Trends, truths,
and triggers
How 2.6M financial service reviews will make you rethink your strategy
Customers want to have confidence that they’re putting their money in the best hands, and one of the easiest ways businesses can instill that sense of confidence is by utilizing a simple yet effective method of social proof — reviews.
Before anything else, customers want to see what others are saying about your business. And reviewers are passionate, with people more likely to leave either 1-star or 5-star reviews.
Trustpilot reviews are a valuable tool for financial service providers — helping you build trust and credibility with your customers, identify areas of improvement, and optimize your marketing efforts.
Since 2020, we have collected:
2,692,042 reviews of 560,480 financial service organizations
We realized that, with millions of reviews on our hands, we have a data goldmine that can help financial organizations find ways to turn customer feedback into growth.
We’ve pulled out the latest data on what matters most to customers right now, and what doesn’t matter quite as much as it used to.
This report provides insights that can help marketers working in financial institutions to refine your messaging and tactics to connect more deeply with customers and build a brand that is both trusted and loved.
For that reason, the data in this report is far-reaching and unique to Trustpilot. Information has been collected from millions of Trustpilot reviews, for thousands of businesses, and from customers of all types of financial institutions.
Other institutions include Real Estate, and Accounting and Tax.
Star stand-out
We gathered some incredibly insightful data over the course of 2023 — but here is our stand-out finding:
There’s been a sharp decrease in star rating average
The yearly average star rating is going down. For users leaving reviews in 2023, it seems this was a year of discontent — the average star rating fell from 3.37 stars in 2022 to 3.17 stars in 2023. Sentiment usually only drops about 1% year over year, so this 6% decrease was a much higher drop than we’ve seen in recent years.
There’s a growing maturity of reviews
Review volume is increasing year on year, and users are giving more specific, actionable insights within their feedback. There were 4,500 more reviews left in 2023, and 15% more financial service organizations were reviewed. Additionally, users are getting more specific with their feedback on service. Mentions of “customer service” went up 12%, while mentions of “service” went down 19% in 2023, showing higher expectations for the individuals making up the support teams.
What are the reviews telling us?
In 2023, people had a lot to say — most of it good, some of it bad, and a lot of it unexpected.
The Good
Customers were all-in for kind and quick customer service, straightforward communication, and an effortless website experience. They wanted to feel heard by people who understood their problems, and to use websites that made requests and processes much easier.
The Bad
Crappy customer service is out. Users did not respond well to representatives who treated them poorly, and they weren’t afraid to name and shame. Customers were also angry with unclear terms around fees, poorly performing websites and spam emails.
The Unexpected
Customers leaned on their financial organizations to extend far beyond just the numbers. To help them surprise their grandkids with high-tech gifts like hoverboards, to save them from disasters like coming home from vacation to find their home flooded, and to gratefully get assistance from them during cherished times like football Sundays.
Let’s take a closer look at what people said about financial services in 2023…
TheGood
Great customer service experiences
532,152 of all reviews collected since 2020 have mentioned customer service.
Customer service is also a hot topic in the finance industry — with 20% of all financial services reviews containing at least one mention of their experience with a customer service representative.
In 2023, the #1 topic was “service” followed by “customer service” and “payment”. The term “payment” decreased in importance in 2023 as it fell from the #2 spot to the #3 spot. “Customer service”, on the other hand, rose higher to the #3 spot, showing its increased importance to customers.
Interestingly, users are also commenting less on “value for money” — with a 9% decrease in mentions in 2023. As “value for money” was mentioned less, “contact” was mentioned 3% more, as customers are becoming less sensitive to price, and more concerned about being able to reach customer service staff when needed.
In fact, 2023 was the first year that “customer service” was the #1 topic in reviews for Banking/Money, Insurance, Investments/Wealth, and Credit/Debt organizations. However, there are sub-sectors within finance that score higher than others in this area. Insurance companies were the leaders in customer service, with a 3.9 star rating on average.
Stellar customer service reps were frequently mentioned by name, given heartfelt and glowing reviews, and occasionally even recommended for a raise.
The CCS that assisted me was awesome!! She took time to answer questions and give details, her smile showed through her voice. It made my experience one to remember.
