The US Neobanks oCX Report offers insights into the customer experience landscape across digital banks. While individual rankings tell specific stories, broader patterns emerge when comparing the top-performing neobanks as a group against those struggling to break into the elite tier. or this analysis, we leveraged Observational Customer Experience (oCX), an AI-powered tool that analyzes real-time customer feedback across multiple sources, including reviews, social media posts, complaints, and chat interactions. Unlike traditional surveys, which can introduce biases and incomplete insights, oCX converts unstructured text into a quantifiable metric using advanced AI algorithms.

Our analysis reveals clear distinctions between the top 10 neobanks (Revolut, Upgrade, Chime, Koho, Wise, Payoneer, Moneylion, T-Mobile Money, LendingClub, and Current) and those ranked 11-20 (Grasshopper, Step, GoHenry, Lili, One, EQ Bank, Varo Bank, Empower, Go2Bank, and Simplii Financial). This comparative assessment is based on more than 130,000 reviews gathered from Google Play Store and App Store for over 30 US neobanks, providing a robust foundation for understanding customer experience trends.

Core Experience Metrics: A Tale of Two Tiers

When examining the most reviewed topics across both groups, striking differences emerge:

App Usability

• Top 10 Apps: 32% of reviews focus on usability, with an impressive 78% positive sentiment vs. just 11% negative
• Apps Ranked 11-20: 34% of reviews concern usability, but with only 61% positive sentiment vs. 22% negative

This 17-percentage-point gap in positive sentiment represents thousands of customers experiencing fundamentally different levels of satisfaction with basic app functionality.

Service Continuity

• Top 10 Apps: 29% of reviews discuss service continuity, achieving 83% positive sentiment vs. 10% negative
• Apps Ranked 11-20: 25% of reviews mention continuity, with only 65% positive sentiment vs. 24% negative

The reliability gap is perhaps even more concerning—the second-tier neobanks experience more than twice the negative sentiment rate for service continuity, a fundamental banking expectation.

Checkings & Savings

• Top 10 Apps: 4% of reviews focus on checkings & savings, with 20% positive vs. 55% negative sentiment
• Apps Ranked 11-20: 4% of reviews mention checkings & savings, but with only 13% positive vs. 59% negative sentiment

This suggests that even top-performing neobanks struggle with basic banking functionality, but the challenge is more acute for second-tier providers where negative sentiment is significantly higher.

Card Functionality

• Top 10 Apps: Cards don’t appear in the top 5 most reviewed topics
• Apps Ranked 11-20: 10% of reviews discuss cards, with concerning metrics: 37% positive vs. 34% negative sentiment

The absence of cards from the top 10’s most reviewed topics suggests card functionality works more seamlessly for leading neobanks, while it remains a pain point for the second tier.

Transaction Variety

• Top 10 Apps: 6% of reviews discuss transaction variety, with 82% positive vs. only 6% negative sentiment
• Apps Ranked 11-20: 5% of reviews mention transaction variety, with 65% positive vs. 14% negative sentiment

Even in this relatively strong area for both groups, the top 10 maintains a significant advantage in customer satisfaction.

The Collective Strengths of Top 10 Neobanks

Looking at the aggregate data reveals what sets the top 10 apart:

• Reliability Foundation: With 83% positive sentiment for service continuity, the top performers have mastered the basic expectation of consistent access and functionality.
• Intuitive Design Philosophy: The 78% positive sentiment for usability reflects commitment to user-centered design principles and continuous refinement of the customer journey.
• Feature Execution Excellence: The remarkable 82% positive sentiment for transaction variety shows that top neobanks not only offer features but implement them smoothly.
• Problem Resolution Effectiveness: Money transfer (often involving customer service interactions) achieves 48% positive sentiment among top 10 apps, indicating stronger issue resolution capabilities.

Common Challenges for Ranks 11-20

The data points to several consistent struggles among neobanks ranked 11-20:

• Service Reliability Inconsistency: With 24% negative sentiment for service continuity, these neobanks face significant challenges maintaining consistent accessibility.
• Design and Usability Gaps: The 22% negative sentiment for app usability suggests fundamental user experience issues that frustrate customers.
• Card Management Problems: With 34% negative sentiment for cards, basic card functionality appears problematic for many second-tier neobanks.
• Transaction Limitations: The 14% negative sentiment for transaction variety indicates limitations in feature implementation or execution.
• Money Transfer Friction: With 40% negative sentiment for money transfers compared to 26% for top performers, second-tier neobanks show significant challenges with this essential banking function.
• Basic Banking Functionality Gaps: The 59% negative sentiment for checking and savings features (compared to 55% for top 10) reveals that even fundamental account management capabilities remain problematic for these challengers.

Spotlight: Why These Three Missed the Top 10

To better understand the specific challenges facing neobanks in positions 11-20, we’ve randomly selected three for closer examination: Varo Bank, One, and GoHenry. While their specific situations vary, these randomly chosen examples illustrate common patterns that explain why promising neobanks fall short of the top 10 and suggest potential pathways to improvement.

