More Americans seeking advice from financial institutions: report

In light of recent bank shutdowns and economic uncertainty, Americans said they are looking to their financial services providers for more advice, according to a survey by Morning Consult. 

"There’s been an uptick in the share of customers who have reached out to their banks, credit unions and credit card providers since last year," Morning Consult said in its report. 

In fact, 45% of Americans said they received advice or assistance from their banks in March, Morning Consult reported. That’s up from 41% in February and 38% in March 2022. In addition, 50% of respondents said they received advice from their credit unions in March. 

"Fintech providers saw the greatest increase by far: Of those with a fintech provider, 74% said they received financial advice from a company professional in March, a massive 19-percentage-point increase from March 2022 and a big jump from the 60% who said the same in February," Morning Consult said in its report. 

Many respondents also reported that they took steps toward achieving their financial goals in March, including 43% who said they have made progress eliminating debt, Morning Consult reported.

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Overall trust in banks remains positive 

Following the closures of financial institutions like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, trust in the overall banking system slightly increased, according to a separate survey by Morning Consult.

Following the federal takeover of SVB and Signature Bank in March, 70% of respondents said "they trust banks to do what is right," Morning Consult reported. That was an increase from 66% in February. 

In addition, only 10% of Americans said they moved their money after the fall of SVB, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital, according to Morning Consult. Of those, 36% said they moved their money to a national bank. 

"The share of Americans with trust in banks slightly increased in wake of the collapse of three regional banks in early March," Morning Consult said in its report. "A similar trend was true when it came to consumers’ trust in the nation’s 10 largest banks: Despite the tumultuous events, no bank saw a significant negative swing in trust. This proves that consumers were able to separate the actions of a few banks from the stability of the banking system overall."

Nonetheless, many Americans said they believe that recent turmoil in the banking sector could severely affect more financial institutions. More than half (65%) of adults said they think more banks will be put into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Morning Consult reported. 

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Americans turn to BNPL for major purchases 

While many Americans have said they are seeking advice from their financial institutions, some have reported that they are resorting to buy now, pay later (BNPL) services to fund major purchases, according to a survey by Citizens Bank and Wakefield. 

In fact, 53% of respondents cited financial flexibility to fund big ticket purchases as the top benefit for using BNPL services, the survey said. Plus, 18% of consumers said they have used BNPL services to make purchases of $500 or more, while 46% of consumers who haven’t used BNPL said they would consider it for purchases of $500 or more. 

Still, these offers don’t come with potential setbacks. Particularly, 18% of BNPL users reported missing a payment in February and 21% said they paid late fees as a result, Morning Consult reported. 

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