Investments & Wealth customer, May 2023In stressing moments have [company] help save time, costumer service 10 points, I used Spanish technician, easy to solve problems, thanks for your help and quick answer Walter.
Insurance customer, April 2023My customer service representative Karina was extremely kind, very helpful & beyond good at her job. She knew exactly how to help me & did it within minutes; whatever she's getting paid, she deserves a raise. I've never had a smoother customer service experience & I certainly didn't expect it.
Banking customer, February 2023How can this data help you drive your business?
Mentions of “customer service” went up 12% in 2023, and it’s the single most important topic for today’s customers. To help your brand stand out and establish itself as helpful and reliable, you need to take every opportunity to highlight your own stellar customer service:
Highlight your team
Emphasize your kind and caring customer service in your brand communications, so that customers trust you with their business instead of your competitors.
Showcase your support
Showcase all of your support options (like connecting with live agents, or accessing multiple tiers of support) to show that you’re ready to help customers in whichever way is best for them.
Smooth, hassle-free web experiences
Reviews in user experience saw a peak between January and March, and user experience is becoming more important — review volume for the topic is increasing 3% year on year.
Websites and applications will go through peaks and dips in engagement throughout the year, but the reviews in 2023 made it clear that no matter when a platform gains or loses traffic, users always want smooth online experiences.
Customers valued clear reassurance that their action had been recorded.
Many 5-star reviews mention that the user received “instant notifications” when an action was taken, helping them feel confident that their funds had been sent, or that their withdrawals and deposits had gone through successfully.
Generally, users want financial service organizations to be more responsive to their concerns on social media. However, users were less vocal about social media in 2023 vs 2022, and it’s no longer a hot topic for Investments and Wealth, nor Banking and Money. Interestingly, Banking and Money saw the highest drop in reviews mentioning social media — likely because organizations are handling customer service complaints more promptly.
I always have a good experience whenever I use [this company] because the funds are sent immediately and I pay a small fee for that. When the funds were collected I received instant notification.
Banking customer, April 2023It was easy to follow the process, instructions were clear, and the whole process was pretty quick from start to finish. I got the phone replacement in time to attend an out-of-town wedding.
Investments & Wealth customer June 2023Additionally, 5-star reviews often mention easy-to-use websites with “clear instructions” that make it easy to submit documents or complete transactions.
Last year, people took notice of when they were browsing a website that had simple, clear instructions on each step they needed to take to complete their task. Credit and debt organizations were the highest rated for the clarity of their web instructions.
Quick response time is also becoming more important to users, with the review volume for this topic increasing by 4% in 2023.
I was setting up my username, password, etc., to access my account information. Honestly, one of the easiest sites I have used. There are always verifications and verification codes, and such when setting up your account. It was straight forward and there were no glitches. I'm impressed and very appreciative of the time the developers took to get it right.
Banking customer, February 2023The process included clear and concise instructions with immediate feedback. In my opinion, the user interface is top-notch, thank you!
Banking customer, June 2023How can this data help you drive your business?
There were 3% more reviews about user experience, and customers have rising expectations for your website. They expect it to load quickly, have clear instructions on how to use your tools, and to give instant confirmation when they’ve taken any actions. To improve your website for customers, consider the following:
Update copy
Revisit your website copy regularly, alongside your platform instructions, to make sure they are simple, clear, and set realistic expectations on timing.
Optimize website
Review your website analytics to see which sections of your website customers are spending the most time interacting with and which they tend to bounce from, to improve your user experiences.
TheBad
Unkind customer service and overly automated processes
The average star rating for customer service has decreased this year.
Despite there being some notably positive mentions for customer service, people in general became increasingly more discontent with representatives in 2023. Users were leaving more bad reviews about customer service in the last year than ever before, with the average review stars decreasing from 3.7 stars in 2022 to 3.5 in 2023.
Reviews citing “complaint” became a new trending topic for Insurance organizations, replacing the topics “inventory” and “artificial intelligence”. Customers report that they will call or open cases multiple times before their complaint is properly investigated.
As you can see, it's no longer an option to leave customer concerns unaddressed.
