Research Exposes Stunning CX Gaps Among Banking Providers
New research reveals a 56-point perception gap in customer experience: 80% of business leaders believe they deliver great CX, while only 24% of customers agree. Despite 92% of companies claiming CX is a priority, they're missing critical gaps that drive customers away, with $3.8 trillion in sales at risk. Companies succeeding aren't just implementing technology — they're solving real problems and building connections that customers willingly pay premium prices to maintain.
By Garret Reich, Senior Project Manager at The Financial Brand
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The report: CX20, Global Report 2025
Source: AmDocs Studios
Why we chose the report: The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) included the report on their website, calling out a need for bankers to dig deeper and understand the customer experience trends that drive every industry — but especially banking.
Banks and credit unions may think they’re delivering exceptional customer experiences, but data reveals a troubling disconnect — while four out of five business leaders believe they’re providing great CX, only 24% of customers agree. This stark perception gap is just one of many insights from Amdocs Studios’ comprehensive "CX20" global study, which surveyed nearly 1,000 business leaders and over 2,000 consumers across 14 industries and countries to uncover the stark reality behind customer experience strategies in 2025.
Executive leadership in all industries surveyed by the report recognize that CX is — and should be — a primary focus: 88% acknowledging its critical role in revenue growth. Yet, only 28% consider it extremely important to invest in. This fundamental contradiction reveals why so many companies remain trapped in an illusion of CX success while customers increasingly vote with their wallets — and their loyalty.
As the competitive landscape intensifies across industries, from financial services to telecommunications, retail to healthcare, the gap between customer expectations and actual experiences continues to widen. The report suggests that many organizations are focusing on the wrong metrics, implementing technology without purpose, and fundamentally misunderstanding what customers truly value in their interactions with brands.
Key Takeaways
- The perception gap is massive: A 56-point disconnect exists between how companies rate their CX performance (80%) and how customers experience it (24%), revealing a fundamental misalignment in understanding customer needs.
- Loyalty is fragile: 85% of loyal customers consider switching brands after repeated bad experiences, with 54% disengaging after just four or fewer negative interactions, highlighting the accelerating erosion of brand loyalty in today’s market.
- Digital transformation is failing: 63% of leaders admit they aren’t realizing meaningful CX outcomes from their technology investments, and 43% say the benefits don’t justify the costs, pointing to misdirected digital strategies.
- Better CX drives revenue: 67% of customers spend more with companies that get CX right, 50% will switch brands for better experiences even if it costs more, and 60% actively recommend brands based on positive experiences.
Why we liked the report: It’s very engaging to look at — every slide is bold and colorful, with a handful of insights and data. It’s not in the least bit overwhelming to skim through.
Why we didn’t: While eye-grabbing, the report would have made for a better presentation deck, where a presenter could expand on the data points and callouts in the report.
The Illusion of Good CX
$3.8 trillion in sales is at risk in 2025 due to poor customer experiences, the report claims. U.S. businesses already lose $1.4 trillion annually because of CX failures, with companies having very poor CX losing $811 billion in consumer spending. Qualtrics data from 2024 cited in the report underscores the growing cost of bad experiences across global markets.
"Companies don’t fail at CX because they don’t care. They fail because they don’t see the gaps," explains Klas Gothager, Head of Experience & Digital Engineering at Amdocs Studios. "Real progress starts when leaders stop assuming, start listening, and make CX a true business priority — not just a talking point."
This insight cuts to the heart of why many well-intentioned CX initiatives fall short of their objectives.
Many organizations operate within a false sense of success. This perception gap — where businesses overestimate the quality of their customer experience — appears across all industries and represents the most critical of the identified gaps. When confronted with clear definitions of CX challenges during the research, 100% of leaders recognized at least three gaps they hadn’t previously considered, demonstrating how pervasive blind spots are even among experienced executives.
Part of the problem lies in how companies define customer experience. The study revealed that a little under a third (30%) of leaders still view CX as merely customer service, while 48% fail to recognize that it encompasses all brand interactions. This limited understanding creates a foundation for failure before implementation even begins.
The report emphasizes that CX isn’t a project or department but rather a fundamental business perspective that should inform every decision. As one section of the findings states, "When CX is siloed, companies fall behind — it’s a mindset, not a function." This distinction is crucial, as companies that treat CX as a checklist of initiatives rather than a comprehensive approach consistently underperform in customer satisfaction metrics.
When presented with the comprehensive CX framework during the study, all leaders (100%) recognized at least three gaps they hadn’t previously considered. This moment of realization demonstrates how blind spots persist despite good intentions. Moreover, 47% of leaders admitted there’s a growing disconnect between their CX efforts and actual customer perception, acknowledging the widening chasm between ambition and reality.
Forrester, quoted in the report, notes: "For bold CX leaders ready to kick things into high gear, this might just be your year. The effort to pull away from the pack will demand commitment, but the strategic advantage in a landscape where others are holding back will be significant."
