Canadians are slightly upping their customer satisfaction rankings for banks this year, according to a new J.D. Power survey, which says the higher scores are mainly driven by improvements in the Big Five banks. The survey showed that overall customer satisfaction rose by three points on a 1,000-point scale. RBC ranked the highest in terms of customer satisfaction among the Big Five banks for a third consecutive year, with a score of 619. BMO and CIBC were tied for second place, with a score of 611. TD Bank came in fourth with a score of 610. Among midsize banks, Tangerine Bank was ranked the highest for a 15th consecutive year with a score of 676. The survey points to a growing threat of competition, with newer fintechs outperforming Big Five lenders and midsize banks across certain key factors. The survey found 17 per cent of gen Z and gen Y traditional banking customers say they are likely or will definitely switch their primary lender in the next 12 months, which marked the highest level recorded in the past five years. Among younger customers, fees and competitive rates were found to be a vulnerability for larger banks. “Younger customers can be satisfied with their bank and still leave if they see a better opportunity to save money elsewhere,” Paul McAdam, senior director of banking and payments intelligence at JD Power, said in a news release. “When household budgets are tight, a monthly banking fee becomes an expense worth reconsidering. Traditional banks cannot take the next generation’s loyalty for granted.” The use of AI among lenders was seen to be unclear to most customers, with only 12 per cent of traditional retail bank customers indicating they understand how their lender uses AI. Meanwhile, fraud prevention and data security led the list in how customers prefer their bank to use AI. Survey results were taken from responses from 14,038 retail banking customers across large and mid-sized lenders. Responses were taken between January and February as well as from July to August. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026. Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
