The (Real) State of Financial Trust

We’ve all heard the news. Over the past few decades, consumer trust in the financial services sector has been shaken by a constellation of factors, including economic shocks, political upheaval, poor business practices, wage stagnation, and rapid technological change.

At Shiny, we wondered: How do perceptions of trust and reality line up? Where do they diverge? As a creative agency serving some of the largest U.S. banks, we wanted to find out. The result is Finsights: The Shiny Study of Financial Consumer Attitudes.

What we believed

Based on the soundbites, we expected to learn the following:  

• Gen Z doesn’t trust banks
• Younger consumers prefer financial technology companies to traditional banks
• Consumers don’t think financial institutions are looking out for them

Finsights: The Shiny Study of Financial Consumer Attitudes grew from baseline research conducted in March 2024 in collaboration with Audience Audit. Our initial survey comprised 433 respondents from across the U.S. The results have a 95% confidence level.

What we discovered

Instead, our research suggested that reality is far more nuanced than the headlines tell us. Here are some of the ways our eyes were opened:

• Trust is generational (but not in the way we expected): According to the data, younger people (under 26) trust banks significantly more than elder cohorts do.
• Big banks win on trust: If there is a trust gap with major lenders, our research didn’t support it. In fact, the consumers we polled cited national banks as more trustworthy than other financial brands.
• The traditional institution vs. fintech split: Traditional financial institutions were cited by respondents as having better privacy protection, customer service and communication. By contrast, financial technology companies were cited as having better value, relevance of products, manageable fees, and ease of use.
• Education is a predictor of trust (but not in the way we expected): We believed that consumers with less education and certainty about financial products and services would rank lowest in terms of trust. Instead, we discovered that the respondents with the greatest skepticism toward banks were significantly more likely to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
• Trusting but not tethered: Trust in banks is higher than we expected, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into loyalty. In fact, 26% of respondents said they “will” or “might” switch banks/credit unions in the next year, citing reasons like lower fees, better benefits, and better interest rates.

Some takeaways

With this research as a starting point, financial brands can develop a more clear-eyed view of who today’s consumers are, what challenges they face, and what they want from their relationships with financial institutions. For starters, we suggest the following:

• Don’t be swayed by stereotypes. Challenge your expectations. Develop an accurate, informed understanding of who your prospects and customers are. As we found out, the traits that form audience segments don’t always break along demographic lines.
• Use every “touch” to build trust. Each interaction you have with customers is an opportunity to cement their loyalty. Make sure that the experiences you provide are always easy, frictionless, and engender feelings of trust.
• Educate, educate (and educate some more). A large proportion of respondents believed they are just “average” when it comes to their financial skills, and 92% said they are interested in improving their financial skills. This points to a significant opportunity for financial institutions to boost their clients’ and prospects’ financial literacy. Educated consumers tend to be more confident buyers, and they often give preference to the brands that helped them in the first place.

Where we go from here

This is just the beginning. Over the next several articles, we’ll unpack the data in Finsights and share our learnings in ways that can benefit financial brands of all sizes. Next up: Winning with Gen Z.

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