The Problem
The Black and Brown communities have largely been excluded from actively participating in the financial system
- More than 25% of U.S. households are unbanked or are underbanked
- A staggering 86% of all underbanked U.S. households are people of color. (FDIC )
- Many use high-cost services like money orders, check cashing, International remittances and predatory lending (payday, refund anticipation, pawnshop, and auto title loans), costing in excess of $100B.
Why is there a large unbanked community?
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According to a recent FDIC survey, the reasons households are unbanked (respondents could select more
than one): - 53% Do not have enough money to keep in an account
- 30% Don’t trust banks
- 28% Privacy Concerns
- 29% Bank account fees are too high
- 14% ID, credit or former bank account problems
- 13% Banks don’t offer needed products or services