The Trust Gap Report 2026
Financial services marketing statistics: the trust gap, stage by stage
In financial services, trust is the product. Everything else is delivery.
I've spent 25 years inside banks, credit unions, wealth firms and fintechs, and I see the same pattern in all of them. An institution asks for a sign-up, a meeting, a deposit or a signature before the person on the other side has decided to give it. I call the distance between those two things the trust gap. It's the main reason good products and good institutions grow more slowly than they should.
I built this page to put numbers on that gap. It brings together 93 financial services marketing statistics from primary sources published in 2025 and 2026, with Canadian data first. Every stat comes with what it means for your business, in the terms you already track: acquisition cost, conversion, retention and growth. Use the filter to see the data for your part of the industry.
The data follows the seven stages of trust. Customers move through them in order, and each stage has to be earned before the next one can work.
Stakes. Before anyone meets your brand, they bring what the category has done to them. Fraud, breaches and fine print decide how much trust you start with.
Feel seen. People give their attention to institutions that clearly understand them. A message written for anyone lands with no one.
Understand. Customers now research on their own, through AI, creators and peers, long before they talk to you. Your story has to hold up when someone else retells it.
Believe. Understanding what you do is one step. Trusting you with money and data is another. Proof, security and accountability close that distance.
Commit. This is the moment you ask for something. Every point of friction at sign-up, onboarding or approval costs customers you've already paid to acquire.
Stay. Trust earned at the point of sale gets tested again every day after it. Retention is where growth compounds, or where it slips away.
Growth economics. All of this happens with tighter budgets and more selective investors. Every marketing dollar now has to show where it's going.
For fintech founders
You start behind. Across 28 countries, 53% of people trust fintechs, compared with 66% for banks, and in developed markets fintech trust drops to 39%. Capital is tighter too. Canadian fintech investment fell more than 40% in a year, and Canadian seed dollars fell 31%. In B2B, about 80% of deals go to the vendor the buyer favoured before first contact, and half of software buyers now start their research with an AI chatbot. Your marketing has to build trust before it asks for anything, and it has to show a return before your next raise.
For community banks and credit unions
You already hold trust that younger customers and members don't always see. Banks are the most trusted part of financial services at 66%. In the U.S., credit union members report higher satisfaction than bank customers, and regional and community banks lead national banks in a separate satisfaction index. That trust is being tested. Canadian bank switching ticked up to 7% after three flat years, 20% of U.S. bank customers moved money away from their main bank in three months, and young Canadians turn to social media for money advice almost as often as to a professional. Trust earned over decades has to be made visible where the next generation is deciding who to trust.
For wealth management firms
Trust in advisory firms sits at 57%, and the transfer of wealth is about to test every client relationship. 81% of inheritors plan to switch firms within one to two years of inheriting. Only 19% of high-net-worth individuals now work with a single firm, down from 39% in 2019. In Canada, only 31% of investors over 60 say their advisor has discussed what a future wealth transfer needs. The firms that keep assets through the transfer will be the ones whose story reaches the next generation first.
