Between June 2018 and July 2024, our research team gathered data on the customer acquisition cost various types of banks paid across a variety of marketing channels. We’ve segmented our data by bank type, marketing channel used, and customer type in the tables below.
Note that our sample sizes vary across bank types (see Appendix A), and as such our data should be used in projections or evaluations with additional analysis.
Banking Customer Acquisition Cost Benchmarks
In this section, we break down the cost that banks pay to acquire new customers in 3 ways: by bank type, marketing channel, and customer type.
Average Banking Customer Acquisition Cost by Bank Type
| Bank Type | Customer Acquisition Cost |
| Retail — Consumer | $561 |
| Retail — Commercial | $760 |
| Credit Card Provider | $167 |
| Credit Union | $428 |
| Online (Digital) Bank | $290 |
| Investment Bank | $882 |
| Equity Financing | $653 |
| Hedge Fund | $2,084 |
| Savings & Loan Association | $331 |
| Farm Credit Bank | $475 |
Average Banking Customer Acquisition Cost by Marketing Channel
The following table represents the average customer acquisition cost banks pay by marketing channel, with all bank types blended.
| Marketing Channel | Banking Customer Acquisition Cost |
| Organic Search (SEO) | $431 |
| Paid Search (PPC) | $590 |
| Organic Social | $505 |
| Paid Social | $521 |
| Direct Mail | $482 |
| Radio Advertising | $615 |
| TV Advertising | $671 |
| Video / Youtube Marketing | $510 |
| PR | $898 |
Average Banking Customer Acquisition Cost by Customer Type
The following table shows average customer acquisition cost by banking customer type. The Consumer category includes some customers who would be categorized as high net worth (HNW) but not ultra high net worth (UHNW).
| Bank Customer Type | Customer Acquisition Cost |
| Consumer | $396 |
| UHNW | $855 |
| Small Business | $607 |
| Middle Market | $1,120 |
| Enterprise | $1,217 |
Further Reading and Requesting a PDF of this Report
For further reading, see our reports and guides on financial services and fintech valuation and customer acquisition:
- Fintech CAC Benchmarks: 2024 Report
- Customer Acquisition Channels, Compared and Ranked
- Customer Acquisition Strategy: 2024 Guide
- Financial Services Company EBITDA Multiples & Valuations
To request a PDF copy of this report, reach out here.
