CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST – SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Supporting Statement for Randomized Evaluation of the Credit Matters Loan at St. Louis 

Community Credit Union and Credit Matters Counseling offered by BALANCE Financial Fitness 

Program

(OMB CONTROL NUMBER: 3170-XXXX)
30 DAY NOTICE

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Table of Contents

Terms of Clearance....................................................................................................................... 2

Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... 2

A. Justification............................................................................................................................ 2

1. Circumstances Necessitating the Data Collection................................................................... 2

2. Use of the Information............................................................................................................. 3

3. Use of Information Technology ............................................................................................. 4

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication ................................................................................................ 5

5. Efforts to Minimize Burdens on Small Entities....................................................................... 5

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection and Obstacles to Burden Reduction ................... 5

7. Circumstances Requiring Special Information Collection ...................................................... 5

8. Consultation Outside the Agency........................................................................................... 6

9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents.......................................................................................... 9

10. Assurances of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents ..................................................... 9

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions .................................................................................... 9

12. Estimated Burden of Information Collection ..................................................................... 10

13. Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkeepers........................... 11

14. Estimated Cost to the Federal Government........................................................................ 11

15. Program Changes or Adjustments...................................................................................... 11

16. Plans for Tabulation, Statistical Analysis, and Publication................................................ 12

Tabulation Plans..................................................................................................................... 12

Publication Plans.................................................................................................................... 12

Project Time Schedule ........................................................................................................... 12

17. Display of Expiration Date ................................................................................................. 12

18. Exceptions to the Certification Requirement........................................................................ 1
30 DAY NOTICE

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Terms of Clearance

None.

Abstract

The aim of this data collection effort is to understand the impact of the Credit Matters Loan, a 

bundled credit-building loan product offered at St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU), 

and Credit Matters counseling, a telephone based credit counseling service offered by 

BALANCE1 Financial Fitness Program, on asset building and financial behaviors of 

economically vulnerable SLCCU members.

2

 The information will be collected from 

economically vulnerable consumers who consent to participate in this research study. The target 

population for this survey collection is low-income, underserved consumers who are considered 

under-banked, or have thin or no credit files and therefore have financial services needs that may 

not be met. We will collect information about the financial health of these consumers, such as 

the amount of money they hold in savings, their credit score, and the size of their debt to income 

ratio. We will also collect information about their financial capability. The purpose of this data 

collection effort is to understand whether the Credit Matters Loan and Credit Matters counseling

have an impact on asset building and financial capability. 

A. Justification

1. Circumstances Necessitating the Data Collection

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) 

established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate consumer financial 

products or services under federal consumer financial laws. The statutory objectives for the 

CFPB include ensuring that “markets for consumer financial products and services operate 

transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.”3 The Dodd-Frank Act also 

establishes that a function of the Bureau includes “providing information, guidance, and 

technical assistance regarding the offering and provision of consumer financial products or 

services to traditionally underserved consumers and communities.” 4 The Office of Financial 

Empowerment within the CFPB is responsible for improving the financial capability of 

economically-vulnerable consumers, including those who are low-income and underserved. To 

that end, Office of Financial Empowerment seeks to foster a marketplace that meets the financial 

needs of these consumers, through responsible product and service innovation and programs that 

 1 BALANCE is an organization that partners with community banks and credit unions to offer credit counseling and 

financial education to its members.

2 Economically vulnerable consumers include those who are low-income, underserved, and have limited to no 

access to credit. 

3 12 U.S.C. § 5511(b)(5).

4 12 U.S.C. § 5493(b)(2).
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build the financial capability of these consumers. 

The Office of Financial Empowerment at the CFPB is interested in understanding innovative 

programs, such as bundled products that combine two products together in order to accomplish a 

dual goal or provide easy access to a secondary product (e.g., short-term loans that require 

savings) and integrated service delivery, which combines services together in order to achieve 

better outcomes (e.g., offering financial counseling at a job training center), that are aimed at 

serving economically-vulnerable consumers. Despite the growing use of these products and 

services, evidence from rigorous research studies that show whether or not these programs 

improve the financial stability of economically vulnerable consumers is scarce. Without 

adequate evidence of what works, it is difficult to understand the impact these products have on 

consumers, how best to improve the effectiveness and quality of such products and services, and 

how best to improve consumer outcomes. Therefore, the Office of Financial Empowerment is 

requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a randomized 

evaluation of the Credit Matters Loan offered SLCCU, aimed at economically-vulnerable 

consumers, to test whether this product improves savings, credit, and the financial health of these 

consumers. CFPB has contracted with the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research institute,

and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a non-profit evaluation organization, to carry out 

these evaluations.

