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?

  • 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