Banks face a mounting loyalty crisis. More than 70% of large and midsize U.S. businesses turn to fintechs to address key cash management and payment needs. Additionally, more than 27% plan to switch financial institutions in the next two years, while most banks are adding new treasury management clients at rates below 3% of their existing client base. The math is simple: attrition is outpacing acquisition at many institutions. With a median client attrition rate of about 7% — with some banks exceeding 10% — banks are losing ground faster than they can recover it. This isn’t a problem unique to one player or geography; it’s an industry-wide challenge that demands immediate action.
The question is not whether attrition matters, but where it starts. Datos Insights launched a TM Benchmark (Client Analysis & Retention Tool) to answer this critical question by combining two years of anonymized client-level billing data from hundreds of thousands of corporate customers, direct bank input, and voice-of-customer feedback. Rather than treating attrition as a single metric, the benchmark isolates five specific drivers—each backed by concrete evidence.
Thin client relationships sit at the center: 43% of TM clients that left their bank were using only one or two products, with some banks seeing that percentage exceed 60%. The problem begins at onboarding — 70% of new regional bank clients start with just one or two products, missing the chance to deepen relationships early. Low payment penetration creates another gap; despite industry-wide volume growth, most regional banks face declining or flat ACH and wire adoption, suggesting clients are taking this business elsewhere. Gaps in product roadmaps leave opportunities on the table: positive pay, international wires, liquidity products, and faster payments remain underpenetrated. Further, large regional and super regional banks are not moving fast enough with automated payables with intelligent routing and virtual accounts, while most regional banks fall short with RTP origination capabilities and ERP integrations. Finally, weak coordination between credit and treasury sales means cross-sell opportunities vanish before they’re recognized.
For each bank, the benchmark measures attrition exposure against these five levers and benchmarks results against peer groups and market expectations. It also highlights key points of differentiation, opportunities, and recommendations for banks to strengthen their TM business. The goal is clear: help banks identify which vulnerabilities are costing them clients and where targeted investment will have the greatest impact.
What emerges from the data is a roadmap for protection. Banks that own the payment business — not by accident but by strategy—build stickier, multi-product client connections. Those that redesign onboarding to include needs assessment and data-driven product bundling see faster client adoption. And those that close the gap between credit and treasury sales capture revenue they’re currently leaving on the table. The banks moving forward recognize that attracting new clients is harder and more expensive than retaining the ones they have. The Datos TM Benchmark gives them the data to do it.
To learn more or join the Datos benchmark, contact Jessica Stegmaier at [email protected].