The evaluation also contributes to the statutory objectives for the Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau related to economically underserved consumers, including: 

• Ensuring that “markets for consumer financial products and services operate 

transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation” 12 U.S.C. § 5511(b)(5);

• Establishment of a unit whose functions include “researching, analyzing, and reporting 

on...experiences of traditionally underserved consumers, including un-banked and underbanked consumers.” 12 U.S.C. § 5493(b)(1)(F);

• Establishment of a unit whose functions include “providing information, guidance, and 

technical assistance regarding the offering and provision of consumer financial products 

or services to traditionally underserved consumers and communities.” 12 U.S.C. § 

5493(b)(2).

2. Use of the Information

The Office of Financial Empowerment wishes to engage in this evaluation to increase its 

understanding of whether programs that are designed to build the financial capability of 

economically vulnerable consumers through bundled products and counseling have positive 

outcomes for those consumers. Positive outcomes for consumers include but are not limited to:

1) the building of credit, 2) the building of savings, 3) a transition from products and services 

that are more costly and less secure, to those that are safer, more affordable, and provide 

mechanisms to build wealth and access to credit, and 4) improved financial capability as 

demonstrated by improved understanding of one’s balance sheet, and necessary decisions to 
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build and protect one’s assets.

We propose using a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of three financial 

capability interventions on economically vulnerable consumers: (1) the Credit Matters Loan, a 

bundled credit-building loan product available at St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU), 

(2) Credit Matters Counseling offered over the telephone by BALANCE Financial Fitness 

Program, and (3) nudges to continue making loan payments into savings after loan expiration. 

The Credit Matters Loan is the intervention of primary interest.

Six categories of data will be collected from SLCCU credit union members who consent to 

participate in the research study:5 1) credit reports, including credit score, 2) credit union 

account data, including savings balance, 3) credit counseling usage data, 4) other savings 

(including informal savings and savings in other institutions), 5) measures of financial capability,

and 6) demographic characteristics. Specifically, data will be collected in the form of 

administrative data from SLCCU and BALANCE, credit report information from TransUnion,

and survey data from questionnaires. Administrative data, such as savings account usage and 

balances, credit scores, and debt repayment will be transferred from SLCCU, BALANCE, and 

the credit bureau using secure data transfer processes in cases when personally-identifiable 

information (PII) is included. Survey data will be collected by research staff members in person

for the baseline survey, and over the telephone for the follow-up survey.

6

 Administrative data 

will be collected in all cases where it is available, and survey data is intended to supplement 

administrative data collection.

Data and information resulting from these evaluations will add to the body of knowledge 

regarding the effectiveness of bundled financial products and financial counseling, specifically 

for economically vulnerable consumers. This will also provide the Office of Financial 

Empowerment with better information on how best to improve the effectiveness and quality of 

financial capability programs for economically-vulnerable consumers, and therefore improve 

consumer outcomes. For example, if the evaluation were to demonstrate that the Credit Matters 

Loan effectively builds credit scores and/or savings, without significant cost to the consumer or 

the financial service provider, financial service providers would understand the importance of 

offering them at scale. 

