New analysis from Agile Market Intelligence’s real-time consumer sentiment tracker, Consumer Pulse, reveals a direct correlation between rate perception and customer churn across financial products. The data shows that consumers who believe they are receiving worse interest rates than the market are up to six times more likely to switch providers, with personal loans and investment mortgages facing the highest risk.
Key stats you need to know
- Vehicle loans and investment property mortgages exhibit the highest rate dissatisfaction (17.1% and 16% dissatisfaction respectively), while credit cards demonstrate the lowest consumer engagement with 11.6% of holders never comparing their rates to the market, three times higher than mortgages at 3.7%, suggesting that high-value secured lending receives far more scrutiny than everyday credit products despite credit cards typically carrying significantly higher interest costs.
- Nearly half (48.6%) of customers who feel their rates are much worse than the market are extremely likely to switch institutions within 12 months, with a combined 73.8% of all potential switchers believing they are getting either worse or much worse rates than available on the market, demonstrating that rate perception is a powerful predictor of customer churn across all financial products.
Rate dissatisfaction highest among vehicle loans and investment mortgages
- Vehicle loans demonstrate the highest rate dissatisfaction at 17.1% of holders feeling they are receiving worse or much worse rates than the market, closely followed by investment property mortgages at 16%.
- Owner-occupied mortgages show more moderate dissatisfaction at 13.6%, with the majority (54.8%) accepting their rates as in line with market norms and only 30% believing they have better than market rates. This suggests that residential borrowers either conduct less active rate comparison than investment customers or place higher value on the stability and perceived safety of maintaining their primary home loan relationship rather than pursuing marginal rate improvements through refinancing.
- Meanwhile, credit cards reveal the largest awareness gap with 11.6% of holders never having compared their rates to the market (three times higher than mortgages at 3.7%), indicating that high-value secured lending receives far more scrutiny than everyday credit products despite credit cards often carrying significantly higher interest costs.
The survey tracks the interest rate satisfaction of consumer financial products with each participant who indicates they hold each credit product. The findings allow us to explore perceptions of satisfaction versus their relative understanding of market competitiveness. The data shows that generally more than a third of borrowers across these products feel they are getting a deal ‘better’ or ‘much better’ than the market, with the majority seeing their rate as ‘in line’.
However, the rate dissatisfaction metric gives us insight into consumer debt holders who are unhappy with the rates they are paying and allows us to explore what impact these might have on their likelihood of switching to different providers for these products.
"Generally, most people are satisfied with their interest rate with each of these products. But really, what we care about is those people who say they aren't satisfied with those products, and then we can start to look at how that impacts their likelihood of switching.", says Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence. "It's really important for institutions to be competitive on price, and I think everyone knows that it's no real surprise. But ultimately, what we're seeing is there's more and more comparison tools and brokers available to help consumers explore what options they have on the market to be able to make sure that they've got the best rate at all times. So it's really important for the institutions to remember that inertia won't really protect them, and ultimately when they do they're buying time, not loyalty. "
Nearly half of all customers who feel their rate is ‘much worse than the market’ are likely to switch institutions in the next 12 months
- Nearly half of all customers planning to switch believe their rates are much worse than the market.
- A combined 73.8% of potential switchers feel they are getting a worse or much worse deal on rates.
- Only 7.6% of those planning to leave feel their rates are comparable to market rates.
- Customers who believe they have better rates still show switching intent at 12.1%, suggesting service or digital experience gaps.
- The segment that hasn't compared rates represents just 6.6% of switchers, indicating most churn is driven by informed comparison.
When looking at the responses of consumers who say they are likely to switch each individual product, we are able to also compare their level of rate satisfaction for those products to identify how much of a driver their rate is in their decision to switch.
The data reveals that rate dissatisfaction is a dominant driver. Customers who perceive their rates as much worse than the market are six times more likely to be planning a switch than those who feel their rates are in line with competitors. 48.6% of consumers who are extremely likely to switch their financial product to a different financial institution in the next 12 months are saying that their rate is much worse than the market. There's also an additional 25.2% of consumers who are planning to switch, who say their rate is worse than the market. That's a combined total of almost three in four people (73.8%) who say they're switching and are also saying that their rate is worse than the market.
This presents both a retention risk for institutions with poor rate positioning and an acquisition opportunity for those able to communicate competitive advantages effectively.
"What we're seeing is that a lot of consumers are actively monitoring the market and making switching decisions based on rate competitiveness, especially in times of economic uncertainty. With the myriad of digital tools and brokers available, institutions need to make sure they’re not charging any loyalty tax to their customers.” says Michael Johnson.
“The challenge for institutions is that their rates might, in reality, be competitive but if there’s a perception that they feel like they’re not getting the best deal (or they have to fight hard for re-pricing), it opens the door to brokers and other comparison tools for a switch to occur.” Mr. Johnson highlighted .
About the research
This analysis is based on 11,690 responses to Consumer Pulse, a continuous tracking study of Australian consumers' financial behaviours and attitudes. Fieldwork was conducted between 11 March and 23 October 2025. The sample includes consumers holding a range of financial products including mortgages, loans, credit cards, and investment accounts. Data has been collected with nationally representative quotas of the Australian population by age, gender, and state.
Consumer Pulse is an always-on tracker of over 1,500 Australian consumers every month developed by Agile Market Intelligence to monitor consumer sentiment, financial stress, and behavioural shifts across key household segments. The survey provides a real-time view of financial wellbeing in Australia, segmented by debt status and home ownership.
