- National banks gain market share in new checking, savings, credit card and investment account customer acquisition
- Reputation rises as top driver of new account selection
- FinTechs continue to gain traction with DIY investors
The great unbundling of the banking and financial services industry may have reached a turning point. After several quarters of losing share of new account openings to FinTech challenger brands, the big banks have come roaring back in the second quarter of 2026.
According to JD Power Signals Intelligence for Financial Services, formerly the Financial Services Churn Data and Analytics report, major national brands have assumed the top spots in new checking, savings, investment, retirement, credit card and personal loan account opening rates. The report tracks new customer acquisition and attrition rates across all categories of financial services, and sheds light on the key demographic and behavioral details defining this industry-wide transformation.
National Banks Take Lead in New Checking and Savings Account Openings
Chase now leads all bank brands in new checking and savings account openings with 11.2% of all new checking accounts and 10.5% of all new savings accounts opened during the second quarter of 2026.
Key determining factors driving customer selection among top performing checking and savings account providers are reputation, promotional offers and recommendations from friends and family. The influence of reputation on bank selection has increased by 4 percentage points in Q2 from Q1.
FinTechs continue to lead in new checking and savings account conversion rates with Sofi and Chime converting 73% and 72%, respectively, of new checking account customer inquiries, and Chime converting 81% of new savings account inquiries.
When broken down by customer affluence groups, Chime is leading the way in checking (12.8%) and savings (10.9%) account openings among mass market[1] customers. Chase leads the field among mass affluent checking (14.1%) and savings (11.1%) customers. Bank of America leads the way on affluent checking (15.7%) customers, while Chase leads among affluent savings (10.9%) customers.
Share of Checking Account Openings by Affluency Segment
Share of Savings Account Openings by Affluency Segment
Legacy Brands Lead on New Investment and Retirement Account Openings
While established financial services brands Fidelity and Charles Schwab lead in new investment account openings and dominate in market share among new advised investors, FinTech brands continue to establish a foothold in the DIY investor space. When broken out by investor type, Fidelity is the leader in new account openings among both advised and DIY investors, but FinTechs such as Robinhood, SoFi and Acorns continue to attract a large volume of DIY investors.
Share of Investment Account Openings by Investor Type
In the retirement account segment, Fidelity, Bank of America/Merrill and Charles Schwab capture the largest share of new account openings in Q2.
Share of Retirement Account Openings
Big Banks Flex Muscle in Credit Card Segment
National bank issuers Capital One (16.8%), Chase (12.4%) and Bank of America (6.3%) experienced notable quarterly gains in new customer selection rate among credit card issuers. Top reasons given by customers for selecting these brands are better rewards and previous experience with the brand.
Share of Credit Card Account Openings by Credit Score
Credit card selection varies widely by credit tier, with Capital One resonating most among subprime consumers (credit scores of 400–659) and Chase leading among prime consumers (credit scores of 660+).
Personal Loans Providers Win on Convenience
New to the JD Power Signals Intelligence for Financial Services, personal loans have emerged as a key financial tool used by consumers to consolidate debt and manage household finances. Wells Fargo leads in new personal loan account openings with 10.7% of the total market of new customers in Q2. It is followed by Upstart (9.9%) and SoFi (8.5%). Top reasons for selecting a personal loan provider are convenience, monthly payment and previous experience with the brand.
The Battle for Hearts and Minds of Financial Services Customers Heats Up
The consumer calculus of selecting a financial provider is not getting any less complicated. Interest rates, promotions and introductory offers, brand reputation and trust, advocacy, customer support and gut feel all play a role in customers’ decision to choose one bank, credit card or investment provider over another. Both established brands and digital native upstarts recognize this, and they are pulling on various levers to win the hearts and minds of new customers.
In this installment of JD Power Signals Intelligence for Financial Services, we find that the advantage in new customer acquisition has shifted to the big bank brands following two consecutive quarters in which FinTechs were building serious momentum. The sudden swing back to the big banks suggests these legacy brands still have a great deal of strength, particularly in areas like reputation, convenience and word of mouth advocacy.
Can they hold onto that advantage? We will continue tracking the detailed patterns of customer attrition throughout the financial services marketplace to chart this ongoing evolution.
Find out More
This JD Power Financial Services Intelligence Report is based on over 200,000 responses collected between April 2026 and June 2026. It was authored by Jennifer White, senior director, financial services intelligence at JD Power. Please contact us at the numbers below to connect with the team or to learn more about the underlying research.
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[1]JD Power defines wealth categories for banking as Mass Market (income <$150,000 and investable assets <$100,000); Mass Affluent (income of $150,000+ and investable assets <$250,000 or income <$150,000 and investable assets of $100,000+); and Affluent (income of $150,000+ and investable assets of $250,000+).