3. Use of Information Technology

In all data collection efforts, we will rely on automated and electronic data transfer when it is 

available. For example, we will collect account usage and balance data by electronically 

transferring this data from the participating organization/institution. This is intended to reduce 

the burden of data collection on consumers. In some cases, survey data will need to be collected 

 5 The Appendix contains the Informed Consent form. 6 The endline survey is not included in this submission. This will be submitted after the baseline survey has been 

fielded, allowing for the incorporation of any pertinent edits or additional (or replacement) questions of particular 

relevance to the specific sample population.
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in person in order to collect information that cannot be captured by administrative data, such as 

informal savings levels and measures of financial capability. Any surveys that will be 

administered to consumers over the telephone or in person will be limited to an estimated 15

minute completion time or less.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

As a precursor to these evaluations, the Office of Financial Empowerment sponsored an 

environmental scan of existing and ongoing evaluations of financial capability programs. The 

search identified 19 ongoing evaluations from the expert interviews, online searches and requests 

for information from funders [see Table 1]. This effort was undertaken to help guide the decision 

about which programs are eligible for evaluation and to avoid evaluating programs or types of 

programs that are already involved in rigorous existing evaluations. The search of ongoing 

evaluations revealed a need for more rigorous evaluations of products and services that build 

assets for economically-vulnerable consumers. Even though there are ongoing evaluations of 

these types of products, very few of the existing evaluations use rigorous designs to inform 

policy making in the area. In addition, our evaluation will focus on a type of product that has 

never been evaluated. 

5. Efforts to Minimize Burdens on Small Entities

The majority of information will be collected directly from consumers. The research team will 

carry the majority of the burden for the evaluation (e.g., recruiting participants, collecting data, 

etc.) thereby limiting the burden on the participating institutions (SLCCU and BALANCE 

Financial Fitness Program). Some limited data will be collected from the participating 

institutions and they may bear minor additional costs, but will be voluntarily engaged in the 

evaluations for the purposes of learning /evaluating the effectiveness of the programs they are 

offering.

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection and Obstacles to Burden Reduction

Absent this rigorous evaluation of financial capability programs, the Office of Financial 

Empowerment will lack the data necessary for understanding whether the growing trend of 

bundling financial capability products for economically vulnerable consumers in the form of 

credit-building loans leads to improved outcomes. 

7. Circumstances Requiring Special Information Collection

This request is consistent with the general information collection guidelines of 5 CFR 

1320.5(d)(2). No special circumstances apply.
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8. Consultation Outside the Agency

The RAND/IPA project team and advisors were consulted on this project. A list of these persons 

is provided below (full contact details for these individuals can be found in Section B.5 of this 

document):

Outside research, academic, and practitioner experts were consulted at various stages of the 

initial phase of the project in order to inform the selection of topics and sites to be evaluated. 

This includes:

1) Research panel members who participated in a webinar and provided ongoing support 

throughout the project came from the following institutions and organizations: 

a. George Washington University

b. University of Maryland

c. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

d. Ohio State University

e. CredAbility

f. RiteCheck

g. Harvard University

h. Community Financial Resources

i. Neighborhood Trust

j. University of Chicago

k. National University of Singapore

2) Individuals who shared their knowledge of relevant products and services for inclusion in 

the environmental scan came from the following institutions and organizations: 

a. University of Wisconsin

b. National Foundation for Credit Counseling

c. Family Foundations

d. Rural Dynamics

e. Mission Asset Fund

f. Credit Builders Alliance

g. The Financial Clinic

h. Corporation for Enterprise Development

i. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.

j. Self-Help Federal Credit Union

k. D2D Fund

l. Filene Research Institute

m. New America Foundation

n. Consumer Credit Counseling Services

o. National Endowment for Financial Education

p. USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Division of Family and 

Consumer Sciences

q. Opportunity to Assets
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r. National Credit Union Administration

s. US Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institution Fund

t. US Department of Treasury Office of Financial Education

u. US Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Administration for 

Children and Families

v. National Credit Union Administration

w. HelloWallet

x. Emerge Workplace Solutions

3) Individuals who shared their knowledge about barriers to savings and recommended 

programs for evaluation came from the following institutions and organizations:

a. Saint Louis University

b. CredAbility

c. RiteCheck

d. Center for Financial Services Innovation

e. University of Washington

f. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

g. The Urban Institute

h. Doorways to Dreams Fund

i. Northwestern University

j. Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners

k. Dartmouth College

In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), on August 8, 2013, the Bureau published a notice in the

Federal Register allowing the public 60 days to comment on this proposed new collection of 

information. Further and in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv), the Bureau has published a 

notice in the Federal Register allowing the public 30 days to comment on the submission of this 

information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget.