Similarly, “solution” became a new trending topic for Investments and Wealth in 2023, replacing “holidays” and “inventory”. Customers were angry that their problems were left unresolved or that their financial services organization didn’t update them on the steps that were being taken to solve their problem.
Accounting and Tax is the only sub-industry that didn’t have “customer service” as its top review keyword. Instead, this sub-industry’s number one topic was “payment” — a new trending topic in 2022, with customers expressing dissatisfaction with unclear or inconsistent prices for software.
Additionally, many of the 1-star reviews mention customer service representatives being “unfriendly”, “rude”, and “condescending.”
The customer service agent I spoke with was very unfriendly and rude. He did not show any empathy. He was very short and acted like he was irritated anytime I asked a question.
Insurance customer, April 2023The customer service rep I talked to was snarky and the tone she had when she talked to me was probably one of the worst experiences I have had with your company. She talked to me like I was an idiot just because I didn’t know the difference between a rollover and a transfer.
Banking customer, May 20231-star reviews also spoke to an overly-automated process for tasks like submitting claims, or where users only have the option to chat with bots.
From 2022-2023, mentions of “AI” increased by 47% — from 531 in 2022 to 731 in 2023.
AI is also mentioned in reviews for almost double the number of businesses, 228 in 2022, and 441 in 2023.
I submitted a claim for a defective or broken charging portal on my iPhone12 Pro but the online automated system somehow dispatched a technician to come by and fix a broken screen. I'm angry! This was time wasted and it just proves customers should be speaking to LIVE customer service versus this online system that clearly records the wrong information.
Insurance customer, May 2023🚩🚩 I tried to cancel the subscription, no one responds back to me, I ask for money to be refunded and I get no response. Horrible automated bot services and poor email responses from their staffers.
Investments & Wealth customer, April 2023How can this data help you drive your business?
AI mentions increased 47%, as customers complained about not being able to connect with real support staff, and topics like “complaint” started trending. Your customers are looking for reassurance that they’ve been heard, and that your business is taking concrete steps to help them solve their problems. Give them peace of mind in your communications by:
Responding quickly
Monitor all marketing channels, including social media, to address disgruntled customers directly and to quickly resolve any questions raised by your users.
Updating often
Share status updates as complaints are being handled and resolved. Even if the update is just that there is no update yet, show you care and that you value their business.
Glitchy, slow-loading websites and bots are becoming jarring
Slow websites make up a big portion of 1-star reviews.
Bad websites that frequently glitch and provide a poor user experience caused serious frustration for customers across the board.
Many of the 1-star reviews we collected mention “super slow” websites that “randomly refresh.”
Some customers even specifically called the website out as their reason for switching providers.
Super slow platform. Horribly disgusted with the amount of time it takes to send money. I should get paid just to sit frustrated waiting for your website to load. Horrible experience. Will most likely switch to [a competitor] for the next time.
Banking customer, May 2023The website is absolutely terrible. It randomly refreshes and doesn't allow me to use the points I accumulated to my transaction fees.
Banking customer, December 2023Tried several times to set up a money transfer but the website kept freezing.
Banking customer, June 2023How can this data help you drive your business?
Your website is an extension of your brand, so when it’s experiencing technical difficulties, customers think they can’t count on you. Show that they can by optimizing your website:
Frequently update
Ensure that your web content is regularly updated to remain relevant and useful for customers.
Identify fixes
Audit your website to identify and fix slow-loading pages, or pages that have high bounce rates.
Spam emails
10,038 total reviews cited “spam” in 2023.
Last year, people were done with being inundated with emails from mailing lists that they didn’t want to sign up for. An average star rating of 1.7 was awarded to 3,540 businesses whose reviews included a mention of spam.
The main concern was that users feel that they are being subjected to a whole host of spam emails that are either great in volume or include content that is completely irrelevant to them. Year on year, “spam” was the highest trending topic for Credit and Debt organization reviews in particular, with customers angry that they were receiving too many spam emails.
All I wanted to do was freeze my credit report and now I'm getting loads of spam emails that I can't turn off.
Credit & Debt customer, April 2023Constant mail spam that makes it seem like you’re late on something important. I will never use a service that relies on such scummy marketing tactics.
