The news: McKinsey’s “Global Banking Annual Review 2026” argues fintechs are becoming serious competitors for customer primacy. 

Zoom in: While their revenues still trail banks’ by far, the strongest fintechs are growing fast, becoming profitable, and moving into banks’ most lucrative pools—including payments, wealth management, capital markets, and lending. 

Among the combined revenues of the largest 1,000 banks and top 1,000 fintechs by valuation, fintechs’ share rose from 10% in 2021 to 17% in 2025—far outpacing banks’ growth. This is evidence of fintechs maturing from niche challengers into scaled financial institutions, per McKinsey.

Zoom out: This fast growth also suggests that fintechs and neobanks are winning broader customer relationships, not just individual transactions. Companies like Chime—which recently hit GAAP profitability—and Robinhood—which joined the S&P 500 last year—are expanding their narrow product lineups into broad financial ecosystems. Combined with strong digital experiences, these broader offerings could persuade consumers to switch carriers or open additional accounts.

Traditional institutions still have an edge in their physical footprints. Even for Gen Zers, ATM and branch proximity are among the three most-cited factors behind choosing a bank. But that alone won’t be enough to preserve customer primacy as fintechs and neobanks expand their product suites and deepen customer trust.

Implications for banks: The battle is expanding beyond providing financial infrastructure to owning the customer relationship. With more intermediaries positioning themselves between banks and consumers, banks face growing pressure to strengthen loyalty through digital experiences and services that make them the center of consumers’ financial lives.

To understand the types of digital features customers want the most, read “US Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark 2025” next.

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