Banks Improving Debit Card Management in Online Banking and Adding Security Features While Real-Time Alerts Still Advancing
Wilmington, Del., May 20, 2025 – Keynova Group, the principal competitive intelligence source for digital financial services firms, today announced the results of its semi-annual Online Banker Scorecard for Q2 2025. Among Keynova Group’s competitive evaluation of the 18 leading U.S. retail banks’ digital experience, Bank of America continues to take first place due to its powerful and balanced online banking capabilities and customer experience best practices.
The latest findings reveal the Scorecard banks’ improvements in debit card controls and management, more consumer-facing security protection tools and the ongoing opportunity for banks to advance real-time alerts messaging.
“Debit card management controls are starting to catch up with credit cards’ online tools, as many banks provide customers with additional options to track transactions and card replacement,” said Susan Foulds, managing director, Keynova Group. “Additionally, while banks are addressing crucial security concerns for users, enabling accountholders to more easily detect suspicious activity, the availability of real-time alerts for low balances and overdrawn accounts remains limited.”
Key Findings:
Debit Card Management and Controls Significantly Improve
Seamless online card management is essential for retail banking customers to complete daily tasks and secure their finances. Most banks (89%) enable account holders to order a debit card replacement online. However, the ability to track the status of a debit card replacement, which is widely available from credit card issuers, is still emerging, with less than 20% of banks offering it online. With recent changes to its debit card management, Truist is providing more expansive debit card controls and is one of the 22% of banks that support locking a debit card for specific types of purchases, such as online or foreign transactions, providing an additional layer of security.
Consumer-Facing Security Elements are Critical Safeguards
Implementing visible online banking security measures can engage users in improving their digital safeguards and help detect suspicious account activity. Multi-factor authentication for higher-risk transactions is available at 56% of banks and is one of the additional layers of protection that is becoming more common. While nearly 20% of banks offer emerging features such as security strength indicators and passkey sign-on, more banks are allowing users to manage the apps or websites linked to their bank accounts, enabling them to remove old subscriptions and services from having account access. These digital security features engage customers to track their account activity and stay alert to prevent fraud and unintended fees.
Real-Time Alert Messaging Not Universally Available
Although essential for helping customers manage their finances, real-time alerts for low balances and overdrafts are not widespread in online banking. Currently, half of the Scorecard banks send real-time messages, which provide customers with immediate or advanced notice to prevent overdrafts. Chase offers best-in-class real-time alerts for low balances, overdrafts and transactions, and enables account holders to manage balance and transaction messages. While integrated real-time low-balance and money movement notifications are not common, more than half of banks do offer automatic and timely alerts for a negative balance or suspicious activity.
About the Online Banker Scorecard
Keynova Group’s semi-annual, fact-based Online Banker Scorecard, offered for more than two decades, evaluates digital user capabilities, customer experience elements, and best practices to identify evolving trends and insights that drive online strategy in banking. The evaluation encompasses the websites of Bank of America, BMO, Capital One, Chase, Citibank, Citizens Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, PNC, Regions Bank, Santander, TD Bank, Truist, USAA, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. A separate semi-annual Mobile Banker Scorecard reviews the mobile app and mobile web experience. For more information please visit: https://www.keynovagroup.com/scorecards/#banking
About Keynova Group
Keynova Group is the nation’s foremost competitive intelligence firm providing trusted benchmarking insights and analysis of consumer and small business digital financial services, including banking, credit card, home lending and insurance. Since 1999, Keynova Group’s Scorecards have served as the go-to source for leading financial services firms to obtain reliable competitive intelligence and actionable insights. The firm’s proven methodology and highly detailed results help its clients maximize the value of their digital channels to deliver a premier experience to customers and prospects.
For more information:
Meggan Manson
Young & Associates, for Keynova Group
301-371-6995
megganm@yapr.com