May 20, 2026
Half of Consumers Have Switched Brands Over In-App Payment and Refund Experience
Brands know their apps are missing financial tools that customers want. Most are doing nothing about it. As a result, The more customers are walking away, choosing rivals whose apps make paying, earning rewards, and getting refunds faster and simpler.
New research from Galileo Financial Technologies, based on surveys of more than 2,000 US consumers and 150 senior executives, found that 80% of brand executives plan to launch integrated financial services, but only 20% have done so.
“The customer relationship is still up for grabs,” said Bill Kennedy, CFO and interim head of Galileo Financial Technologies. “It’s no longer won at signup. It’s won at the refund, the payment, the reward. Own those moments and customers stay. Get them wrong and they leave.”
The Loyalty Moment Has Moved
Half of consumers surveyed said they chose one brand over another specifically because paying or getting a refund was easier. Twenty percent said they buy more often when their payment details are saved inside a brand app. And 63% said they are more likely to keep using a brand app if payments are faster and simpler.
Payment experience has quietly become one of the most concrete drivers of brand choice. Retailers are already learning that flexibility at checkout drives revenue growth, with a global study showing that 65% of retailers say offering more payment options directly increases sales. So, it’s more about the tools in the app than about which methods you accept.
Wallets Out, Patience Gone
Debit remains the foundation of everyday spending, with 60% of consumers still relying on a bank or credit union account as their primary method. Forty-one percent now use digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal within brand apps. Twenty percent are already using features like instant refunds or BNPL in shopping and travel apps.
Economic pressure is pushing consumers to rethink how they pay. Almost a quarter of consumers (24%) switched how they pay in the past year due to rising prices, moving spend toward apps with better rewards or turning to BNPL. Twenty-two percent actively chose brands offering better rewards as a direct result.
When asked what they value most about integrated payments, consumers pointed to faster checkout (36%), earning more rewards or cash back (33%), easier spending tracking (23%), and simpler refunds and returns (21%).
Executives Are Worried
Brands are running out of time to catch up with consumer expectations. Almost 30% of executives describe themselves as being in “crisis mode,” and 80% cite competitor moves as the main trigger pushing them to act.
Yet awareness has not still translated into action. Every brand surveyed said they have or plan to launch integrated financial services within 12 to 18 months, but with only 20% having launched anything so far, most are watching rivals pull ahead.
A similar pattern has been going on in consumer banking for a while now, where low loyalty and high inertia define how Americans relate to financial services. Consumers are open to switching, but need an obvious reason to do it. In-app financial tools are fast becoming exactly that reason.
Trust Remains a Real Obstacle
Consumers are more willing to use financial tools inside brand apps than brands might expect. Over half of them are comfortable using brand apps for instant refunds, 51% are comfortable paying in-app, and 53% are comfortable receiving direct deposits inside apps they already use.
But fraud and data usage concerns are keeping some consumers from leveraging these feature within apps. According to the research, 62% of brands prioritise partners who take on compliance, fraud, and operational risk on their behalf, while 53% want integration that does not disrupt existing operations.
