TROY, Mich. — Amid a volatile economic environment where customer satisfaction is rising sharply for lending products like mortgages and auto loans, personal loans are falling behind—with overall satisfaction remaining stagnant, a new study shows.
According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study, this stagnant performance highlights the industry’s failure to move beyond basic transactions to address the unique and changing needs of today’s personal loan customers—many of whom have seen their financial health deteriorate considerably during the past year.
“The primary purpose of a consumer loan is to be a financial management tool, to help solve challenges customers are having with revolving credit card debt or unforeseen expenses,” said Bruce Gehrke, senior director of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power. “So, when we see that customer satisfaction with these products is stagnating at a time when the financial health of the average customer is declining sharply, it raises questions about whether or not consumer loans are really hitting the mark for what customers need right now.”
Key findings of the 2025 study:
- Satisfaction flat as financial health deteriorates: Overall customer satisfaction with personal loans is 704 (on a 1,000-point scale), up 2 points from the 2024 study. Meanwhile, just 25% of personal loan customers are classified as financially healthy this year, down from 27% in 2024 and 33% in 2023. During that same period, the percentage of customers identified as financially vulnerable has increased to 47%, up from 45% in 2024 and 40% in 2023.
- Data security is critical for delivering high satisfaction: On average, overall customer trust scores 203 points higher when personal loan customers perceive that their lender has a secure lending process that protects their personal information.
- Proactive fee communication reduces problems: Of personal loan customers who experienced a problem, 28% cited an unexpected fee, making it the most commonly cited problem. When fee information is disclosed after the loan approval, the incidence of unexpected fees surges to 43%. Similarly, overall satisfaction scores are highest (753) when fees are disclosed prior to an application and lowest (701) when they are disclosed after approval.
Study Ranking
American Express ranks highest among personal loan lenders in overall customer satisfaction for a third consecutive year, with a score of 768. Citi (751) ranks second and Discover (734) ranks third, J.D. Power said.
The U.S. Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study measures overall customer satisfaction based on performance in seven core dimensions on a poor-to-perfect rating scale. Individual dimensions measured are (in order of importance): loan met borrowing needs; level of trust; experience obtaining loan; makes it easy to do business with; people; digital channels; and kept informed about loan. The study is based on responses from 5,802 personal loan customers and was fielded from March 2024 through March 2025.