The 2025 outlook for deposit growth and customer acquisition is upbeat, if cautiously so.
That’s from BAI’s own research and throughout the discussions with banking leaders and industry partners contributing to the April BAI Executive Report: Growing quality deposits and customer acquisition.
Even if a yield chase is dictating the flow of hot money less these days than in recent years, it doesn’t mean bankers can be caught flat footed, without a strategy to compete for quality deposits.
The emphasis remains on customer care, attention to managing deposit risk, liquidity and appealing to the next generations of consumers who engage differently with financial services partners than their parents and grandparents (although all age groups want convenience, transparency with fees and a flexible lineup of products).
We open the April report by checking in with the BAI research team. They’re fresh off the quarterly State of U.S. Deposits webinar and podcast, which featured a breakout of both consumer and business performance. You have a chance to read the highlights in the April report, and you can click through to listen to the full podcast and further check out the charts and commentary from the webinar for the complete deposit picture.
We next tap trend experts and bankers about steps underway to capture the early years of the record “Great Wealth Transfer,” for which Boomers are expected to hand over some $80 trillion to younger generations. The shift presents financial institutions with a deposit acquisition and retention opportunity like none the industry has likely seen.
We also aim to offer value with a tactical deposit article this month, one focused on funding and liquidity considerations. We know that the cloudy interest-rate landscape and ongoing ledger challenges shape decision-making as well.
Our contributing partners deliver with a range of operations and technology focused advice, attention on improving onboarding and making sure that the customer is never a secondary thought even as account creation gets more efficient.
- IntraFI’s Ken Auspaker walks us through how deposit placement networks deepen the pool that allows your risk-minded organization to consider more potential customers.
- Alkami’s Mazen Letayf urges banking leaders to always think of deposit growth is a two-pronged approach: acquiring new customers and members, while deepening engagement with those you already serve. The most efficient way to make this work? Data. Yet many aren’t using data analytics to its full potential, and account holders are taking notice.
- In his piece, MANTL’s David Carlson outlines five tech-enabled deposit growth strategies to boost efficiency. Among the five is an area we know that banks have prioritized for deposits: small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Carlson says it is worrisome how reliant on paper over digital SMB account opening remains. Institutions must invest in digital acquisition technology that can meet the expectations of SMB owners and match the speed and efficiency of competing fintechs and megabanks, he says.
- Jack Henry’s Zac Sweet-Wright believes that banking leaders can maintain their goals to reduce operational costs without giving up efforts to improve CX barriers that may be hurting deposit attraction and retention. The key? Utilizing configurable workflows ensures that your accountholders experience a streamlined process suited to their specific needs, which will decrease abandonment rates.
- And Amount’s Adam Hughes argues that the market for deposits is much different now than even a few years ago. Smaller institutions can, and must, stay competitive by delivering in two areas: customer service and bundled products.
The industry has stressed that acquiring new customers and growing quality deposits are the top business challenges in 2025, and likely beyond. That emphasis emerged in the 2025 ProSight Banking Outlook (formerly the BAI Banking Outlook). Rest assured, we heard you. We hope you find value and guidance in our report.
Rachel Koning Beals is Senior Editor at BAI.
