Small-business banking customer satisfaction rose for the fifth consecutive year in 2026, driven by improvements across nearly all aspects of banking experience, according to a new survey by JD Power.
Overall small-business customer satisfaction with their banking partners was 726 on a 1,000-point scale, up 10 points from last year and 54 points over the past four years, according to the survey. The increase was driven by improvements across most operational aspects of the banking experience, including mobile, convenience, products and fees, and communication.
At the same time, the survey found that relationship management scores fell sharply, as contacts become less frequent and less personal. Sixty-one percent of small-business banking customers were assigned a relationship manager in 2026, up from 58% last year, according to JD Power. However, customer-initiated contacts and face-to-face meetings with relationship managers both declined year over year. The decline in relationship satisfaction was sharpest among new customers.
