Financial Services in the US

Sector average score

Knowledge & Expertise

Style of Communication

Speed of Resolving Problems

Valuing the Customer

It’s getting tight at the top of the Financial Services in the US table. Two brands share the top spot – USAA and Chase – and four brands share third – PNC Bank, Citi, US Bank and Bank of America.

Having nearly half of a table of 13 brands in the top three shows just how competitive Customer Effort is. The slightest dip in any of the component pillars can make all the difference.

Further down the table, Varo has finally moved out of last place, overtaking Current by adding +2 to its Overall Effort Score wave on wave.

Executive Summary

How to use this Index

Last updated: Apr 2025

Next update: Jul 2025

Executive summary

Varo is our one to watch this wave. The business is going from strength to strength after a successful round of fundraising and has finally moved out of the bottom position.
We say

It seems Varo is putting the money to good use. The brand has launched new AI and machine learning solutions to support customers "at various aspects of their life cycle". The move appears to have gone down well in Customer Effort, making the brand easier to do business with.
When your finances are on the line, speed is everything. ‘Speed of Resolving Problems’ is the most competitive pillar in the Financial Services in the US table, with just seven points separating the top 10 brands.
We say

Long hold times and having key information difficult to find on your website and apps are score killers in this pillar. Financial Services brands should focus on implementing CX innovations to surface crucial information for consumers when they need it most.

How to use the Customer Effort Index

Customer Effort Scores for the quarter are presented in the rankings, ordered by highest Overall Effort Score first, to show which brand scored highest with its customers for that period. Individual brand ratings against the four pillars take us underneath that Overall Effort Score, with brand-specific explanatory analysis from the CEI Editorial team.

You can use the display above to toggle between score, ranking and individual pillars. Clicking 'Performance Tracker' enables you to analyse the performance over time.

The Customer Effort Index is calculated using a self-referential scale that is recomputed every wave based on what the minimum and maximum values are. This enables us to see how each brand is performing compared to the others within the data set. See About for more on the methodology.