Newsroom

October 20, 2016

FDIC study shows decrease in unbanked consumers

An FDIC study released Thursday showed the rate of unbanked consumers dropped from 7.7 percent in 2013 to 7 percent in 2015.

The biennial survey, which focuses on the unbanked and underbanked, did not mention credit unions.

The survey also found that the unbanked rate was higher for households with volatility in their monthly income. Respondents' most common reasons for not having bank accounts were lack of money, concerns about privacy or banks' trustworthiness and account fees.

In terms of how consumers access bank accounts, the survey showed the largest area of growth was mobile banking – which grew from 23.2 percent in 2013 to 31.9 percent in 2015.

The survey also showed the share of consumers using prepaid cards grew from 7.9 percent of households in 2013 to 9.8 percent in 2015; this practice was most common among unbanked consumers.