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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today released the findings of its FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, an effort meant to gain a better understanding of which Americans are outside the banking system.
The survey by the U.S. Bureau of the Census reveals that more than one quarter (25.6%) of all households in the U.S. are unbanked or underbanked and that those households are disproportionately low-income and/or minority. The survey was designed to offer insights into demographic characteristics and reasons why these households are unbanked and/or underbanked.
It represents the first time that this data has been collected by the FDIC to produce estimates at the national, regional, state and large metropolitan statistical area (MSA) levels. An executive summary and full survey are both available to download at: http://www.paymentssource.com/reports.html
Of the households surveyed, 7.7% were unbanked, which translates nationally to 9 million households - approximately 17 million adults. An additional 17.9% – or 21 million households nationally (approximately 43 million adults) - were found to be underbanked. Households were identified as unbanked if they answered "no" to the question, "Do you or does anyone in your household currently have a checking or savings account?"
"Access to an account at a federally insured institution provides households with an important first step toward achieving financial security – the opportunity to conduct basic financial transactions, save for emergency and long-term security needs, and access credit on affordable terms," stated Sheila Bair, chairman of the FDIC, in a prepared statement. "By better understanding the households that make up this group – who they are and their reasons for being unbanked or underbanked, we will be better positioned to help them take that first step."
Underbanked households were defined as those that have a checking or savings account but rely on alternative financial services. Specifically, underbanked households have used nonbank money orders, nonbank check-cashing services, payday loans, rent-to-own agreements, or pawn shops at least once or twice a year or refund anticipation loans at least once in the past five years.
