Commissioned by Alkami and conducted by Cornerstone Advisors, this annual study and report measures progress in digital banking solutions through the collection and analysis of bank and credit union operational data.

Now in its seventh edition, the premise of this report has always been simple: financial institutions need real benchmarking to measure their digital banking solutions’ performance. Not relying on anecdotes or aspirations, the study draws on the self-reported hard numbers from its annual participating banks and credit unions.

Their data-stories are illustrated across the report’s four sections:

• Digital investment metrics. This section analyzes what financial institutions are actually spending and supporting digital banking with internal resources.
• Digital banking operational metrics. This section identifies 10 performance areas that continue to separate high-performing institutions from the pack.
• Digital banking features and utilization. This section looks at the current adoption and planned use of digital technologies driving user engagement.
• Business digital banking. A new section benchmarking SMB and commercial digital capabilities — enrollment, usage, and the significant distance between where most FIs are and where business customers need them to be.

The story of digital banking is no longer about whether financial institutions have embraced the channel, because they clearly have. The question now is whether they’re getting the most out of it, and if they can build a compelling enough platform for users to want to adopt it and be active using it.

The competitive pressure on both sides of this report is real and accelerating. Institutions that will win the next decade of digital banking aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most, but; they’re the ones measuring the right metrics and behaviors and moving on what they find. That’s what this report is for.

What does the 2026 Digital Banking Performance Metrics report tell us about the current state of retail digital banking solutions?

On the retail side, the indicators are broadly encouraging. Mobile activation rates hit a multi-year high, digital loan applications crossed the 50% threshold for the first time, and cross-sales through the digital channel jumped meaningfully. But the abandonment problem in account opening remains stubbornly unsolved, P2P continues to bleed to third-party applications (apps), and PFM utilization is declining even as availability grows.

This is a reminder that building a feature and driving adoption are two very different challenges.

The investment data offers one more note of caution. Both banks and credit unions consistently underdelivered against their own platform investment plans. In 2025, actual conversions for consumer online and mobile banking platforms came in well below what institutions planned a year earlier.

• Although 14% of banks planned replacement activity for consumer digital platforms in 2025, in the end, only 9% followed-through.
• Credit unions told a similar story with 13% planning to replace the platform, yet only 8% fulfilled that goal.
• The 2026 plans are back up for credit unions with 15% planning a platform change. The expected implementation of a new platform lowered for banks to 9%.

What does the 2026 Digital Banking Performance Metrics report tell us about the current state of business digital banking solutions?

Enrollment is solid, and the businesses that use digital treasury services use them actively. But the capability gaps are significant revealing: business online account opening is rare, digital loan origination is nascent, and the higher order features that growing businesses increasingly expect, such as real-time payments, integrated payables and receivables, and cashflow forecasting.

Perhaps most telling, the pain points that rank highest aren’t about what business clients can’t do; they’re about what financial institutions can’t see.

Without visibility into usage data and the ability to experience their own platforms through an account holder’s eyes, institutions are flying blind on a product they’re actively selling.

Why are these key metrics important?

Financial institutions need a digital banking metrics framework that does three things: focuses measurement on outcomes, not just activity; connects digital performance data to business goals; and distinguishes between metrics worth tracking and metrics worth managing to.