Stakes: Customers arrive guarded
Before anyone meets your brand, they bring what the category has done to them. Canadians reported more than $704 million in fraud losses in 2025, and that counts only the fraud that got reported. More than a third of Canadians have had a card number misused. Trust in financial services is rising, but it's uneven: banks sit at 66%, advisory firms at 57% and fintechs at 53%. Every institution starts from wherever its category sits, and marketing that ignores that starting point pays for it in acquisition cost.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
Canada$704M+ in fraud losses were reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in 2025, across more than 112,000 reports. | Canadians reported more than $700 million in fraud losses last year. Every financial brand asking for their money gets judged against that. | Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Top 10 frauds in 2025, Feb 2026 (CAD) (opens in a new tab) |
Canada5% to 10% of frauds in Canada are ever reported to authorities, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. | The $704 million figure is a floor. Reported losses are only a fraction of what Canadians lose to fraud. | Competition Bureau Canada, Fraud Prevention Month release citing the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada53% of Canadians say fraud concerns change how they pay. 58% feel protected by their bank, credit union or card provider. | Fear changes behaviour. More than half of Canadians say fraud concerns shape how they pay, so feeling protected is part of what gets a product used. | Payments Canada, survey of 1,500 Canadians by Leger (fielded Feb to Mar 2025), Aug 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada37% of Canadians have had their bank or credit card numbers used without permission at some point in their lives. | More than a third of your customers have been burned before. They'll look for signs you won't burn them again. | Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Annual Report 2024 to 2025, citing the 2024 Canadian Financial Capability Survey (opens in a new tab) |
Canada71% of Canadians have confidence in banks and financial institutions, down from 76% before the 2008 financial crisis. | Most Canadians have confidence in the system. That confidence belongs to the category, and each institution still has to earn its own. | Gallup World Poll, 2025 survey published Feb 2026, about 1,000 adults per country (opens in a new tab) |
63% of people across 28 countries trust financial services companies. Across the 23 countries tracked since 2021, trust is up 10 points. | Trust in the category is rising. The question for any one institution is whether it's capturing its share of that trust. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026, 33,938 people in 28 countries (opens in a new tab) |
66% vs 53% of people across 28 countries trust banks, compared with fintech and digital payment companies. | A 13-point trust gap separates banks from fintechs globally. Which side of it you sit on shapes how much proof your marketing has to carry. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
57% of people across 28 countries trust financial advisory and wealth management firms. | Advisory firms sit in neutral territory. Trust gets earned one client at a time, so the firm's story carries a lot of weight. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
39% of people in developed countries trust fintech companies. In developing countries it's 67%. | In developed markets, fintechs start below the trust line. Plan the customer journey around that. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
14 of 28 countries distrust the fintech sector. | In half the markets measured, fintechs open the conversation already distrusted. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
$15.9B in U.S. consumer fraud losses were reported in 2025, up from more than $12 billion in 2024. | Reported U.S. fraud losses grew by more than a quarter in one year. Fraud is the backdrop to every U.S. sign-up page. | U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Mar 2026 (USD) (opens in a new tab) |
50% vs 8% of U.S. adults name banks, compared with fintech providers, as the institution they trust most to protect them from fraud. | The bank industry commissioned this survey, so read it with that in mind. Banks own the fraud-protection story today, and fintechs have to earn their place in it. | American Bankers Association and Morning Consult, Oct 2025, 4,403 U.S. adults (bank industry survey) (opens in a new tab) |
67% of U.S. bank customers say they would likely switch banks after a serious data breach. | Two in three customers say a serious breach would likely end the relationship. Visible security is part of how an institution keeps customers. | Integris, Banking Trust and Technology Report 2026, 1,000 U.S. banking customers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
Feel seen: Fewer than half of customers feel understood
People give trust to institutions that clearly understand them. Only 45% of consumers feel understood by the brands they deal with, half of banking customers feel bombarded by advertising, and top bank apps all rate about the same. In Canada, midsize banks already beat the Big 5 at tailoring information to their customers. Relevance is where smaller and more focused institutions have the advantage.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