Two sets of comments were received by OMB during the 60-day notice period: from William 

Martin (Madera Realty and Mortgage), and Robert J. Batson, III (Community Financial Services 

of America (CFSA)). Here we describe a summary of the comments and our responses (the full 

set of comments are included in the Appendix). 

William Martin’s comments stated a concern that the Credit Matters Loan wrongly seeks to build 

credit when there is a stronger need for low-income wage-earners to build savings. 

The research team response is four-fold: (1) Our evaluation seeks to measure the impact of the

loan product through a rigorous randomized controlled trial methodology. Objective evaluation 

of this product is not an endorsement. However, credit-building loan products like the Credit 

Matters Loan at SLCCU are proliferating in the marketplace as solutions for economically 

vulnerable consumers that wish to build or repair their credit. It is thus critical that their impact is 

better understood for evidence-based policy and practice. (2) The Credit Matters Loan is a 

bundled product which also seeks to build savings. During the course of the 12-month loan term, 
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SLCCU members are encouraged not to draw down on savings that are moving from restricted 

withdrawal to unrestricted withdrawal. Our evaluation seeks to determine to what extent SLCCU 

members who adopt the Credit Matters Loan also build savings. (3) While building savings is 

critical to financial security, subprime credit scores can restrict consumers in a myriad of ways, 

for example by pushing them toward debt that is more expensive in the long run. Our evaluation 

seeks to determine what the impacts of the Credit Matters Loan are on credit scores, as well as 

what the long-run impacts of building credit scores for economically vulnerable consumers are. 

(4) If a consumer is unable to make their monthly payment for the Credit Matters Loan, the loan 

is simply closed. This is possible because the loan is initially secured not by the credit union

member, but by SLCCU. Thus, if the member is unable to make a monthly payment, SLCCU 

simply closes the loan and retains the remaining funds they had initially placed in the member’s 

account with restricted access. Only positive payments are reported to the credit bureau, and the 

credit union member cannot be left with an outstanding debt burden by means of adoption of the 

Credit Matters Loan.

The comments from Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) indicate a 

concern that (1) there is an underlying assumption in the supporting statement suggesting bias, 

(2) not enough specific information is being included in the information collection, and (3) 

payday lending is being misrepresented in the bank of potential survey questions. On the first 

point, CFSA is concerned that the statement in the abstract regarding the target population 

indicates an underlying assumption by the study that consumers who choose not to obtain credit 

through traditional means consider their financial services needs to be unmet. We have adjusted 

the statement to indicate that the target population “may” not have their financial service needs 

met. 

Regarding the second point, CFSA is concerned that the survey questions are too general and 

that there is not enough information about the study participants. Our response is that the 30 day 

posting contains the more detailed information being requested. First, this submission includes 

the specific survey instrument that has been piloted and will be used in the study. The questions 

in the instrument include some of the questions from the “Sample Question Bank” that was 

posted with the 60 day notice, and also include additional questions relevant to the study. The 

study will use a randomized encouragement design to form treatment and comparison groups to 

examine the efficacy of the Credit Matters Loan. Because these groups will be formed randomly, 

the composition of the treatment and control groups will be statistically identical to the 

composition of the credit union membership, conditional on having selected into the study. 

Further, because we seek to understand the types of consumers who chose to take up bundled 

products, and the impact of these products on savings behavior, we believe all of our survey 

questions are justified. 

Finally, regarding the concerns about the inclusion of payday loans in the survey bank, the only 

question that refers to payday loans in the final survey instrument is regarding total debt. All 

other questions regarding payday loans have been removed from the survey bank.
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9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents

A non-monetary incentive in the form of a $5 gift card will be offered to encourage credit union 

members to participate in the study and complete the baseline survey. Participants will have the 

choice between a gift card to a grocery store or gas station (with attached convenience store). 

We will also provide a similar gift card to study participants who complete the follow-up 

telephone survey 12 months after the baseline survey. 

10. Assurances of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

The standard privacy provisions of the programs of the sponsoring institutions will apply. 

