Why do French consumers stay with a bank they find too expensive? For the first wave of the Nabel Financial Services Tracker, we asked 140 people who run their household’s finances, most of them in a 15-minute voice interview.
Tracker
Loyal by DefaultFinancial Services · France
Sept 2026 fieldwork · 140 respondents · 90 voice interviews
Unhappy with the price, and staying anyway.
86%
won’t switch their main bank in the next twelve months. Direct debits and mortgages keep them in, not satisfaction.
55%
find their bank fees too high, often while doing everything themselves in the app.
47%vs 19%
of women, against men, describe their financial situation as difficult.
48%
care about AI in banking. They’ll take its advice, but won’t let it move their money.
Loyalty doesn’t pay. I pay full price for my card, I pay full price for all the fees. I don’t get anything special for being loyal.
Woman, 55+, talking to the Nabel agent · quote translated from French, audio shortened
Methodology
Mainland France · 11–13 Sept 2026
140
respondents, all sole financial decision-makers for their household
90
voice interviews conducted by the Nabel agent
14.9 min
median interview length
3 days
of fieldwork in mainland France
Why they stay, and what would make them leave
The full report goes further. 36 pages, in French:
- 13 findings on trust, fees, multi-banking and AI
- Customers’ own words, transcribed word for word
- Recommendations for marketing, product and CX teams
- Full methodology and sample limitations