Canada78% vs 65% of Canadian customers say they get information tailored to their needs from midsize banks, compared with Big 5 banks. | Size doesn't buy relevance. Midsize banks already beat the Big 5 at giving customers information that fits their needs. | J.D. Power, 2025 Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, Oct 2025, 14,399 customers (opens in a new tab) |
45% of consumers feel understood by the brands they deal with. | Most brands aren't getting this right. One that names its customer's exact problem stands out. | Twilio, 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report, Jun 2025, 7,640 consumers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
71% of consumers will walk away from a purchase if the experience doesn't feel relevant to them. | Irrelevance costs the sale. A message written for everyone gives most people a reason to walk. | Twilio, 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report, Jun 2025, 7,640 consumers in 18 countries (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
73% of customers say companies treat them as individuals rather than numbers, up from 39% in 2023. | Most customers now feel treated as individuals by the companies they deal with. Generic messaging looks worse every year the bar rises. | Salesforce, State of the AI Connected Customer, Jul 2026, 16,585 consumers and business buyers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
72% vs 3% of banking customers say personalization influences their choice of bank, but only 3% use the personalization tools banks provide. | Personalization sways the choice of bank, yet almost nobody uses the tools built for it. Show relevance in the message instead of hiding it in settings. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025, 49,300 customers (opens in a new tab) |
51% of banking customers feel bombarded by advertising. | Half of banking customers already feel bombarded. More volume makes it worse. Sharper targeting gets heard. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
46% of banking customers feel pressured, at least some of the time, to accept products that serve the bank more than themselves. | Nearly half of customers feel sold to. An institution that visibly puts the customer's interest first has room to stand out. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
4.5 out of 5 is the app store rating top banks' apps consistently score above, with little variation from country to country. Accenture calls it a sea of sameness. | Features no longer set anyone apart. The story has to carry that weight. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
71% vs 36% of consumers would keep using a brand that starts selling to people unlike themselves when they both trust it and find it relevant, compared with neither. | Trust plus relevance roughly doubles a customer's willingness to stay as a brand reaches new audiences. Growing into new kinds of customers takes both. | Edelman, 2026 Special Report: Brand Growth in an Insular World, Jun 2026, 17,688 people in 15 countries (opens in a new tab) |
60% vs 41% is trust in fintech among 18 to 34 year olds, compared with people 55 and over. | Fintech trust drops sharply with age. Reaching older customers takes a different trust story from the one that won early adopters. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
46% vs 63% is trust in fintech among the lowest-income quarter of people, compared with the highest-income quarter. | Lower-income customers arrive with the least trust in fintechs and need the most proof. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
95% of the time, B2B buyers choose a vendor that was on their day-one shortlist. | If buyers don't know you before they start looking, your odds of winning are very low. | 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025, about 4,000 B2B buyers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
73% of B2B buyers actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach. | Generic outreach gets you put on the buyer's avoid list. | Gartner, survey of 632 B2B buyers (fielded Aug to Sep 2024), Jun 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
Understand: Research happens before you're in the room
By the time someone talks to you, they've usually made up their mind. Half of U.S. consumers use AI for financial advice or information. Young Canadians turn to social media for money advice almost as often as to a professional. In B2B, about 80% of deals go to the vendor the buyer favoured before first contact. Your story has to stay clear when an AI tool, a creator or a colleague retells it.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
Canada18% vs 20% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 seek financial advice on social media, compared with those who consult a professional advisor. | Young Canadians turn to social media for money advice almost as often as to a professional. Your content competes with creators. | Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, 2024 Canadian Financial Capability Survey, Nov 2025, nearly 8,000 people (opens in a new tab) |
51% of U.S. consumers use AI to get financial advice or information. | Half the market asks AI about money. When it describes your category, your institution needs to show up clearly. | J.D. Power, Aug 2025, 4,000 U.S. consumers (opens in a new tab) |
