Thanks to the unrelenting high-rate environment and the demand financial institutions are exhibiting for new relationships, the cost to acquire new-to-bank customers and members has shot up to $663 – a more than125% increase from pre-pandemic levels (see chart). Data from the Curinos’ Marketing Analyzer also show that for regional banks, the cost per acquisition is a staggering $868. The rise is driven by an increase in incentives and heightened levels of marketing investment, driven in part by the beginning of a trend toward FIs focusing more on affluent prospects.
At the same time, the number of checking acquisitions among traditional banks is down – from about 515,000 in 2021 to 492,00 last year. Much of the decline can be attributed to gains by fintechs, which, according to the latest annual Curinos U.S. Shopper survey, carved out a 40% share of total new banking relationships. That resulted in a 9% boost in market share for digital providers at the same time that traditional banks lost 12% of their share.
So even as results for traditional providers flag, the acquisition landscape remains overheated, and it shows no signs of cooling. As marketers enter the annual planning cycle, they’ll need to be a laser-focused on where to best apportion their finite acquisition resources by consumer segment and geography.
Marketing Analyzer Benchmark Checking CPA | 2018-2023
The more competitors invest in marketing-driven acquisition,
the greater the cost to acquire a new-to-bank checking customer.
Source(s): Curinos Analysis, Curinos Marketing Analyzer
