutions that free up their employees’ time so they can manage the human-centric, complex tasks for which customers turn to them. Athena does this and also has the potential to supercharge the human-centricity in customer service by empowering employees with more relevant information. The customer experience is one of the biggest drivers of customer attrition, and Athena represents a strategic step for Lloyds to enhance efficiency while preserving, and potentially elevating, the personalized and empathetic service that fosters customer loyalty and reduces churn.
The news: We recently covered JPMorgan’s decision to charge fintechs for access to customer data. Fintechs aren’t taking this lightly and don’t appear to be accepting of their fate. Our take: The current situation sets the stage for a battle of the lobbies. With the CFPB unlikely to reinstate stronger open banking regulations for now, fintechs may pivot to launching public education campaigns about how they believe this affects banking customers. This could be a strategic move to rally consumer support and advocate for their perspective on data access and financial choice in the interim. Meanwhile, more banks are likely to follow in JPMorgan’s footsteps—and PNC has already announced it’s considering a similar move, per Bank Automation News.
The news: Consumers in Canada under 40 switched financial institutions at twice the rate of older consumers over the past four years, per a J.D. Power survey. Meanwhile, the number who use digital-only banks jumped from 11% to 21% between 2022 and 2025, according to a study by Oliver Wyman LLC. Our take: We have covered how more than half of consumers in Canada would leave their current bank over poor experiences. All of these findings together show that no bank is safe in assuming customers will stay with them if they aren’t getting the best experience, the lowest fees, the best rates, etc. To stem this outflow and retain younger generations, Canada's Big Six banks must invest in competitive, digitally forward offerings that eliminate punitive fees, provide better rates, and deliver personalized financial guidance beyond traditional services.
The news: We’ve covered the importance of life-stage banking, which demonstrates an understanding of customers’ most pressing needs and helps banks move past product-centricity. With its family-focused products, SoFi demonstrates what this strategy can look like in practice. Our take: SoFi is far from the only bank to have developed products aimed at solving target customers’ financial challenges. But its holistic approach to financial health could help it stand out when young parents are looking for the right fit for their families, especially considering its savings rate—which is well above many of its traditional competitors’. Customers' deposits are largely determined by banks’ rates, and are much more volatile than many banks assumed. Learn more by reading our article, “Customer deposits are more volatile than banks assumed: What banks can do to keep them.”
The news: Though it already offers software-as-a-service in the US, UK digital bank Starling has its sights set on a US expansion, per PYMNTS. Our take: Starling’s multi-pronged growth strategy is in line with its biggest digital competitors. We’ve recently covered multiple neobanks and fintechs pursuing or considering IPOs in the US, along with fintechs acquiring banks for licenses. But this isn't just about neobanks competing with other neobanks; it represents a direct strategic pivot by digital-native players to leverage their technology to rapidly modernize and capture customers from the traditional banking market. Such moves will inevitably intensify competitive pressure on US mid-tier and community banks, forcing them to seek fintech partnerships to avoid becoming acquisition targets themselves.
The news: Most big banks reported better-than-expected profits for Q2 2025, per Reuters. Our take: These strong Q2 earnings show that big banks are capitalizing on opportunities—but they’re not letting their guard down. We’ll see that continue as banks tap new revenue streams given a relaxation of financial regulations, like JPMorgan charging fintechs for customer data. With risks like more tariffs, deficits, and geopolitical tensions looming, banks will likely stay disciplined on costs and risk exposure. To stay ahead, banks should double down on tech-driven efficiency and monetization strategies that can scale regardless of market headwinds.