13% of U.S. consumers use AI for banking and financial services every day. | Few people bank with AI daily, but many use it to research. Treat AI as a discovery channel. | J.D. Power, Aug 2025, 4,000 U.S. consumers (opens in a new tab) |
26% of U.S. investors with non-retirement accounts use social media influencer recommendations when making investment decisions. Among those under 35, it's 61%. | Most investors under 35 use creator recommendations when they invest. The people they already trust can do some of your trust-building. | FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Dec 2025, 2,861 U.S. investors with non-retirement accounts (opens in a new tab) |
30% of U.S. investors with non-retirement accounts use YouTube for investment information. Among those under 35, it's 61%. | If your client or customer is under 35, YouTube is one of the main places they learn about money. | FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Dec 2025, 2,861 U.S. investors with non-retirement accounts (opens in a new tab) |
7.6 vs 4.0 information sources are consulted by investors who use social media, compared with those who don't. | Investors on social media check nearly twice as many sources. Your story has to hold up everywhere they look. | FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
42% vs 63% Investors who use social media for investment information scored an average of 42% on knowledge questions, yet 63% rated their own knowledge as high. | Investors who learn from social media often know less than they think. Plain explanations build trust faster than clever claims. | FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
40% of consumers lack basic financial knowledge, according to a global study of 49,300 banking customers. | Four in ten consumers lack basic financial knowledge. Messaging that assumes expertise risks losing them. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025, 49,300 banking customers in 39 countries (opens in a new tab) |
About 80% of B2B deals are won by the vendor the buyer favoured before first contact with any seller. | Most B2B buyers have a favourite before they talk to sales, and that favourite usually wins. Marketing is how you become the favourite. | 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025, about 4,000 B2B buyers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
61% of the way through the buying journey is when B2B buyers first contact a seller. | Buyers are well past halfway through their decision before they talk to you. | 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
45% of B2B buyers used AI during a recent purchase. | Nearly half of B2B buyers are asking AI about your category. What it says about you matters. | Gartner, survey of 646 B2B buyers (fielded Aug to Sep 2025), Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
51% of B2B software buyers start research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google, up from 29% in April 2025. | A first impression now often happens inside ChatGPT. If AI can't explain what you do and who it's for, you don't make the list. | G2, The Answer Economy, Apr 2026, 1,076 software buyers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
69% of B2B software buyers chose a different vendor than planned because of AI chatbot guidance. One-third bought from a vendor they'd never heard of. | AI answers are moving deals between vendors. A small company can win a buyer it never met, or lose one it thought it had. | G2, The Answer Economy, Apr 2026 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
63% of B2B technology buyers used AI during their purchase. 94% of those buyers fact-check its answers at least some of the time. | Buyers research with AI and then check its answers. Your proof has to exist somewhere they can verify it. | TrustRadius, 2026 B2B Buying Disconnect Report, Jul 2026, 1,862 buyers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
13 + 9 is the number of internal stakeholders plus outside influencers in a typical B2B buying decision. | More than 20 people shape a B2B decision, and you'll meet only a few of them. Your story has to hold together without you in the room. | Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2026, Jan 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Believe: Proof comes before the pitch
Understanding what you do is one step. Trusting you with money and data is another. 71% of Canadians have more confidence in people than in AI, and more than half have doubted genuine messages from financial institutions because scams have become so convincing. Belief comes from showing proof, security and accountability in plain view, and telling the same story everywhere.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
Canada71% of Canadians place more confidence in human intelligence than in AI. | Canadian customers want to know a person stands behind the service. Leading with AI alone works against you. | TD Bank Group and Ipsos, 2026 TD AI Insights Report, Jun 2026, 2,501 Canadians (opens in a new tab) |
