Fifth Third Says Its New Banking App Is Driving Engagement and Originations

Fifth Third Bancorp is signaling that its mix of digital upgrades and physical expansion is paying off. In updates shared alongside its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings, executives said the bank’s refreshed mobile banking experience and rapid release cycle are helping customers do more through digital channels—while new branch openings in high-growth markets are also supporting deposit and household growth.

At the same time, the bank is preparing for a major next step: the planned acquisition of Comerica, which Fifth Third expects to close on Feb. 1, 2026, following key approvals. Leaders describe the combination as a way to scale Fifth Third’s “playbook” into new markets—especially Texas—while expanding specialty capabilities such as innovation-focused banking and embedded finance.

What Fifth Third Reported: Strong Quarter, Strong Momentum

Fifth Third’s leadership tied the digital push directly to business momentum seen in 2025 and the fourth quarter. In its Q4 2025 earnings materials, the bank reported continued profitability and highlighted record net interest income for the full year, along with positive operating leverage.

Here are several of the key performance points that framed the story:

• Net interest income (NII) rose year over year, supported by balance sheet and funding management.
• Branch expansion continued in the Southeast, where Fifth Third has been leaning into faster-growing metro areas.
• Digital usage and originations increased, with more customers actively using Fifth Third’s digital channels and more accounts starting digitally.

While banks often talk about “digital transformation” in broad terms, Fifth Third offered unusually specific signals of progress: a very high pace of app improvements (hundreds of updates in a year), plus measurable lifts in active users and digital originations.

Why the Mobile App Matters More Than Ever

In retail banking, the mobile app is no longer “just a feature.” For many customers, it is the bank: the place where balances are checked, bills are paid, cards are locked or unlocked, deposits are made, and financial questions get answered.

That’s why Fifth Third’s focus on shipping 400+ app updates during 2025 is important. The bank is effectively treating its app like a living product—continuously improved—rather than a static tool that gets redesigned every few years.

When banks increase update frequency, they can respond faster to:

• Customer pain points (confusing navigation, slow tasks, hard-to-find options)
• Security needs (fraud controls, safer sign-in, better alerts)
• Competitive pressure from both large banks and fintech apps
• Changing customer expectations around speed and simplicity

Fifth Third’s messaging suggests the bank believes speed of iteration is now a durable advantage, especially as digital becomes the front door for new relationships.

What’s New in the App: Features Designed to Reduce “Switching Friction”

Fifth Third highlighted several features added during 2025 that are especially relevant to customer acquisition and engagement. These aren’t only “nice-to-haves”—they target specific reasons customers hesitate to move their primary banking relationship.

1) Direct Deposit Switching

Switching direct deposit is one of the biggest hassles when someone changes banks. By adding direct deposit switching inside the app, Fifth Third is trying to make it easier for customers to move paychecks—and therefore make Fifth Third the main bank account rather than a “secondary” one.

2) Financial Wellness Hub

The bank also pointed to a financial wellness hub that includes cash-flow insights and spending analysis. Tools like these aim to keep customers returning to the app regularly, increasing “stickiness” and building habits.

3) Free Estate Planning Capabilities

Another standout addition is free estate planning capabilities, offered through a partnership referenced by executives. This is unusual for a mainstream consumer banking app and is designed to support long-term financial well-being, while also giving customers a reason to deepen trust with the bank.

Put together, these features do more than improve the app—they reduce “switching friction” (direct deposit) and raise perceived value (wellness and estate planning). That combination can influence both retention and new-account conversion.

Digital Engagement Is Rising: What the Metrics Show

In the materials discussed around the earnings call, Fifth Third pointed to growth in digital activity and originations—specific indicators that customers are not only logging in, but also completing meaningful actions digitally.

Examples of the metrics cited include:

• Average active digital users increased (from 3.09 million to 3.19 million).
• Average active mobile users increased (from 2.37 million to 2.49 million).
• Digitally assisted mortgage applications moved even higher (from 97% to 98%).
• New consumer deposit accounts opened digitally increased (from 28% to 31%).

Those numbers matter for two reasons:

1. Efficiency: Digital origination can reduce the time and cost required to open accounts or complete applications.
2. Scale: Digital channels can grow faster than branch-only acquisition, especially in new markets.

In plain language: if a larger share of customers can start and finish key tasks in the app, the bank can grow without needing to expand physical staffing at the same pace.

Physical Growth Still Matters: The Branch Strategy Behind the Digital Push

Fifth Third is not positioning the app as a replacement for branches. Instead, leadership emphasized that investments in both physical branches and digital tools worked together to support results.

During 2025, the bank said it opened 50 branches in high-growth Southeast markets, including a large cluster opened during the fourth quarter. Executives also cited milestone locations (such as the 200th branch in Florida and the 100th in the Carolinas).

The strategic idea is simple:

• Branches can help build trust quickly in new communities.
• Branches can support complex needs (small business services, lending discussions, wealth guidance).
• Digital tools keep the relationship active every day between branch visits.

In competitive banking markets, that “hybrid” approach is increasingly common: customers want digital convenience but still value the option of in-person help—especially for major life moments such as buying a home, starting a business, or managing family finances.

How Digital Originations Change the Deposit Game

Deposit accounts are the lifeblood of a bank. The more efficiently a bank can grow deposits, the better it can fund loans and manage funding costs. When Fifth Third says the share of new consumer deposit accounts opened digitally rose from 28% to 31%, it’s pointing to a meaningful shift in how relationships start.

