Millennials and Gen Z1 now generate two-thirds (67%) of all new primary checking accounts in the United States, making their banking experiences increasingly important to the industry. According to the inaugural JD Power U.S. Millennial & Gen Z Checking Satisfaction Study,SM released today, online banks and FinTechs lead traditional banks in satisfaction among these customers, particularly in areas such as fee fairness, real-time account visibility and proactive communication.

“Millennials and Gen Z don’t want checking accounts that simply store and move money. They increasingly expect them to function as a financial command center, giving them a clear, real-time view of their money, helping them avoid unexpected fees and providing useful information that helps them stay in control,” said Paul McAdam, senior director of financial services at JD Power. “The providers performing particularly well with these customers are delivering on those expectations by making the checking experience more immediate, predictable and useful.”

Following are some key findings of the 2026 study:

  • Online banks and FinTechs gain ground with younger customers: Online banks and FinTechs account for 20% of existing primary checking relationships among Millennials and Gen Z, but they account for 28% of newly opened accounts, which means they are growing far faster than their traditional banking competitors. The average overall satisfaction score for online banks and FinTechs among Millennials is 699 (on a 1,000-point scale), compared with 672 for national banks and 617 for regional banks. Among Gen Z customers, overall satisfaction is 701 for online banks and FinTechs, also higher than national and regional banks. Online banks and FinTechs have a particular advantage in real-time balance visibility and avoiding overdrafts, declines and surprise fees, indicating that younger customers favor providers that give them a more immediate and predictable view of their money.

  • Premium, relationship and rewards-based accounts perform particularly well: When overall satisfaction is examined by specific checking account type, seven of the 10 highest-scoring accounts are premium, relationship or rewards-based products, five of which provide balance-gated benefits to more affluent customers. These accounts are doing double duty: deepening relationships with attractive customers while also lifting satisfaction.

  • Banks may already have the tools they need to improve satisfaction: Across the study’s 32 key performance indicators (KPIs), 14 depend on feature awareness, meaning customers do not necessarily need to use a feature to lift satisfaction—simply knowing it is available can make a difference. Some of the largest opportunities involve credit-building, budgeting, financial planning, cashback and financial education. This highlights an opportunity for banks to improve satisfaction by better communicating capabilities customers already have access to without necessarily adding new features.

  • Customers are paying attention, but communication needs to deliver more value: Just 8% of Millennial and Gen Z bank customers say they never read checking account communications, while 38% always read email communications. Satisfaction among customers who always read email communications is 90 points higher than among those who read them sometimes or never. Yet just 11% recall receiving subscription/recurring payment management information via email and 14% recall receiving information about new features and tools, underscoring the value of delivering more relevant and actionable communications to an already-engaged audience.

Study Rankings

Chase ranks highest in customer satisfaction among Millennials with national banks, with a score of 695. Capital One (694) ranks second and Bank of America (682) ranks third.

Chase ranks highest in customer satisfaction among Gen Z customers with national banks, with a score of 694. Capital One (686) ranks second.

Huntington Bank ranks highest in customer satisfaction among Millennials with regional banks, with a score of 665. Regions Bank (654) ranks second and Fifth Third Bank (644) ranks third.

American Express ranks highest in customer satisfaction among Millennials with online banks/FinTechs, with a score of 736. SoFi (725) ranks second and Chime (718) ranks third.

OnePay ranks highest in customer satisfaction among Gen Z customers with online banks/FinTechs, with a score of 757. SoFi (708) ranks second and Current (706) ranks third.

To view the complete visual rankings for each segment, visit: http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2026138.

The U.S. Millennial & Gen Z Checking Satisfaction Study is a new industry benchmark for gauging checking and spending account experiences among customers of the largest banks, online banks and FinTechs in the continental United States. The study provides financial institutions with insights into the experiences, features and capabilities that most influence satisfaction among younger customers, helping them identify opportunities to strengthen their checking relationships with these increasingly important customer segments. Survey respondents for the inaugural study included 23,386 U.S. adults age 18 or older who maintain a balance in an active checking or spending account and interacted with the account in the past month. The survey was fielded from June through July 2026.

For more information about the U.S. Millennial & Gen Z Checking Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/millennial-gen-z-checking-satisfaction-study/.

About JD Power

JD Power delivers mission-critical data, analytics and intelligence that help businesses improve customer experience and operational performance with confidence and clarity. Using proprietary, comprehensive data–including millions of consumer interactions and authoritative automotive datasets–combined with advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and deep industry expertise, JD Power enables leaders to respond to market shifts, make smarter decisions and drive measurable performance improvements.

As an objective source of deep insight into real-world customer interactions with brands and products, JD Power provides the independent intelligence organizations need to anticipate change, strengthen customer engagement and advance growth. Learn more at JDPower.com.

1 JD Power defines Millennials as those born between 1982 and 1994 and Gen Z as those born between 1995 and 2008.

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