<p><a href="https://marketmentors.com/industries/finance/">Banks still need deposits</a>. What they do not need is a habit of buying them at the highest available price every time the market gets twitchy. The American Bankers Association’s Banking Journal reported that deposit growth remained the top strategic objective for bank marketers in 2025, fueled by acquisition, relationship deepening and retention, while low-cost deposits remained a core business priority. That is the key phrase: low-cost deposits. Because rate-led growth can be fast, but it is rarely cheap and it is even less likely to stick. (<a href="https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2025/01/2025-bank-marketing-trends/">ABA Banking Journal</a>)</p>   <p>The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s March 2026 national rate data bring the pressure into focus. National average rates were 0.39% for savings, 0.07% for interest checking and 1.52% for a 12-month certificate of deposit, while the adjusted national rate cap for a 12-month certificate of deposit sat at 4.93%. That gap shows how expensive it can get when institutions chase balances by leading with price alone. You can buy attention that way. You can also train people to leave the minute someone else adds a few more basis points. (<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps">FDIC</a>) And people are already spreading their money around. J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study found that the average retail bank checking customer now maintains three deposit accounts at different institutions, and 20% of retail bank customers moved money away from their primary bank within the prior three months. The same study found that banks earning stronger satisfaction do a better job reducing friction, resolving problems and using routine experiences like alerts, fees, transfers and face-to-face interactions to reinforce clarity and confidence. That is not a rate story. That is an <a href="https://marketmentors.com/services/marketing/">experience story</a>. (<a href="https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2026-us-retail-banking-satisfaction-study">JD Power</a>)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Checking account marketing should carry more of the growth load</h2>   <p>If your growth plan treats checking as the boring utility account and certificates of deposit as the star, it may be backwards. Checking is the relationship hub. It is where direct deposit lands, debit usage happens, alerts get read and habits form. It is the product most likely to anchor a broader financial relationship, which makes it the best place to market convenience, confidence and day-to-day usefulness.</p>   <p>That means checking account marketing should lead with real life. Show how fast the account is to open. Show how easy it is to fund, move money and manage the account on mobile. Show what makes the institution feel local, reachable and human. Pair that with <a href="https://marketmentors.com/services/advertising/">segmented messaging</a> for students, families, small business owners and retirees, because different people want different forms of utility from the same account. The Banking Journal pointed to personalization, analytics-driven audience targeting, customer data analytics and relationship deepening as leading marketing trends for banks. That lines up with a smarter checking strategy: stop marketing one account to everyone the same way. (<a href="https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2025/01/2025-bank-marketing-trends/">ABA Banking Journal</a>)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Savings account marketing should sell progress, not just yield</h2>   <p>Savings is where banks can move from transaction to trust. A good savings message is not just “our rate is competitive.” It is “here’s how this product helps you make progress.” Emergency funds. Holiday reserves. Tuition planning. Home projects. Business liquidity. The more concrete the use case, the more relatable the message.</p>   <p>This is also where <a href="https://marketmentors.com/services/marketing/">content</a> earns its keep. Educational landing pages, calculators, email nurture and branch-to-digital continuity can help customers choose between savings, money market and certificate of deposit options based on goals, timing and access needs. Digital banking guidance published by the Banking Journal in 2026 emphasized that people want simple, safe, always-accessible tools with minimal friction, and that many banks lose potential customers because the digital experience creates confusion or barriers. If the savings story is clear but the digital path is clumsy, the campaign will leak before it converts. (<a href="https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2026/02/digital-banking-the-gateway-to-customer-growth-and-competitive-differentiation/">ABA Banking Journal</a>)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Certificate of deposit promotions should be targeted and temporary</h2>   <p>Certificate of deposit promotions still matter. They just work best when they are used surgically. If a bank needs seasonal liquidity, wants to capture maturing balances or sees a short-term opportunity to bring new households into the franchise, a focused certificate of deposit campaign can absolutely do the job. <a href="https://marketmentors.com/case-studies/turning-data-to-dollars/">Market Mentors’ Cornerstone Bank case study</a> is a strong internal example of how a well-timed, channel-smart certificate of deposit promotion can drive outsized return on ad spend. The lesson is not “rates do not matter.” The lesson is “rates should not do all the work.”</p>   <p>Once a CD customer is in the door, the job shifts. Onboarding should introduce digital banking, savings options, checking benefits and relationship value before maturity ever becomes a countdown clock. That is how a time deposit turns into a household relationship instead of a short-term balance spike.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The better deposit growth play</h2>   <p>The banks that grow deposits without racing to the bottom on rates tend to do three things well. They use checking account marketing to win primacy. They use savings account marketing to reinforce habit and long-term value. And they use certificate of deposit promotions with precision, then follow those campaigns with onboarding and cross-sell that deepen the relationship.</p>   <p>They also make the path easy. J.D. Power’s latest data suggests loyalty gets shakier when everyday experiences feel frustrating. The Banking Journal’s reporting suggests growth depends on personalization, data and digital clarity. Put those together and the picture is pretty clear: deposit growth is not just a pricing problem. It is a positioning, experience and follow-through problem. (<a href="https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2026-us-retail-banking-satisfaction-study">JD Power</a>)</p>   <p>Rates can still headline a campaign. They just should not be the entire plot. The smarter story is this: here is the right product, for the right person, with the right message, at the right moment and with a digital experience that makes saying yes easy. That is how banks grow deposits without paying for every new dollar twice. (<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps">FDIC</a>)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently asked questions</h2>    <p>No. Rates still matter, especially for certificate of deposit campaigns and competitive comparison shopping. But they work best as an entry point, not the full strategy. Experience, clarity and relationship value are what make balances more likely to stay put.</p>     <p>For many institutions, checking deserves the heaviest lift because it is most likely to become the primary relationship account. Savings then supports habit and share of wallet, while certificate of deposit promotions can be used more selectively to capture targeted balances.</p>    <p>We've been <a href="https://marketmentors.com/industries/finance/">helping clients in the banking and finance industry</a> for years. </p>   <p><a href="https://marketmentors.com/contact-us/">Get in touch</a> with our team of financial marketing mentors today, and let's talk about how we can help you grow deposits without racing to the bottom on rates!</p>   <p></p>

How banks grow deposits without racing to the bottom on rates

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