Respondents will be given the opportunity to provide informed consent verbally. Informed 

consent will cover the collection of survey data and administrative data in the form of credit 

reports, financial administrative data from SLCCU, and administrative data on whether study 

participants completed a Credit Matters counseling session with BALANCE. Data will be 

treated as private, unless otherwise compelled by law. Directly identifying PII (such as

respondent names, address, date of birth) will not be made available to the CFPB and the study’s 

briefs and reports will not identify any specific individual level information. Researchers will 

take appropriate steps to secure all PII to reduce the risk of breach of privacy by following 

RAND’s guidelines for treating sensitive information. RAND’s guidelines identify six levels of 

sensitivity with corresponding levels of security for storing, transferring and disposing of 

sensitive information. Secured storage of information includes limiting access to a set number of 

researchers and keeping the data in a locked environment. Secure file transmissions will be done 

using the Accellion sftp server, a secure file transfer FIPS 140-2 certified appliances residing in 

the contractor’s facilities. The Accellion provides account maintenance, verification of transfer 

integrity and notifications of transfer events to ensure a reliable exchange of sensitive data. Data 

sent to the contractor is encrypted during transmission and encrypted at rest while on the 

Accellion. Each site is assigned a single login ID and password that provides access to a secure 

Accellion workspace where they place data. Examples of proper disposal of sensitive data 

include the use of secure file deletion software that deletes the files and overwrites all empty 

space on the disk a minimum of 3 times.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

In many instances, with the consumers’ consent, the researchers will access data that is already 

collected as part of SLCCU administrative procedure. This includes Personally Identifiable 

Information (PII) in the form of Social Security Number (SSN).

SSNs are being collected in order to match respondents most accurately for the collection of 

credit report data. SSNs (along with name, birthdate, and address) will be securely transmitted to 

a credit bureau that will output credit report data to the research team based on these identifying 

data points. SSNs will not be kept longer than necessary to perform this match. The most 

important outcome measures for the study will come from credit report data so it is critical for 

the quality of the research to match as many respondents as possible and successfully collect this 

credit report data. Respondents will be informed that credit reports will be collected as part of 
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this data collection, and that their consent to participate is completely voluntary.

In accordance with section 7 of the Privacy Act, the collection of SSN will not lead to any 

Federal, State or local government agency denying to any individual any right, benefit, or 

privilege provided by law because of an individual's refusal to disclose his social security 

account number. When SSNs are not available from credit union administrative data, there will 

be no negative repercussions for the study participant as a result of the research.

Researchers will need to supplement credit union administrative data with surveys of 

participants. The surveys will ask questions related to personal financial behavior, such as 

amount of savings, amount of debt at the household level, spending behavior and other personal 

financial information. Researchers will need this information to assess financial outcomes and 

financial behavior relating to participation in the financial capability program. Because 

individuals will be randomly assigned to the treatment (encouraged to adopt loan) or control (not 

encouraged to adopt loan) group, we need to collect the sensitive information at the individual 

level, and aggregate data is not sufficient. The survey information will include Personally 

Identifiable Information (PII), such as name, phone number, mailing address, unique member 

identifier, and account number. PII will not be shared with the CFPB; rather, data shared with 

the CFPB will be stripped of identifying information.

Public Law 111-203, Title X, Sections 1013 and 1022, codified at 12 U.S.C. 5493 and 5512 

allows for the data collection under this study.

No citation is provided for a System of Records Notice (SORN) because this is not applicable as this 

project does not require a SORN.

The CFPB is currently evaluating this information collection to determine if a Privacy Impact Assessment 

is necessary. If the Bureau determines that a PIA is necessary, it will be published on the Bureau’s 

website, www.consumerfinance.gov/privacy-office.