Varo Bank (Rank 17, oCX Score: 24): Security and Account Functionality Concerns

What the Numbers Tell Us

Looking at Varo Bank’s top 5 most reviewed topics, the sentiment distribution shows:

• Ease of Use of App: 25% of reviews, with 59% positive vs. 21% negative sentiment
• Service Continuity: 22% of reviews, with 62% positive vs. 20% negative sentiment
• Checking and Savings: 11% of reviews, but only 15% positive vs. 59% negative sentiment
• Security: 9% of reviews, with a concerning 9% positive vs. 69% negative sentiment
• Cards: 7% of reviews, with 48% positive vs. 35% negative sentiment

Why Varo Bank Missed the Top 10

Varo’s oCX score of 24 reflects several significant challenges:

1. Core Account Functionality Issues: The 59% negative sentiment for checking and savings features represents a critical problem with fundamental banking capabilities
2. Fundamental Account Functionality Crisis: With 59% negative sentiment and only 15% positive for checking and savings features, Varo faces one of the most significant basic banking functionality challenges in the study
3. Card Management Concerns: The 35% negative sentiment for cards suggests issues with a key customer touchpoint
4. Moderate Service Reliability: While not disastrous, Varo’s 62% positive service continuity sentiment falls well below the top 10 average of 83%

Improvement Suggestions for Varo Bank

To climb into the top 10, Varo should focus on:

• Conducting a comprehensive review of checking and savings account features to address the high negative sentiment
• Implementing enhanced security features and dramatically improving security communication
• Addressing card functionality issues, particularly around activation and transaction approvals
• Enhancing overall service reliability to approach the top 10 benchmark of 83% positive sentiment

One (Rank 15, oCX Score: 28): Balancing Strengths with Security Concerns

What the Numbers Tell Us

Looking at One’s top 5 most reviewed topics, the sentiment breakdown reveals:

• Ease of Use of App: 28% of reviews, with 65% positive vs. 19% negative sentiment
• Service Continuity: 27% of reviews, with 70% positive vs. 19% negative sentiment
• Cards: 14% of reviews, with 40% positive vs. 32% negative sentiment
• Security: 6% of reviews, with 14% positive vs. 60% negative sentiment
• Variety of Transaction Type: 4% of reviews, with an impressive 71% positive vs. 11% negative sentiment

Why One Missed the Top 10

One’s oCX score of 28 places it closer to the top 10 than many peers, but several factors hold it back:

1. Checking and Savings Limitations: While not appearing in One’s top 5 reviewed topics, industry data suggests checking and savings functionality remains an opportunity area compared to top performers
2. Card Functionality Issues: With 32% negative sentiment, card features create friction for many users
3. Moderate App Experience: While 65% positive sentiment for ease of use is respectable, it lags behind the top 10 average of 78%
4. Service Continuity Gaps: Despite a solid 70% positive sentiment for service continuity, this still falls short of the top 10 average of 83%

Improvement Suggestions for One

One shows potential for advancement with these focused improvements:

• Enhancing core checking and savings functionality to match industry leaders’ capabilities
• Resolving card functionality issues, particularly around transaction processing
• Further refining the app experience to close the gap with top performers
• Enhancing service reliability to minimize disruptions and outages

GoHenry (Rank 13, oCX Score: 30): Family Banking with Significant Friction Points

What the Numbers Tell Us

Analysis of GoHenry’s top 5 most reviewed topics shows the sentiment breakdown:

• Service Continuity: 30% of reviews, with 58% positive vs. 28% negative sentiment
• App Usability: 29% of reviews, with 64% positive vs. 22% negative sentiment
• Cards: 15% of reviews, but only 20% positive vs. 36% negative sentiment
• Checking and Savings: 4% of reviews, with a concerning 9% positive vs. 61% negative sentiment
• Fees: 4% of reviews, with just 3% positive vs. 52% negative sentiment

Why GoHenry Missed the Top 10

Despite its youth-focused niche, GoHenry’s oCX score of 30 reflects several significant challenges:

1. Fee Structure Concerns: The 52% negative sentiment around fees reflects widespread dissatisfaction with costs
2. Core Account Limitations: With 61% negative sentiment for checking and savings features, basic account functionality appears problematic
3. Card Functionality Issues: The 36% negative sentiment for cards represents a significant concern, particularly problematic for a youth-focused banking product
4. Service Reliability Challenges: With 28% negative sentiment for service continuity (compared to 10% for top 10 apps), reliability remains a significant issue

Improvement Suggestions for GoHenry

GoHenry’s path to the top 10 should focus on:

• Reviewing and potentially restructuring fee policies to address widespread concerns
• Enhancing checking and savings functionality to provide a more complete banking experience
• Improving card reliability and functionality, a critical component of their youth banking model
• Strengthening service continuity to minimize disruptions and access issues

Conclusion: The Path Forward

The performance gap between top 10 neobanks and those ranked 11-20 is significant but not insurmountable. By addressing the fundamental issues identified in this analysis—particularly checkings & savings, service reliability, and core functionality—second-tier contenders can meaningfully improve their customer experience.

For Varo Bank, One, and GoHenry specifically, the data points to clear priorities that could accelerate their advancement. By focusing relentlessly on their most significant sentiment gaps compared to top performers, these promising neobanks can position themselves for upward mobility in future rankings.

The digital banking revolution continues to evolve, but the basics of customer experience remain constant: security, reliability, usability, and value. Neobanks that master these fundamentals while maintaining their innovative edge will find themselves rising through the ranks in the years ahead.

For more insights:

Our full report: US Neobanks oCX Report

Related analysis: Are Neobanks Closing the Trust Gap with Traditional Banks?