Insurance customer, April 2023Tanked my credit due to an algorithm glitch rather than any financial errors on my part, then kept spamming me for a review without an unsubscribe button. Well, here's your precious review.
Credit & Debt customer, April 2023How can this data help you drive your business?
When customers think they’re getting spam from your business, they leave poor reviews (average of 1.7 stars). Plus, our data shows that spam is particularly a problem for Credit and Debt organizations. Make sure you communicate carefully by:
Getting permission
Implementing clear opt-in and opt-out subscription options on every communication.
Maintaining interest
Ensure all communications are interesting, engaging, and truly add value.
TheUnexpected
Financial service organizations play a big part in their customers' lives. They help in all the ways you might expect — like paying off loans or buying a house — but they sometimes show up for their customers in ways that are wildly unexpected and deeply heartwarming!
Going the whole nine yards
“Robert was great to work with! He was polite, attentive, informative, and helpful. Despite it being a Sunday late afternoon and football season, he took the time to speak with us. His efforts and time were much appreciated!”
Credit & Debt customer, December 2023
Making grandma cool again
“I purchased this insurance plan to protect an electronic Hoverboard for my grandson, when it stopped working, I was quick to start a claim with [company]! And boy was I blessed, as this company was patient, friendly, caring, and quick to assist!! Within minutes of answering a few questions, I got a refund for my product and confirmation number!! Thank you!!”
Insurance customer, May 2023
From the local grocery store to the Bahamas housekeeper
“Sent funds from my USA corner grocery to the Bahamas in minutes and keep the caretaker of our island condo happy.”
Banking customer, December 2022
Wading through murky waters to save the day
“We had just returned from vacation to find the kitchen flooded with water and Joe was quick to respond!”
Real Estate customer, December 2022
Adding to the dictionary (even if it was just a typo)
“So doggy and never fulfill its promise of transfer. So poor customer service and no response waiting ages. [This is] a big scam company.”
Banking customer, March 2023How can this data help you drive your business?
Customers really appreciate your business, and all the ways — big and small — that you help them achieve their goals. Make the most of your reviews, no matter how unexpected:
Encourage reviews
Encourage happy customers to review your business. The more reviews you collect, the easier it is to build trust and show what a typical experience is like with your business.
Respond to reviews
…both the negative and the positive ones — to make customers feel valued and stay loyal. Also, share your funny, stand-out reviews across your marketing channels! They make especially good social posts.
Making use of the data
The insights in this report should give you a deeper understanding of what’s front of mind for your customers when they’re interacting with your business.
Use the information to inform your 2024 marketing strategy, ensuring that your business will stand up to the scrutiny of the online reviewer, and think about how you can utilize Trustpilot reviews to build trust with your finance customer base. And you don’t have to do this alone — we’re here to help.
In the meantime, here is a recap and our tips:
- 1
Customer service was the #1 topic in reviews, and 2023 was the first year that “customer service” was the #1 topic in reviews for Banking/Money, Insurance, Investments/Wealth, and Credit/Debt organizations.
Highlight your friendly customers across your marketing channels to stand out from the competition.
- 2
We saw a 3% increase in reviews mentioning user experience, and a 4% increase in reviews seeking a quick response time year over year.
Meet customers' rising expectations by including crystal clear instructions for how to complete tasks, and reviewing your website analytics to see how you can improve the user experience.
- 3
“Complaint” and “solution” became new trending topics, as we see customers are contacting businesses repeatedly to escalate issues until they’re resolved. AI was also a hot topic, as it was mentioned 47% more year over year, and customers were angry at overly automated processes where they couldn’t speak directly with a business.
Give customers peace of mind by sharing status updates whenever possible — even if the status update is that there isn’t an update at this time.
- 4
3,540 businesses were called out for sending “spam” in 2023, and it was the highest trending topic for Credit and Debt organization reviews in particular, with customers angry that they were receiving too many spam emails.
Show that you value their time, and your relationship, by implementing clear opt-ins and being sure that every email is interesting and engaging.
See how you can turn customer feedback into growth, make more strategic business decisions, and build a business that is loved: