Unbanked/Access to Financial Services

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Low-wage jobs can be unstable, leaving families struggling to cope with employment gaps and financial emergencies that can strike without warning. About four in five low-income families are "asset poor," lacking enough liquid savings to live for three months at the federal poverty level without earnings. In this essay, McKernan and Ratcliffe suggest a cluster of policies that would improve financial markets and savings opportunities for low-income families across the life cycle.

This article analyzes a demonstration program mounted by a major bank to understand whether access to information and communications technologies, combined with financial literacy training and training on how to use the Internet, can help low- and moderate-income individuals in inner-city neighborhoods be more effective financial actors. While quantitative analysis turns up few significant program effects, qualitative work implies that implementation issues likely compromised the effectiveness of the program. There was evidence of a potential link between information and communications… more

This report details the partnership process and lessons learned from a two-year technical assistance program designed to help community organizations partner with mainstream credit unions with the goal of enrolling new lower-income members or expanding an existing partnership. The report uses the stories of these four partnerships as case studies to identify four strategic areas through which partnerships can be strengthened and the common barriers to developing a successful partnership can be overcome. The lessons learned section of the case studies and the report conclusions… more

The NFS Study explores the availability and usage of financial services and products in two neighborhoods: Jamaica, Queens and Melrose, Bronx. The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) conducted the study under the leadership of the Center for Economic Opportunity as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s broader anti-poverty efforts, and with support from the William J. Clinton Foundation. The purpose of the NFS Study is to better understand banking dynamics in low-income neighborhoods to identify public and private opportunities… more

The new report "Shredded Security: Overdraft practices drain fees from older Americans," shows that overdrafts triggered by debit card use hit people at or approaching retirement age hard even though they use plastic less than younger debt-card holders. The cost – $1.65 in fees for every $1 advanced – reinforces CRL's previous research, which found that overdraft fees are disproportionate to the amount advanced to cover a purchase: Unauthorized overdrafts cost Americans $17.5 billion in fees for $15.8… more

Evidence of substantial increases in the cost of living for families across the UK has brought renewed urgency to the need to tackle the plight of people without access to bank accounts. The costs of financial exclusion are also increasing as, for example, utility providers impose punitive charges for those unable to pay by direct debit. And, compounding the problem, as the cost of financial exclusion rises, it is becoming even more difficult for the financially excluded to access core financial services.

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