12. Estimated Burden of Information Collection

In Exhibits 1 and 2, we provide estimates of the collection burden on study participants. Since 

these evaluations will involve engaging those who are voluntarily members of SLCCU, we only 

included those elements that are an additional burden due to the evaluation. 
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EXHIBIT 1. ESTIMATE OF ANNUALIZED TIME BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS 

Number of

Participants

Number of 

Responses

Per Respondent

Total 

Responses

Average

Burden per

Response

(in hours)

Total 

Burden 

Hours

Evaluation 1

Consent 2,500 1 2,500 .08 200

Baseline Survey 2,500 1 2,500 .30 750

Endline Survey 2,500 1 2,500 .30 750

Total /////////// //////////////////// 7,500 ///////////// 1,700

EXHIBIT 2. ESTIMATE OF ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOUR COST TO RESPONDENTS 

Number of

Participants

Total burden

hours

Average hourly

wage rate(1)

Total cost

burden

Evaluation 1

Consent 2,500 200 $13.76 $2,752

Baseline Survey 2,500 750 $13.76 $2,752

Endline Survey 2,500 750 $13.76 $2,752

Total //////////////// ///////////////// ///////////////// $8,256

(1) Average hourly wage was derived from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) 

survey, using the 37th percentile (Average hourly rates available at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm)

13. Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkeepers

Data collection for this study will not result in any additional capital, start-up, maintenance, or 

purchase costs to participants. 

14. Estimated Cost to the Federal Government

CFPB is supporting the conduct of this evaluation as part of the contract with the assistance of 

two contracting institutions. The estimated cost for this work including design, fieldwork, data 

collection, and analysis will be $849,536. 

15. Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a new data collection.
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16. Plans for Tabulation, Statistical Analysis, and Publication

Tabulation Plans

Starting Date Ending Date

Baseline Survey 5/12/14 7/18/14

Baseline Analysis 7/21/14 1/12/15

Endline Survey 6/15/15 8/21/15

Final Analysis 9/14/15 11/02/15

Publication Plans

Draft Date Final Date

Baseline Analysis

Report 9/15/14 1/12/15

RAND Report 11/2/15 12/14/15

Project Time Schedule

The estimated timeline for the project, including the data collection detailed in this request for 

OMB approval is shown below. The timeline calls for data collection to begin in Spring 2014

and end by Fall 2015. Draft and final reports will be due in Winter 2015.

Task/Activity Deliverable Due Date

OMB Clearance Submit OMB Package 02/04/14

Data Collection for Baseline 

Survey Interim Project Report 06/22/14

Preliminary Results on 

Program Take-Up and 

Group Characteristics

07/22/15

Data Collection for Endline 

Data 

08/25/15

Produce Final Results Report on data 

analysis

12/12/15

Final Report Final Report 1/23/16

The final report(s) resulting from this analysis may be distributed externally by the Bureau. These reports

will detail the findings of the study and will contain only aggregated results from the analysis and will not 

identify any individual consumer. 

17. Display of Expiration Date

The Bureau plans to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information 

collection on all instruments.
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18. Exceptions to the Certification Requirement 

The Bureau certifies that this collection of information is consistent with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.9, and the related provisions 

of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3) and is not seeking an exemption to these certification requirements. There are no exceptions to the certification.

Table 1 – Ongoing Evaluations by Program Type, Organization and Evaluation Designrogram Evaluating

Organization

Program Evaluating

Organization

Program Description Evaluation Description

Asset Building ‐

Individual and Child

Development

Accounts

Center for Social

Development at

Washington

University

IDAs are matched savings accounts for specific purposes 

and CDAs are savings or investment accounts that being 

as early as birth designed to allow parents and children 

to accumulate savings for post‐secondary education, 

homeownership, or business initiatives.

The program is testing a number of hypotheses related to access, incentives, 

information and facilitation.

Large‐scale demonstrations of asset‐building policy strategies, including the 

American Dream Demonstration, the SEED National Initiative, SEED for 

Oklahoma Kids, and YouthSave.

Financial Advisory

Services

CredAbility CredAbility is looking at a new example of financial 

counseling that is aimed at people who are stable but 

living on a cash flow basis and not accumulating assets. 

This program is designed to help these individuals move 

from cash flow to asset building.

Does targeted financial counseling increase assets for individuals who are stable 

but living on a cash flow basis?

Save Your Refund D2D saveyourrefund.org is a national sweepstakes where 

individuals are eligible to win weekly prizes and a grand 

prize if they save in the form of a bond or savings 

account at tax time

What is the take‐up rate & savings generated from the Refunds to Assets

(R2A) program? Is R2A targeting the right population of savers that should be 

saving? How can R2A increase its effectiveness in its marketing strategy?