Canada61%, 55%, 54% are the top reasons Canadians distrust AI: inaccurate information, privacy and security risks, and lack of accountability. | These are the three objections to answer before you ask a Canadian to trust your AI. Say where the data comes from, how accurate it is, and who answers for it. | TD Bank Group and Ipsos, 2026 TD AI Insights Report, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada56%, 55%, 52% of Canadians say these would increase their trust in AI: data protection, taking responsibility for errors, and human oversight. | Use this as a checklist for AI messaging. Show how data is protected, who is accountable, and where a person reviews the output. | TD Bank Group and Ipsos, 2026 TD AI Insights Report, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada53% of Canadians have doubted legitimate messages from trusted organizations, including financial institutions, because of scams. | Every email and text you send has to prove it's real. A consistent, recognizable voice becomes part of your security. | Interac, survey of 1,500 Canadians conducted by Burson, Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada47% of Canadians now avoid unfamiliar retailers because of scam concerns. | Being unfamiliar carries a trust cost. Nearly half of Canadians now avoid retailers they don't recognize because of scams. | Interac, survey of 1,500 Canadians conducted by Burson, Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada+12 points higher overall satisfaction among Canadian banking app users who use multifactor authentication before logging in (1,000-point scale). | Customers who use visible security steps report higher satisfaction. Make security easy to see and easy to use. | J.D. Power, 2025 Canada Banking App and Online Banking Studies, Jun 2025, 9,857 customers (opens in a new tab) |
Canada21% For the first time, a fintech (PayPal) was the most widely used method for sending money internationally in Canada in 2024, at 21%. | A fintech now leads a Canadian payment category that banks used to own. Canadians will move to a non-bank provider for a specific job. | Payments Canada, Canadian Payment Methods and Trends Report 2025, Oct 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
44% of people trust an online financial influencer. 57% of them would trust or consider a financial company they distrust if that influencer vouched for it. | Trust can be borrowed. A voice your customer already trusts can move them further than your own ad. | Edelman, 2026 Trust Barometer: Financial Services, Apr 2026, 28 countries (opens in a new tab) |
69% of consumers in the U.S., UK, Singapore and Mexico say AI-powered fraud is now a bigger threat than traditional identity theft. | Customers arrive suspicious. Security signals belong in the marketing as well as the terms of service. | Jumio, 2025 Online Identity Study, May 2025, 8,001 consumers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
39% of consumers are willing to trust AI assistants with financial planning decisions. | Six in ten consumers won't hand financial planning to AI. If AI is the headline, you start with a minority on your side. | Zendesk and YouGov, Jul 2025, about 10,000 consumers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
89% of B2B purchases included AI features, and 58% of buyers contacted sellers earlier to get missing AI details. | Buyers want to know how your AI works. When the website doesn't say, they have to contact sales earlier to ask. | 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
2x Confident B2B buyers are twice as likely to report a high-quality deal as buyers with low confidence. | Confident buyers report better deals. Clear, consistent proof is how you give buyers that confidence. | Gartner, survey of 646 B2B buyers (fielded Aug to Sep 2025), Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
69% of B2B buyers find inconsistencies between a vendor's website and what its salespeople tell them. | When the website and the sales team tell different stories, buyers notice, and it costs trust when you need it most. | Gartner, survey of 632 B2B buyers, Jun 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
85% of B2B software buyers think more highly of a vendor when an AI chatbot mentions it. | Being named by AI works like a third-party endorsement. | G2, The Answer Economy, Apr 2026 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
Commit: Friction at the finish line costs customers you already paid for
The moment you ask for a sign-up, an approval or a signature is where trust gets tested. 70% of financial institutions lost clients to inefficient onboarding last year. Satisfaction with opening an account at Canada's Big 5 banks fell 17 points. Most Canadians want a person available when they're being approved for a financial product. The path from interest to sign-up has to earn each step.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
Canada55% of Canadians prefer human support when being assessed for approval on a financial product. | At the approval moment, most customers want a person available. An automated flow needs a visible way to reach one. | TD Bank Group and Ipsos, 2026 TD AI Insights Report, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada-17 points was the drop in new account opening satisfaction among Big 5 bank customers in Canada (1,000-point scale). Midsize banks fell 7 points. | Satisfaction with opening an account at Canada's biggest banks fell. Any institution with a smooth, clear onboarding experience has something concrete to point to. | J.D. Power, 2025 Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, Oct 2025, 14,399 customers (opens in a new tab) |
