Credit unions have historically outperformed retail banks in overall customer satisfaction. While that trend holds in the JD Power 2026 U.S. Credit Union Satisfaction Study, released today, some cracks in the credit union member experience are starting to emerge.

Overall satisfaction this year with U.S. credit unions is 725 (on a 1,000-point scale). While that score is 68 points higher than the overall satisfaction score for U.S. retail banks (657),  it represents a 4-point decline from last year. The trend also coincides with an increase in the number of credit union members opening accounts with other financial institutions over the same period.

JD Power says it has identified a ‘soft switching’ phenomenon taking root throughout the banking sector, as more consumers open second and third accounts with other financial institutions and gradually shift more funds into those accounts.

Following are some key findings of the 2026 study:

• Member satisfaction declines: Overall credit union member satisfaction is 725, down 4 points year over year. Loyalty metrics are also trending down, with the percentage of members who say they “definitely will” reuse their credit union falling to 71%, down 2 percentage points from last year.
• Credit unions lose checking and savings accounts: More than half of members now have checking (59%) and savings (56%) accounts with other financial institutions. The occurrence of accounts being established at other financial institutions has risen in the past 2 years, up by 2% for both checking and savings accounts.
• Incurred fees are up, fee understanding is down: More than one-third (36%) of credit union members have experienced a fee, such as an overdraft, ATM or account maintenance fee, in the past 3 months, up 3% from last year. Meanwhile, the percentage of members who say they completely understand how their credit union’s fee structure works falls to 39% from 44% last year.
• Member communication is misaligned: The topics credit unions communicate to their members most frequently—new products and features, current products and features and special offers—deliver low levels of member satisfaction, while topics correlated with higher levels of member satisfaction, such as ways to save money or financial advice, are not communicated as frequently.

The U.S. Credit Union Satisfaction Study, now in its third year, measures member satisfaction with the 29 largest credit unions in the continental United States. It measures satisfaction across seven dimensions (in order of importance): trust; people; allowing members to bank how and when they want; account offerings; saving time and money; digital channels; and resolving problems or complaints.

The 2026 study is based on responses from 10,386 credit union members from January 2025 through January 2026.

View the U.S. Credit Union Satisfaction Study here.