D2D is researching tax‐refund splitting through surveys on individual's savings 

behavior, financial preferences, and financial condition. Participants were 

randomly assigned into treatment and control groups.

Emergency Gift

Cards

D2D This is a pilot program in which D2D partners with the 

Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union to offer a gift 

card that is marketed and packaged to communicate that 

its purpose is "for an emergency." The card incorporates 

D2D's research that: a) consumers like to gift tangible 

savings to their loved ones b) savings behaviors can be 

influenced by meeting consumers where they are and 

tapping into existing behaviors, and c) consumers are 

willing to pay for commoditized savings.

Can savings be commoditized in such a way to help consumers save for a rainy 

day?

D2D is exploring two different branding messages, a "safe" design where funds 

can be "unlocked" when an emergency hits and a "rainy day" design where 

consumers can "protect" loved ones from a rainy day.D2D is also interested in 

understanding consumer usage of the funds and the ability of features to help 

manage any self‐control issues. D2D will explore features that create some 

barriers to usage, such as requiring consumers to “break the seal” to access an 
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activation code, call a 1‐800 phone number before the funds can be activated, or 

allow the giver to unlock the funds for the receiver.

Clarifi Innovations for

Poverty Action

In Clarifi's debt management/debt reduction program, 

Clarifi works with creditors on debtor's behalf to lower 

payments and reduce or eliminate late fees. Clarifi sets 

up a monthly payment plan where debtor makes a single 

monthly payment to Clarifi, and Clarifi disburses that 

payment appropriately to creditors. In this intervention, 

DMP has behavioral economic modifications added ‐ 

peer support and/or regular reminders.

Does the program increase the financial capability of low to moderate income 

individuals and families struggling with debt?

Randomized control trial in which a sample of clients who join the Debt 

Management Plan (DMP) to repay debts through Clarifi will receive peer support 

and/or regular reminders to stick to budgets and

DMPs.

BoLT (Borrow Less

Tomorrow)

Innovations for

Poverty Action

Community Action Project (Tulsa, Oklahoma) free tax‐

preparation service + BoLT intervention

Does BoLT, a behavioral approach to debt reduction that combines a simple

decision aid, social commitment, and reminders for accelerated debt

repayment plans at tax‐time, ultimately reduce credit card debt? Randomized 

controlled trial ‐ random assignment of tax‐preparers who consent to survey and 

soft credit report pulls to receive BoLT offer or not, with baseline credit reports 

identifying those with a potentially suitable debt. Credit reports collected to see 

if Bolt reduces credit card debt, auto balances or broader outcomes (credit 

scores, delinquency, line of credit utilization, or number of active debts) over 12‐

month horizon.

Commitment

Contracts + financial

education

Innovations for

Poverty Action

Financial Education + commitment contracts at 

Neighborhood Trust (NYC) and District Government 

Employees' Federal Credit Union (DC): The Super Saver 

CD (SSCD) is a balance building CD whereby the client 

makes an initial commitment to save a goal amount (up 

to $10,000) within a customizable maturity term (up to 

18 months), by making weekly or monthly deposits 

towards that goal. Clients can start with a low initial 

deposit of $15. As with a traditional CD, once funds are 

deposited into the SSCD they cannot be withdrawn by 

the owner without closing the CD and forfeiting 

accumulated interest and the initial $15 deposit.

Does a combination of financial education and commitment contracts in 

promoting higher levels of saving, reduced reliance on credit card debt

and healthier financial portfolios among low‐income individuals in the United

States (as it has been shown to do in the developing world)?

Randomized controlled trial ‐ random assignment of clients into three groups ‐ 

Super Saver CD offer, one on‐ one financial counseling offer, no offer 

(comparison group), to evaluate the effectiveness of commitment contracts and 

financial education to encourage sound financial behavior.

Cestas Populares Mission Asset

Fund

Peer loan coupled with product‐specific peer led

education

Does the loan help immigrants build credit and manage credit wisely?

The 2 year evaluation documents the financial, personal, and economic progress 

of participants. The evaluation, which is not a randomized controlled trial, is 

being conducted by the Cesar E. Chavez Institute.