Canada82% of Canadians do most of their banking online or in an app. 78% used a banking app in the past year. | Digital is the baseline in Canada. Being online is table stakes, so the digital experience itself has to stand out. | Canadian Bankers Association and Spark Insights, How Canadians Bank in 2026, Jun 2026, 4,000 Canadians (industry association) (opens in a new tab) |
Canada36% of people in Canada say they would likely switch from their current payment methods to real-time payments. 49% find them appealing. | There's real interest in faster, simpler ways to pay. A third of Canadians say they would likely switch for it. | Payments Canada, Canadian Payment Methods and Trends Report 2025, Oct 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
70% of financial institutions lost clients in the past year because of slow or inefficient onboarding, up from 48% in 2023. | Onboarding friction shows up on the revenue line. Every client lost there is acquisition spend already gone. | Fenergo, Financial Crime Industry Trends 2025, Oct 2025, 600 decision-makers at banks, asset managers and fund administrators in the UK, U.S. and Singapore (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
About 10% is the average client onboarding abandonment rate reported by financial institutions. | Firms report losing roughly one in ten clients during onboarding. Every one of them cost money to acquire. | Fenergo, Financial Crime Industry Trends 2025, Oct 2025 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
80% of consumers would spend more time on security steps for banking and financial services platforms. | Customers accept extra steps when they can see those steps protect them. Explain why each one exists. | Jumio, 2025 Online Identity Study, Jul 2025 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
16 is the average number of interactions each buyer has with the vendor that wins the deal. | A B2B sale takes many touches, and each one adds to trust or takes away from it. | 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
10.1 months is the average B2B buying cycle, down from 11.3 months. | Buying takes most of a year. Campaigns judged after one month get cut before they can work. | 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, Nov 2025 (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
67% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep-free buying experience. | Two in three buyers would rather not talk to a sales team. The website and content have to carry more of the sale. | Gartner, survey of 646 B2B buyers (fielded Aug to Sep 2025), Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Stay: Customers are loosening their ties
Trust gets tested again every day after the sale. Canadian bank switching ticked up after three flat years, 20% of U.S. bank customers moved money away from their main bank in three months, and 81% of heirs plan to leave their parents' wealth firm. Banks with the strongest customer advocacy grow revenue faster, so what happens after the sale is part of the marketing.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
Canada7% of Canadian retail bank customers switched their primary bank in the past 12 months, up from 6% in each of the previous three years. | Switching ticked up after three flat years. Customers who leave most often cite poor service, high fees and competitor offers. | J.D. Power, 2025 Canada Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, Oct 2025, 14,399 customers (opens in a new tab) |
Canada21 years in a row, Canada's credit unions have won Ipsos's Customer Service Excellence award among Canadian financial institutions. | Credit unions have held this service award for two decades, ahead of the biggest banks. A record like that only helps if people hear about it. | Ipsos, 2025 Financial Service Excellence Awards, Oct 2025, 47,969 surveys (opens in a new tab) |
Canada31% of Canadian investors over 60 say their advisor has discussed what's needed for a future wealth transfer. Only 11% say their advisor has met, or suggested meeting, their family. | Most investors over 60 say their advisor hasn't raised wealth transfer. That leaves an opening for the advisor who does. | J.D. Power, 2026 Canada Investor Satisfaction Study, Apr 2026, 7,411 investors (opens in a new tab) |
725 vs 657 is U.S. credit union member satisfaction, compared with retail bank customer satisfaction (1,000-point scale). | Credit union members are more satisfied than bank customers. That advantage only helps if members see it and prospective members hear about it. | J.D. Power, 2026 U.S. Credit Union Satisfaction Study, Mar 2026, 10,386 members (opens in a new tab) |
83 vs 79 vs 78 are the customer satisfaction scores for U.S. regional and community banks, national banks, and credit unions (100-point scale). | Regional and community banks lead on satisfaction in this index, and credit unions slipped. Scores move between studies, so no institution can rely on its reputation alone. | American Customer Satisfaction Index, Finance Study 2026, Feb 2026, 14,210 surveys (opens in a new tab) |
20% of U.S. retail bank customers moved money away from their primary bank in the past three months, up from 17%. | Share of wallet moves without a full switch. Competitors can win it from you the same way. | J.D. Power, 2026 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, Mar 2026, 107,059 customers (opens in a new tab) |
58% of banking customers bought a financial product from a new provider in the past year. | Customers are open to new providers. Keeping them is the harder part. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025 (opens in a new tab) |
1.7x faster revenue growth for banks in the top 20% on customer advocacy. In North America the figure was 2.6x. | Customers who recommend you are linked to faster growth. Advocacy shows up in the revenue numbers. | Accenture, Global Banking Consumer Study 2025, Mar 2025, 49,300 consumers in 39 countries (opens in a new tab) |
34% of consumers spend less with a company after a bad experience. 13% stop spending with it entirely. | One bad experience costs spend, and fewer than one in three consumers give companies feedback. The loss often shows up in revenue before anyone says why. | Qualtrics XM Institute, Nov 2025, 20,001 consumers in 14 countries (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
81% of inheritors plan to switch wealth firms within one to two years of inheriting. | The wealth transfer is a client acquisition event for firms that prepare for it, and a client loss event for firms that don't. | Capgemini Research Institute, World Wealth Report 2025, Jun 2025, 6,472 high-net-worth individuals (opens in a new tab) |
19% of high-net-worth individuals work with a single wealth firm, down from 39% in 2019. | Clients now spread their money across firms, so every firm competes for share all the time. | Capgemini Research Institute, World Wealth Report 2026, Jun 2026, 6,510 high-net-worth individuals (opens in a new tab) |
17% of high-net-worth individuals describe their advisory experience as "seamless and personalized." 42% have to restate their goals and preferences multiple times to the same firm. | Wealthy clients notice when they have to repeat themselves. The service experience is part of what keeps assets at the firm. | Capgemini Research Institute, World Wealth Report 2026, Jun 2026, 6,510 high-net-worth individuals (opens in a new tab) |
82% is the median net revenue retention for B2B SaaS companies with more than US$250K in annual recurring revenue. | The median B2B software company loses revenue from its existing customers each year. For a B2B fintech, retention is where growth compounds or slips away. | ChartMogul, The SaaS Retention Report, Dec 2025, about 3,500 companies (vendor data) (opens in a new tab) |
Growth economics: Every marketing dollar has to show where it's going
Budgets are tight across financial services. Marketing budgets at U.S. companies have fallen to 9% of revenue, 56% of CMOs say they lack the budget for their plan, and acquisition budgets still run 26% larger than retention budgets. For fintechs, capital is concentrating: Canadian fintech investment fell more than 40% in a year, and Canadian seed dollars fell 31%. Growth has to come from better focus.
| Stat | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
CanadaUS$996.7M was invested in Canadian fintech in the first half of 2026, across 47 deals, down more than 40% from US$1.7B across 82 deals a year earlier. | Capital is tight for Canadian fintechs. Every marketing dollar has to show a return before the next raise. | KPMG in Canada, Pulse of Fintech H1 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
CanadaUS$492.9M in venture capital went to Canadian fintechs in the first half of 2026, across 33 deals. | Canadian fintechs raised under US$500 million in venture money in six months. Founders here need growth that doesn't depend on the next round. | KPMG in Canada, Pulse of Fintech H1 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Canada-31% was the drop in Canadian seed-stage venture dollars in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier, to C$285 million across 82 deals. This covers all sectors. | Seed money in Canada dropped by nearly a third. Founders before Series A have to prove traction with less behind them. | Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Venture Capital H1 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
US$103.1B was invested in fintech globally in the first half of 2026, up from US$72.2B in the previous six months. | Fintech investment is climbing again, mostly at the top. Scaled companies are getting the capital. | KPMG, Pulse of Fintech H1 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
2,100 global fintech deals closed in the first half of 2026, down from 2,501 in the previous six months. | More money is going into fewer deals. Early-stage founders need sharper proof to get picked. | KPMG, Pulse of Fintech H1 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
US$28.6B in global fintech venture funding in the first half of 2026 was up 22.7% year over year, while deal count fell 25.7% to 1,605. | Venture dollars rose while the number of deals fell by about a quarter. Fewer deals are getting done, and each one is bigger. | Crunchbase News, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
726 global fintech deals closed in the second quarter of 2026, the fewest in more than four years. | The bar to raise is as high as it has been in years. Marketing that shows a clear return strengthens the fundraising story. | CB Insights, State of Fintech Q2 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
US$80.8B of fintech investment went to U.S. companies in the first half of 2026, across 933 deals. | U.S. companies took more than three-quarters of global fintech investment. Canadian founders compete for attention against a much bigger market. | KPMG, Pulse of Fintech H1 2026, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
7.8% of company revenue goes to marketing at the large companies Gartner surveyed, up from 7.7% in 2025. | Large companies spend close to 8% of revenue on marketing. Smaller institutions spending far less compete for the same attention, so focus matters. | Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey, May 2026, 401 CMOs at mostly large companies (opens in a new tab) |
56% of CMOs say their marketing organization lacks the budget to deliver their 2026 strategy. | Even well-funded CMOs say their budget can't cover their plan. Choosing where to focus matters more than how much you spend. | Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey, May 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
9.0% of company revenue goes to marketing, according to U.S. marketing leaders, and expected marketing spending growth has slowed to 1.7%. | Marketing budgets are shrinking as a share of revenue. Every dollar needs a clearer line to growth. | The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua, Deloitte, AMA), Spring 2026, 308 U.S. marketing leaders (opens in a new tab) |
26% is how much larger acquisition budgets are than retention budgets, even though the survey finds retention delivers stronger results. | Companies put more money into winning customers than keeping them, even though keeping them performs better. That gap is worth a second look. | The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua, Deloitte, AMA), Spring 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
8 vs 14 months is the median time to earn back customer acquisition cost for SaaS companies at US$1 to 5M in recurring revenue, compared with US$5 to 20M. | Earning back acquisition cost takes longer as companies scale. Efficiency habits set early are worth protecting. | High Alpha, 2025 SaaS Benchmarks Report, 2025, 800+ companies (VC-published) (opens in a new tab) |
59% vs 19% of brand marketers expect business to improve in 2026, compared with those who expect bigger marketing budgets. | Most marketers expect growth without more budget. Growth has to come from better focus. | WARC, The Voice of the Marketer 2026, Dec 2025, 1,000+ marketers (opens in a new tab) |
32% of marketers globally say they measure their media spend across both digital and traditional channels together. | About two-thirds of marketers don't measure all their spend in one view. That makes the budget harder to defend to a board. | Nielsen, 2025 Annual Marketing Report, May 2025, 1,400 marketers (vendor research) (opens in a new tab) |
Frequently asked questions
How much do people trust banks, fintechs and wealth firms?
Across 28 countries, 66% of people trust banks, 57% trust financial advisory and wealth management firms, and 53% trust fintech and digital payment companies, according to Edelman's 2026 financial services report. Trust in fintech drops to 39% in developed markets.
How do credit unions and community banks compare?
No public survey from 2025 or 2026 measures trust in credit unions and community banks on the same scale as banks and fintechs. Satisfaction studies are the closest comparison. J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. study puts credit union member satisfaction at 725 out of 1,000, against 657 for retail banks. The 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index scores U.S. regional and community banks at 83 out of 100, national banks at 79 and credit unions at 78. In Canada, credit unions have won Ipsos's Customer Service Excellence award for 21 years in a row.
What are the seven stages of trust?
Stakes, feel seen, understand, believe, commit, stay and growth economics. Customers move through them in order. Each stage has to earn the right to the next, and conversion breaks down when an institution asks for commitment before it has earned belief.
Where does this data come from?
Every statistic is traced to the publisher's own report, page or official release, published in 2025 or 2026. When a company with an interest in the result funded the research, the source line says so.
How I built this report
I pulled every statistic from primary sources: government agencies, regulators, independent research firms, and company research with published methods. Two separate reviews re-opened every source to confirm each figure, the population it describes, the date and the sample size, and to make sure no implication claims more than the data shows. Anything I couldn't trace to its original publisher, or couldn't confirm, stayed out. Vendor-funded research is labelled so you can weigh it yourself.
See where your trust gap is
These numbers describe the market. Your institution has its own version of them.
For leaders I've had a conversation with, I do something specific. I look closely at the business: its website, its story, how it reaches customers and what it asks of them along the way. Then I write up what I see. I call it the Marketing Foundations Snapshot. It names the gaps between where your marketing is today and where your foundations need to be, and what those gaps are costing you. It takes time on my end, because every one is written for the institution it describes.
Request your Marketing Foundations SnapshotGrowth built on systems compounds. Growth built on effort resets.