The data: Digital-first providers are setting the bar for what younger customers expect from checking accounts. 

Online banks and fintechs recorded higher satisfaction among both millennials and Gen Zers than traditional banks in J.D. Power’s study of younger customers’ satisfaction, driven in part by stronger performance on real-time balance visibility and helping customers avoid overdrafts, declines, and surprise fees.

Among the survey’s Gen Zer respondents, OnePay scored 757 out of 1000 customer satisfaction points. By comparison, the highest-scoring national bank among Gen Zers was Chase at 694 points. 

Why it matters: Online banks and fintechs hold just 20% of primary checking relationships among millennials and Gen Zers but captured 28% of newly opened primary accounts, per J.D. Power.The share of Gen Zers who said a neobank was their primary bank nearly doubled from 8.9% in October 2024 to 17.2% in October 2025, per EMARKETER survey data.

These generations now account for 67% of all new primary checking accounts, meaning digital players are growing their share precisely where the industry's future is being decided. 

Implications for banks: Rewards and perks may be particularly important for winning younger customers. Seven of the 10 highest-scoring accounts in J.D. Power's study were premium, relationship, or rewards-based products. 

Younger consumers are particularly receptive to tangible account benefits: 48% of Gen Zers and half of millennials said they would switch banks or financial providers for free access to their favorite subscriptions, compared with 31% of US consumers overall, per Bango data. 

Traditional banks are losing young consumers’ primary banking relationships. Digital players' advantage lies in combining frictionless everyday banking with tangible value. Banks that can't deliver both risk ceding young customers' primary relationships to digital-first competitors.

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