Ipsos Awards Top Honours for Financial Services Excellence in Canada
Toronto, ON, October 13, 2026 – Ipsos is pleased to announce the honourees of its 2026 Financial Service Excellence Awards, an annual program recognizing Canadian financial institutions for excellence in customer experience. The 2026 edition includes data collected weekly from November 2025 to September 2026, providing Canadian financial institutions an ongoing view into customer perceptions of the banking industry.
This year’s results point to a more competitive landscape among Canada’s largest banks, with TD gaining ground and CIBC returning to the winner’s circle. Among All Financial Institutions, Wealthsimple built on its standout debut to distinguish itself from the broader field.
“Persistent cost pressures and uncertainty have made endurance, rather than recovery, the defining mindset for Canadians in 2026,” says Vik Sood, EVP and Leader of Ipsos’ Customer Experience practice. “Consumers are no longer waiting for conditions to return to normal. They are adjusting their expectations, making more deliberate choices and looking to the brands they rely on to reduce friction, deliver fair value, and help them make progress today.”
Among the Big 5, RBC again led with ten category wins, including a solo award for Online Banking Excellence. TD gained ground, moving into second place with seven shared awards, while BMO matched last year’s total with five. CIBC returned to the winner’s circle with three shared awards, while Scotiabank finished with two, down from four in 2025.
Among All Financial Institutions, Wealthsimple built on its standout debut, matching last year’s six-award total and securing solo wins for NPS®, Value for Money, Values My Business, and Mobile Banking Excellence. Canada’s Credit Unions followed with four awards, extending their Customer Service Excellence winning streak to 22 consecutive years while also retaining the solo award for Branch Service Excellence. Desjardins earned three shared awards, while National Bank and Simplii Financial each recorded two shared wins.
“Financial Services has remained resilient in this environment, outperforming most sectors on the fundamentals of customer experience and continuing to lead on trust and reliability,” adds Sood. “The opportunity now is to build on those strengths by delivering greater simplicity, relevance, and fairness. Institutions that can serve as both a dependable anchor and a practical ally will be best positioned to earn loyalty.”
Ipsos congratulates all the 2026 award winners for their achievements and continued commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Introduced in 1987, the Customer Service Index (CSI) survey generates the winners of the annual Financial Service Excellence Awards (formerly Best Banking Awards). This year’s awards were based on the combined results of 47,999 completed surveys for the 2026 CSI program year ending September 2026, drawn from a demographically and regionally representative sample of Canadians. The awards are presented across 11 categories.
2026 AWARD WINNERS | ALL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS | BIG 5 BANKS |
| Customer Service Excellence | Credit Unions of Canada | RBC Royal Bank TD Canada Trust |
| Recommend to Friends or Family (Net Promoter Score) | Wealthsimple | RBC Royal Bank TD Canada Trust |
| Value for Money | Wealthsimple | BMO Bank of Montreal RBC Royal Bank |
| Values My Business | Wealthsimple | BMO Bank of Montreal RBC Royal Bank TD Canada Trust |
| Financial Planning & Advice | National Bank Wealthsimple | RBC Royal Bank TD Canada Trust |
| Branch Service Excellence | Credit Unions of Canada | BMO Bank of Montreal RBC Royal Bank |
| ATM Banking Excellence | Credit Unions of Canada Desjardins National Bank | CIBC RBC Royal Bank |
| Online Banking Excellence | Desjardins Simplii Financial Wealthsimple | RBC Royal Bank |
| Mobile Banking Excellence | Wealthsimple | BMO Bank of Montreal TD Canada Trust |
| Automated Telephone Banking Excellence | BMO Bank of Montreal Desjardins | BMO Bank of Montreal CIBC RBC Royal Bank Scotiabank TD Canada Trust |
| Live Agent Telephone Banking Excellence | Credit Unions of Canada Simplii Financial | CIBC RBC Royal Bank Scotiabank TD Canada Trust |
Disclaimer
Only those financial institutions which subscribe to CSI may claim an Award and use it for external communication purposes. Clients who wish to cite an Award externally must first submit a draft in writing to Ipsos for approval.
Mandatory legal disclaimer to be used by all eligible Award recipients when quoting Award results in any external communication: Ipsos 2026 Financial Service Excellence Awards are based on ongoing quarterly Customer Service Index (CSI) survey results. Sample size for the total 2026 CSI program year ended with the September 2026 survey wave was 47,999 completed surveys yielding 70,833 financial institution ratings nationally.
Notes
Where more than one financial institution shares an Award, it indicates that there was no statistically significant difference between the eligible FI with the highest score and that of one or more other eligible FIs for the relevant Awards category; based on top two box scores tested statistically at the 95% confidence level.
Awards sample size requirement: Minimum total unweighted institution count of 400 per financial institution per Awards category; except for Live Agent Phone Banking, where the sample size requirement is 275.
Methodology
Ipsos 2026 Financial Service Excellence Awards are based on ongoing quarterly Customer Service Index (CSI) survey results. The sample source for CSI includes a representative sample from a blend of the Ipsos Global Panel for Canada and its approved strategic sample partners, using online data collection. Sample size for the total 2026 CSI program year ended September 2026 was 47,999 completed surveys yielding 70,833 financial institution ratings nationally. The sample is representative of the general household population based on Statistics Canada census data.
For CSI, panel members rate their own specific primary and secondary (where applicable) financial institution on a series of statements dealing with all aspects of personal banking. Respondents rate their experience in dealing with their specific financial institution(s) based on detailed questions related to each retail banking channel/touchpoint; including in-branch, online, mobile, ATM as well as live and automated telephone banking.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Steve Fabbruzzo
Director
Canada, Customer Experience
+1 416 804-9749
[email protected]
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