Field Experiment on

the Impacts of

Financial Planning

Interventions for

Recent Homebuyers

The Ohio State

University and

UW‐Madison

Financial planning strategies for low‐ and moderate‐

income families and individuals during a critical financial 

event purchasing their first home

What type of financial planning intervention ‐ online financial assessment tool, 

interactive financial education modules, and telephone based financial coaching 

‐ is most effective?

Evaluated through a randomized field experiment a pilot group of 600 

homebuyers will be randomly assigned to different combinations of financial 

planning interventions that are to be completed during the first year after home 
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purchase. Ongoing follow‐up with homebuyers and outcome evaluation will be 

completed in subsequent years.

MAGIC Mojo UNC Center for

Community

Capital

MAGIC Mojo links a savings account to a MAGIC prepaid 

card and allows cardholders to make deposits through 

text messaging.

Is "impulse savings" ‐ transferring money from a transaction account to savings 

account via text message ‐ an effective way for under‐banked people to build 

savings?

By examining MAGIC Mojo data, Center researchers will examine who uses 

impulse savings, how long they use it and how much they save.

Money $mart in

Head Start (MSiHS)

University of

Wisconsin‐

Extension, the

Center for

Financial Security

The MSiHS program offers a mixture of three

financial literacy interventions—monthly

newsletters, financial education workshops,

and financial coaching—to parents with

children enrolled in Head Start or Early Head

Start.

Is money smart effective in building financial capability?

Families are invited to participate in the program at the start of the school year 

through Head Start staff or through UW‐Extension educators at Head Start 

events. Households are asked to complete a survey about their financial 

behaviors, knowledge, confidence, and interest in participating in financial 

coaching. Follow‐up surveys are mailed in the spring.

Financial Coaching Urban Institute Financial coaching Randomized Control trial examining effectiveness of different financial coaching 

programs.

Assets for

Independence

Urban Institute Urban Institute is conducting an RCT evaluation of HHS's 

Assets for Independence, the federally funded program 

that supports IDAs.

Does the Assets for Independence program improve savings? Which features are 

most effective?

Randomized control trial examining how design features of IDAs affect savings.

Field Studies of

Financial Coaching's

Capacity to Facilitate

Behavior Change

UW‐Madison

Center for

Financial Security

Financial coaching How does coaching encourages behavior change and facilitates goal attainment?

The evaluation uses data gathered from multiple financial coaching programs 

across the country to see how the different programs affect behavior change 

and facilitates goal attainment.

Prepaid Debit Card

Take‐Up and Use

Among Lower‐

Income Households

UW‐Madison

Center for

Financial Security,

Center for

Economic

Progress

In partnership with the Center for Economic Progress in 

Chicago, the Center for Financial Security is exploring the 

take‐up and use of prepaid debit cards among Volunteer 

Income Tax Assistance clients.

Does peer behavior boost take‐up and use of prepaid debit cards among 

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance clients?

Randomized Controlled Trial: The study will be randomized and will test whether 

marketing that emphasizes peer behavior, all else equal, boosts take‐up.

Impact of Financial

Counseling on

Financial Stability

UW‐Madison

Center for

Financial Security,

New York City

Department of

Consumer Affairs

Office of Financial

Empowerment

Financial Counseling and Financial education

workshops

The evaluators are examining whether one‐on‐one financial counseling has 

added value for individuals seeking financial advice relative to financial 

education workshops.

This evaluation uses credit report and survey data to provide a comprehensive 

picture of counseling’s impacts on financial knowledge, behavior, and outcomes. 

This allows direct comparisons between individuals who receive one‐on‐one 

financial counseling and those who attend financial education workshops.

Assessing Financial

Capability

Outcomes: Money FI‐

UW‐Madison

Center for

Financial Security;

4th and 5th grade students receive personal finance 

instruction. Some students have savings account access 

through an in‐school credit union branch.

Do students learn more from finance instruction when they have savings 

account access through the in‐school credit union branch than when they do 

not?
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T (Financial

Instruction for

Teachers)

CFED

Teachers receive training to provide personal finance curriculum to students in 

the areas of saving, personal money management, financial decision-making, 

and banking services. Pilot project

Program Description Research Question Evaluation Description