Dig deeper:
- Why Gen Z Hates Your Loan Payment Options — and 6 Ways to Fix Them
- How Banks and Credit Unions Can Grow Big By Thinking Local
- Despite Surging Economic Unease, Consumers Are Happier with Their Banks (For Now)
What are the Top 5 CX Gaps?
The Amdocs Studios research identified five core categories that systematically undermine customer experience efforts. Understanding these gaps is essential for companies looking to move beyond the illusion of good CX:
1. The CX perception gap
The disconnect between what companies think they deliver and what customers actually experience ranked as the top priority gap in 12 out of 14 industries. Leaders cite lack of training (51%) and unclear CX metrics (55.4%) as the main reasons this gap persists. Nearly half (47%) of leaders believe this gap is widening.
2. The communication gap
The failure to provide clear, consistent communication that customers expect was a priority in 10 out of 14 industries. Unclear messaging (45%) and lack of customer feedback (43.5%) make it harder to maintain consistency across touchpoints, leading to customer frustration.
3. The service gap
The disparity between the high-quality service customers expect and what they receive ranked high in 8 industries. Inadequate staffing and training (53.7%) was identified as the main factor preventing companies from meeting expectations.
4. The personalization gap
When customers want tailored interactions but receive one-size-fits-all solutions, satisfaction plummets. This gap was a priority in 8 industries, with leaders citing lack of personalization capabilities (50%) and cost constraints (33.6%) as key barriers.
5. The feedback gap
The failure to properly capture and act upon customer feedback completed the top five gaps, with 83% of leaders acknowledging its importance. Companies often collect feedback but fail to close the loop, missing opportunities to make meaningful improvements.
Breaking the Illusion
The report outlines five strategic approaches for companies to move beyond the illusion of good CX and create authentic, value-driven customer experiences:
1. Relentlessly reveal reality
Companies must acknowledge the disconnect between their perception and customer reality.
With 70% of leaders thinking they meet customer expectations while only 24% of customers agree, closing this gap starts with honest assessment and rigorous measurement. The report emphasizes that "the biggest CX failures are the ones leaders don’t see," pointing to the critical importance of transparent, ongoing customer feedback mechanisms.
Organizations need to implement comprehensive voice-of-customer programs that penetrate beyond surface-level satisfaction metrics. This means collecting feedback across all touchpoints, analyzing patterns in customer behavior, regularly benchmarking against competitors, and critically examining the entire customer journey without corporate bias or filtered interpretations.
2. Understand CX is a perspective — not a set of projects
CX isn’t a function or department but a company-wide mindset that should inform every business decision. When CX is siloed, companies consistently fall behind. The 30% of leaders who still define CX as just customer service need to expand their understanding to encompass the entire customer relationship.
As the AmDocs team suggests, improving the customer experience isn’t a project that needs completing, it’s the foundation of everything, emphasizing the need for companies to integrate customer-centric thinking into their organizational DNA. This requires aligning incentives, metrics, and priorities across departments, breaking down operational silos, and ensuring that every employee — regardless of their role — understands their impact on the customer experience.
3. Find the real gaps before chasing solutions
Half of leaders prioritize digital transformation, but two-thirds struggle to see meaningful outcomes from these investments. Companies must identify the root problems before implementing solutions. As the report puts it, "The right solution starts with the right problem."
This approach requires companies to investigate customer pain points methodically, prioritize improvements based on customer impact rather than internal convenience, and validate solution concepts with real users before full implementation.
By starting with clear problem definition rather than predetermined solutions, organizations can ensure their investments deliver meaningful customer value.
4. Give customers more to believe in — not just more to buy
With 85% of loyal customers considering alternatives after repeated bad experiences, companies need to focus on building connections, not just transactions. "Customers don’t stay for what you sell — they stay for how you make them feel," the report states. This emotional dimension of customer experience often receives less attention than functional aspects, yet it frequently determines customer loyalty.
Companies that excel at CX build relationships grounded in consistent value delivery, transparent communication, and demonstrated understanding of customer needs.
5. Build what solves, not just what sells
The 67% of customers who spend more with companies that get CX right demonstrate that solving real problems leads to business growth. The best companies don’t chase features or flood the market with options — instead, they focus on building what actually matters to customers.
This solution-oriented mindset requires ruthless prioritization, focusing development resources on addressing genuine customer needs rather than internal agendas or competitive feature parity. "Better CX starts with solving, not selling," the report reads, pointing to the sustainability advantage companies gain when they align their offerings with customer problems worth solving.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
"Customer experience isn’t a checklist — it’s the foundation of how companies earn trust, build loyalty, and drive growth," the report concludes. "Yet too many companies operate in a false sense of success, believing they’re delivering great CX while customers feel the opposite."
This fundamental disconnect creates both risk and opportunity. Organizations that continue to operate under false assumptions about their CX performance face increasing vulnerability to disruption and customer attrition. A staggering 74% of customers expect companies to be fully equipped to meet their needs, but as the data shows, most organizations fall significantly short of these expectations.
Editor’s note: This article was prepared with AI language software and edited for clarity and accuracy by The Financial Brand editorial team.
