TROY, Mich.--Fintechs are continuing to capitalize on a growing “soft switching” trend in financial services, with new J.D. Power data showing consumers increasingly opening secondary checking, savings and investment accounts—and in many cases quietly shifting their primary relationships over time.
For credit unions and community institutions, the findings underscore how digital-first competitors are gaining traction with mass-market consumers even when they are not immediately replacing an existing provider.
According to J.D. Power’s latest Financial Services Churn Data and Analytics report, nearly half of all new checking accounts opened in the fourth quarter of 2025 (49%) and 46% of new savings accounts were secondary accounts opened by consumers who already had an existing banking relationship. Another 26% of new checking accounts and 18% of new savings accounts were replacement accounts, while brand-new banking relationships accounted for just 25% of checking and 36% of savings openings. The pattern, which mirrors the third quarter, suggests more consumers are diversifying away from their primary deposit institutions rather than making abrupt, one-step switches.
That trend is benefiting fintechs most in the mass-market segment. Chime captured the largest share of new checking account openings in Q4 at 12.8%, ahead of Chase at 8.4% and Wells Fargo at 7.1%. In savings, Chase led with 9% of new account openings, followed by Chime at 8.4% and Bank of America at 6.3%. Chime also posted the strongest conversion rates among consumers who considered multiple brands, winning 78% of checking account decisions and 85% of savings account decisions after being evaluated.
For credit unions, the implications are significant: consumers may not be formally closing their primary accounts, but they are increasingly testing alternative providers for day-to-day transactions, savings behavior and digital engagement. That creates a slower, less visible form of attrition—one that can erode deposit primacy, interchange income and cross-sell opportunities before a member ever fully leaves.
The report found that traditional institutions still hold the advantage with higher-income households. In checking, Chime led new customer acquisition among mass-market consumers with 11.5% share, but Chase led among mass-affluent customers at 10.9%, while Bank of America led among affluent households at 14.1%. A similar pattern emerged in savings, where Chime led the mass-market segment, while Chase led both the mass-affluent and affluent tiers.
In investing, Fidelity led on new account openings, capturing 16.8% of new accounts in Q4, followed by Charles Schwab at 9.1% and Robinhood at 8%. But when it came to conversion—turning shoppers into account openers—SoFi topped the field at 83.1%, ahead of Fidelity at 80.2% and Acorns at 78.2%. Fidelity also led new account acquisition across all investable-asset tiers, including mass market, mass affluent and affluent investors.
Taken together, the data suggest that while established brands still dominate among wealthier households and in overall scale, fintechs are increasingly winning the early-stage consideration battle—particularly among mass-market consumers. That is an important warning sign for credit unions, many of which compete heavily in that segment and could find themselves losing relevance not through sudden defections, but through gradual shifts in where members save, spend, invest and borrow.
J.D. Power said the trend reflects a mature market that is becoming more vulnerable to disruption as consumers explore a wider range of providers and digital experiences.