ABA Survey: 53% of Banks are Satisfied with Their Core Platform Provider

A new American Bankers Association survey of banks and core platform providers released at ABA’s 2025 Conference for Community Bankers finds that just over half (53%) of bankers are “extremely” or “somewhat” satisfied with their core platform provider, the critical outside vendors that typically provide the technology backbone behind a bank’s day-to-day operations. ABA’s Core Platforms Survey shows that 35% of banks are “dissatisfied” with their core processor, a slightly better result compared to the previous survey in 2022. 

“Core providers are integral to banks’ ability to provide the modern, innovative tools they need to meet customer expectations and compete effectively,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. “The survey results show that while we’ve made some important progress, more work remains to improve the relationship banks have with their cores. ABA remains committed to this important effort.”

Since 2020, ABA has surveyed bankers every two years to gauge the current state of banks’ relationships with their core service providers. Beginning in 2022, ABA included core platform providers in the survey respondent panel.

In the 2024 survey, bankers rated their overall satisfaction with the core service providers a 3.19 on a scale of 1-5. While this was a modest increase from the 3.01 rating in 2022, the score remains low, highlighting room for improvement.

Report Breaks Down Satisfaction by Company

For the first time, this year’s report breaks down satisfaction by individual core providers, with the top performer receiving a 4.03 rating on a scale of 1-5.  The report also ranks banker satisfaction with core solutions, with some solutions’ satisfaction levels at more than 80% while others are ranked lower than 50%.

“When the survey data is analyzed by core provider and core solutions, it becomes crystal clear that all cores are not created equal in the eyes of America’s banks,” said Russell Davis, ABA’s executive vice president of member engagement. “The challenge for every bank leader is to identify the solution that best supports their unique institution and business strategy.”

The detailed banker satisfaction scores of core providers – from lowest to highest – is available in the report. The survey also found that overall satisfaction declines the longer a bank operates on their current core platform and declines steadily throughout the contract term, dropping to the lowest level as the bank approaches contract renewal.

Banker respondents’ ratings of their core provider’s effectiveness also saw a modest increase from 2.67 in 2022 to 2.78 in 2024.

Most Banks Sticking with Current Core Platform Provider

Despite low satisfaction and effectiveness ratings, the survey found that most bankers do not plan to leave their current core platform provider. Sixty-nine percent of respondents are extremely or somewhat likely to remain with their current provider at the next contract renewal, and only 19% of respondents are likely to convert at their next renewal date.

Bankers’ reasons for switching in 2024 are markedly different from 2022. In 2022, bankers cited a lack of support for integration and products not being current as the drivers in the conversion decision. By contrast, 2024 survey respondents pointed to customer service and disappointment with their current core provider as the key factors behind conversion decisions.

Both bankers and core providers were surveyed on the importance and effectiveness of 19 bank success-related attributes. Similar to 2022, banks and core providers show near perfect alignment on the relative importance of core platform attributes to bank success. However, core providers systematically overestimate their effectiveness at delivering those same attributes to their customers which results in an effectiveness gap. For example, bankers rated core service providers’ overall effectiveness a 2.78 on a scale of 1-5, while the core providers gave themselves a 4.31.

ABA Formed Core Platforms Committee in 2018

Under Nichols’ leadership, ABA formed the Core Platforms Committee in December 2018. Since that time, the banker-led group has identified areas of concern and specific actions that can strengthen the relationship between banks and core providers so banks can deliver the innovative products and services customers want and need. The committee has met with more than 25 core providers, half a dozen middleware providers and various other organizations related to core processing. As a result of those meetings, the committee has developed a range of resources to assist banks in managing their core relationship available at aba.com/core.

The survey shows that the ABA Core Platforms Committee’s efforts have been well-received by banks across the country. Ninety-three percent of respondents that are aware of the ABA Core Platforms Committee believe the Committee’s work has encouraged core platform providers to address bank concerns. Seventy-six percent of bankers surveyed that are aware of the ABA Core Platforms Committee believe the work of the committee has made them better equipped to manage their core relationships.

The 2024 Core Platforms Survey results are available at https://www.aba.com/news-research/analysis-guides/2024-core-platforms-survey.