CIBC got the top spot in customer satisfaction for J.D. Power’s 2021 Canada Banking Mobile App Satisfaction Study. The banking giant placed first with a score of 840 on J.D. Power’s 1,000-point scale. Meanwhile, RBC came in second at 836 and Scotiabank rounded out the podium at 830. CIBC, which reported 11% year-over-year growth for active mobile users, touted the app’s slew of recent or new features, including digital replacement cards, smart balance alerts, and an AI-based virtual assistant.

The bank’s new mobile banking features could have aided its scores, though not all of the features resonate with Canadian banking customers, per Insider Intelligence’s inaugural Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark report.

• It’s new instant digital access for lost or replacement credit cards likely helped it earn its high score, especially because it’s not widely offered among Canadian banks. Being able to instantly obtain a digital card was rated as “extremely valuable” by 22.3% of respondents, placing it third among most desirable Account Management features. However, none of the banks covered offered the feature when Insider Intelligence conducted the survey last November and December. For that reason, CIBC’s inclusion may represent a competitive differentiator.

While these other features are new or coming for CIBC, these types of offerings are more of a mixed bag in terms of consumer interest.

• CIBC Insights, a personalized financial insights offering, is likely popular among higher-income earners in particular. Personalized financial insights came in last among Digital Money Management features in demand, with just 11.5% rating it “extremely valuable.” However, higher-income customers, or those making at least CAD$100,000 ($74,554.65), were more receptive to the feature, with 14.4% rating it “extremely valuable.” This suggests that CIBC could market the feature to more affluent customers first as a way to build user interest.
• It’s planning to offer a virtual assistant later this year, but it’s unlikely Canadian customers will gravitate toward it. The feature was the lowest in demand for the Customer Service section of our survey, with just 5.1% deeming it “extremely valuable.” However, just two out of seven surveyed banks offered a virtual assistant when the study was conducted, suggesting that it could become a competitive differentiator if CIBC can persuade customers that it’s worth having. In contrast, CIBC was the only surveyed bank to offer chatting with a human agent, a feature that topped the Customer Service category with 26.9% rating it “extremely valuable.”