Mortgage Servicer Digital Channels Emerge as Essential Tools for Customer Retention

Chase and Bank of America Achieve Top Rankings Among Bank Servicers; Rocket Mortgage Leads Mortgage-Focused Servicers According to JD Power Research.

Key Findings:

• Bank servicers outperform mortgage-focused servicers by 56 points regarding application satisfaction and 36 points concerning website satisfaction.
• Bank clientele prioritize convenient account management accessibility and well-structured interface designs.
• Mortgage-focused servicer clientele emphasize convenient account management accessibility and accessible payment history records.

Mortgage servicers seeking to maintain customer engagement possess a clear and direct opportunity: streamline the online mortgage management experience. As demonstrated by the JD Power 2026 U.S. Mortgage Servicer Digital Experience Study,SM unveiled today, bank servicers outperform mortgage-focused servicers regarding overall satisfaction with websites and mobile applications.

Within both categories, simplified access to account management capabilities correlates with substantially increased propensity to continue utilizing digital channels, presenting servicers with a strategic avenue to enhance engagement and enable customers to administer their mortgage without requiring telephone assistance.

“Mortgage servicers may only have a few opportunities each month to connect with customers, so those interactions need to count,” said Bruce Gehrke, Senior Director of Wealth and Lending Intelligence at JD Power. “Making routine tasks easy online gives customers a reason to keep using digital channels and can help servicers lower the cost to serve them. It also creates opportunities to build the trust that puts a servicer in consideration when a customer needs their next mortgage.”

Financial institutions providing mortgage servicing through banking platforms demonstrate superior digital performance: Bank servicer applications achieve an average satisfaction rating of 736 on a 1,000-point scale, whereas mortgage-focused servicer applications score 680. Website satisfaction metrics reflect this disparity as well, with bank servicers scoring 740 compared to 704 for mortgage-focused servicers. Furthermore, bank servicer customers exhibit greater cross-product engagement, with 74% maintaining additional accounts or services compared to 22% of mortgage-focused servicer customers. Additionally, 60% of bank servicer customers report substantial familiarity with the platform’s digital interface, compared to 40% of mortgage-focused servicer customers. Satisfaction levels consistently exceed those of mortgage-focused servicer customers across all proficiency levels with digital platforms.

Streamlined account administration and intuitive interface design drive sustained engagement among bank servicer users: When account management features are readily accessible and the interface design surpasses competing platforms, 92% of bank servicer website users and 91% of bank servicer application users indicate they will definitely maintain usage of the channel. These percentages decline substantially to 59% and 54%, respectively, when neither characteristic is present.

Accessible account administration and transaction visibility prove critical for mortgage-focused servicer customer retention: Among mortgage-focused servicer customers, continued digital channel utilization is maximized when account management is readily accessible and transaction or payment history is conveniently viewable. When both conditions are satisfied, 91% of website users and 88% of application users confirm they will definitely continue using the channel, compared to 66% and 49%, respectively, when neither condition is satisfied.

“Easy navigation, familiarity with overall design and the ability to easily manage your account are key attributes helping to drive the digital customer experience,” said Jon Sundberg, Director of Digital Solutions at JD Power. “This also helps explain why bank servicers have an edge over mortgage-focused servicers, as many of the proven best practices that are driving success in retail bank apps and websites are translating in the mortgage space.”

To read more, click here.