Digital originations can also change marketing strategy. Instead of relying mostly on foot traffic, a bank can lean more heavily on:

• In-app referrals and prompts
• Digital advertising tied to fast account opening
• Employer and payroll-related acquisition (where direct deposit switching matters)
• Cross-sell offers based on app usage patterns

For customers, digital origination usually means fewer forms, less waiting, and more transparency—if the experience is designed well.

Competitive Context: Why “400+ Updates” Is a Flex

Many banks release app updates, but emphasizing “more than 400” in a single year sends a message: the bank sees software delivery speed as a competitive edge.

It also signals operational maturity. Shipping that many updates typically requires:

• Strong testing and release processes
• Reliable security and risk controls
• Teams that can measure what customers use and where they struggle
• Quick feedback loops (app store reviews, customer calls, usage analytics)

Fifth Third has also pointed to external recognition of its app experience in recent years, reinforcing the idea that the mobile channel is central to its customer strategy.

The Comerica Deal: How This News Connects to a Bigger Plan

The app and engagement story is arriving at a crucial time, because Fifth Third is preparing to integrate Comerica in a large, high-profile bank acquisition expected to close on Feb. 1, 2026.

According to Fifth Third’s public statements and reporting, the combination is positioned as a way to:

• Expand Fifth Third’s retail playbook into new markets—especially Texas.
• Strengthen specialized business lines, including technology and life sciences-focused banking.
• Create a larger platform with scale benefits in efficiency and returns over time.

In other words, Fifth Third isn’t investing in digital just to improve the app. It’s doing it to build a repeatable system that can be extended into new geographies and, potentially, into a larger combined institution.

Why Digital Readiness Matters in a Merger

Large integrations can be messy: systems, processes, and customer experiences must be aligned. A bank that already has high digital engagement may be better positioned to:

• Communicate changes quickly through digital channels
• Move customers to improved self-service tools
• Reduce disruption by offering digital “how-to” guides and alerts
• Support customer service with better in-app capabilities

That said, integrations also create risk—especially around service quality and employee transitions. Recent coverage has noted that merger-related changes could include workforce impacts as the organizations combine.

What This Means for Customers

For everyday customers, the most immediate impact is simple: more tasks can be completed inside the app, faster. That includes switching direct deposit, monitoring spending, and accessing planning tools that may have previously been difficult or expensive to get.

Here are practical ways customers could feel the difference:

• New account opening may be easier if digital origination is streamlined.
• Money management may become more proactive with cash-flow and spending insights.
• Life planning may be more accessible if estate-planning tools are embedded and free.
• Support may improve if digital features reduce the need to call or visit a branch for routine issues.

At the same time, customers in markets affected by the Comerica integration may see changes over 2026, especially around branding, account servicing, and product alignment. The bank’s stated focus suggests it wants digital channels to help smooth that transition.

What This Means for the Banking Industry

Fifth Third’s update reflects a broader banking reality: competition isn’t only about rates and branch locations anymore. It’s about how quickly a bank can ship improvements, remove friction, and earn daily attention on a phone screen.

Industry-wide, several trends connect to this story:

• Mobile-first expectations: Customers judge a bank by its app experience as much as its brand.
• Digital origination arms race: Account opening and loan applications are increasingly expected to be digital end-to-end.
• Embedded value: Tools like wellness dashboards and estate planning are becoming part of customer retention strategies.
• Hybrid expansion: Banks are still opening branches, but more selectively—often in growth markets—while relying on digital for scale.

In short, the “new banking app drives engagement” headline isn’t just about a fresh interface. It’s about how modern banks defend and expand relationships in a world where customers can switch providers with a few taps—if switching is made easy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What did Fifth Third say about its banking app?

Fifth Third executives said ongoing digital investments—including shipping more than 400 app updates in 2025—helped increase digital engagement and digital originations.

2) What new features were added to the app?

Leadership highlighted direct deposit switching, a financial wellness hub with insights, and free estate planning capabilities delivered through a partnership.

3) What evidence did the bank share that digital engagement is rising?

The bank cited increases in average active digital and mobile users, a higher share of digitally assisted mortgage applications, and a rise in the share of new consumer deposit accounts opened digitally.

4) Is Fifth Third still opening physical branches?

Yes. The bank said it opened 50 branches in high-growth Southeast markets during 2025 and emphasized that physical and digital investments worked together.

5) When is the Fifth Third–Comerica merger expected to close?

Fifth Third and Comerica have said they expect the transaction to close on Feb. 1, 2026, subject to remaining customary closing conditions.

6) Why does “digital origination” matter for a bank?

Digital origination can reduce friction for customers, lower acquisition costs, and help a bank scale growth beyond branch footprints by allowing accounts and applications to start and finish digitally. Fifth Third specifically pointed to rising digital origination shares for consumer deposit accounts and mortgage applications.

Conclusion

Fifth Third’s latest update paints a clear picture of its strategy: move faster in digital, expand selectively in growth markets, and carry that momentum into a transformative merger. By tying app innovation to measurable engagement and origination improvements—while also investing in new branches—Fifth Third is betting that a hybrid model can win in a competitive, mobile-first era of banking.

If the bank successfully maintains app quality while integrating Comerica, it could strengthen its position not only through size, but through a consistent customer experience designed to make everyday banking simpler—and more valuable—inside the app.

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