By Amanda Marshall, VP of Marketing, ADVANTAGE
Let's talk about something that should be keeping every bank and credit union leader up at night, yet somehow still it gets pushed to the back burner too often.
Every year, Cornerstone Advisors surveys hundreds of financial institution executives to produce What's Going On in Banking. It's one of the most honest reads on where our industry's head is at. The 2026 edition just dropped, and there's a thread running through the entire report that I can't stop thinking about.
The primary financial relationship, the checking account, is under siege. And most institutions don't have a real plan to defend it.
Here's the headline: 58% of bank executives named deposit gathering as their #1 concern for 2026. For credit unions, 69% said the same about new member growth. Both figures are the highest Cornerstone has recorded in over a decade of tracking this data.
Let that sink in. Not a blip. Not a bad quarter. A sustained, multi-year trend that reflects a structural shift in how consumers relate to their financial institutions, and who they're willing to give their primary relationship to.
The competitive picture makes it even more urgent. 80% of bank executives now see big fintechs like PayPal and Square as a significant threat, a 16-point jump in a single year. 70% see challenger banks like Chime and Varo as a threat, up 21 points. These aren't startups anymore. They're household names with billions in marketing budgets and frictionless digital experiences that consumers are comparing every single day.
Here's where it gets interesting... and a little uncomfortable.
Crypto providers like Coinbase? Only 29% of bank and credit union leaders see them as a significant threat. But consider what Coinbase did in 2025 alone: launched zero-commission stock trading, rolled out an AI-powered financial advisor, introduced a stablecoin payments platform designed to compete directly with ACH and wire transfers, and partnered with Chase and PNC on pilot programs. Meanwhile, Ripple, Circle, and PayPal all announced intentions to pursue national bank charters. It's a lot, happening fast. 38% of Americans aged 21–60 now directly own cryptocurrency. One-third plan to invest more in 2026. These aren't fringe consumers. They're your consumers. And the platforms they're trusting with part of their financial life are quietly positioned to capture more of it.
That gap, the one between the competitive moves happening in the market and the threat perception inside our institutions, is exactly where primary relationships are being lost.
The checking account isn't just a product. It's the anchor of the entire relationship. It's where direct deposit lands, where bill pay originates, and where the debit card gets used every single day. Everything else, from savings, lending, investments, cross-sell, and long-term value, flows from it.
Fintechs know this. Challenger banks know this. Crypto platforms are figuring it out fast. They're not trying to sell your market a CD. They're trying to become the place where the paycheck lands, because whoever owns that relationship owns everything downstream.
The Cornerstone data confirms that new customer and member growth ranks in the top three concerns for virtually every segment of institutions surveyed. And yet: structured, always-on checking acquisition programs remain dramatically underinvested relative to that stated priority.
So, What Do You Actually Do About It?
That said, most institutions aren't ignoring the acquisition check. They just aren't running the right play.
A seasonal promotion. A new account holder bonus in Q1. Some digital ads. A referral program. These aren't bad tactics, but they only work during the window you're running them. The moment the campaign ends, the pipeline ends. In a market where fintechs are always on, always targeting, always optimizing, a campaign-based model is structurally outmatched.
There's a meaningful difference between running a checking promotion and running a checking acquisition program. One is an event. The other is an operating discipline.
You need a strong program, one that starts with deep data. ADVANTAGE’s 240M+ consumer behavioral dataset (the largest in the industry) identifies who in your market is most likely to open a new checking account before they start shopping.
That means your team isn't guessing. They're reaching the right people at the right moment, through the right channels.
And the work doesn't stop at account opening. Structured onboarding sequences drive direct deposit setup, bill pay enrollment, and debit card usage within the critical first 90 days, because an account that doesn't activate isn't a relationship. It's just a number.
Success is measured differently. It's measured in activated, engaged, depositing households that compound in value for years.
The latest Cornerstone data sends a clear signal: the institutions that thrive over the next several years will be the ones that treat checking acquisition as a strategic operating discipline, not a marketing line item.
Your competitors are watching the same threats. Your account holders are already exploring alternatives you may not have considered. And the window to establish that primary relationship - before someone else does - is open right now.
Ready to Strengthen Your Deposit Growth Strategy?
If deposit growth is a top priority, it’s worth taking a closer look at whether your current checking acquisition strategy is built to compete in today’s market. ADVANTAGE helps financial institutions identify high-potential households, reach them with precision, and convert new accounts into activated, long-term relationships.
👉Learn how a structured checking acquisition program can help your institution grow deposits and strengthen primary relationships in this on-demand webinar, From Promotions to Primacy: Building an always-on checking growth strategy.
Connect with ADVANTAGE to start the conversation.
