2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and 

Underbanked Households

FDIC Committee on Economic Inclusion

October 29, 2014
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 Unbanked and Underbanked Rates
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Unbanked Rate by Year
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Revised Underbanked Definition

Non-bank 

AFS Product

Survey Year

2013 2011 2009

Money Order

Used in the

Last Year

Used in the

Last Year

Used at least once 

or twice a year

Check Cashing

Payday Loan

Pawn Shop

Rent-to-Own

RALs Used in past 5 yrs

International Remittance Not

Included Auto Title Loan Not Included
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 Unbanked and Underbanked Rates by Family Income
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 Unbanked and Underbanked Rates by Age
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 Unbanked and Underbanked Rates by Race and Ethnicity
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Unbanked and Underbanked Rates by Disability Status

Note: Estimates by Disability Status are based on working-age households (ages 25 to 64) only. 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 Unbanked Rates by State 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

2013 Underbanked Rates by State
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Reasons for being Unbanked
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Unbanked Households: Previous Banking Status
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Unbanked Households: Previous Banking Status

"Recently Unbanked”
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Likelihood of Opening an Account, 

Unbanked Households by Previous Banking Status
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Household Banking Status Transitions

• The 2013 survey includes a new question about recent entrances into the 

banking system, allowing us to categorize households by banking status 

over the past year

• A non-trivial number of households either entered or exited the 

mainstream banking system in the past year

All

Longerterm 

Unbanked

Recently 

Unbanked

Recently 

Banked

Longerterm 

Banked

Number of Households (1000s) 115,893 7,973 811 1,816 105,292

Percent of Households 100.0 6.9 0.7 1.6 90.9

Note: “Recently Unbanked” indicates that the household became unbanked within the last year, while “Recently Banked” indicates that the 

household became banked within the past year. Excludes households with missing information on recent bank status or incidence of life events.
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Household Characteristics by Banking Status Transitions

• Relative to the longer-term banked, a higher proportion of recently 

unbanked and recently banked households had characteristics associated 

with being unbanked (e.g. lower income and educational attainment)

• Certain characteristics are disproportionately represented among recently 

unbanked households 

Household Unemployment % by Banking Status Transitions
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Banking Status Transitions: Incidence of Life Events

• The 2013 survey asked new questions about major life events and how 

these may have contributed to households’ changes in banking status

• Certain financial life events occurred disproportionately among the 

recently unbanked and recently banked in the last 12 months, indicating 

that such households face greater economic volatility

Incidence of Significant Income or Job Loss
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Changes in Banking Status and Incidence of Selected Life Events

• Most households that experienced a major financial life event did not 

change banking status

• But among households that did change banking status, financial life events 

were commonly cited as a contributing factor

• Among households that recently became unbanked, 34 percent 

experienced either a significant income loss or a job loss that they said 

contributed to the account closing

• Among households that recently became banked, 19 percent reported 

that the new job contributed to their account opening
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Recently Banked: Main Reason for Opening the Account
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Bank Account Type by Banking Status
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Direct Deposit - Bank Account Types for Households with Direct Deposit or 

Automatic Transfers
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Prepaid Debit Cards

General-purpose prepaid debit cards can be used to withdraw cash 

at ATMs, deposit checks, and receive direct deposits. Users can keep 

adding money onto the cards and use them to make purchases and 

pay bills anywhere credit cards are accepted. 

They are not linked to a checking or savings account and may have 

logos such as MasterCard, VISA, Discover, or American Express. 

They do not include phone cards, gift cards for a particular store or 

service, or cards that you cannot add more funds onto. 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Households that Had Ever Used Prepaid Cards by Banking Status and Year
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Banking Status of Households that Used Prepaid Cards - Last 12 Months
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Banking Status of Households that Used Prepaid Cards - Last 30 Days
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Share of Unbanked Households that Used Prepaid Cards in the Last 12 Months
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Main Reason Households Used Prepaid Cards in the Last 12 Months

Unbanked
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Main Reason Fully Banked Households Used Prepaid Cards in the Last 12 Months

Fully Banked
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Sources of Prepaid Cards - Unbanked Households
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Recency of Prepaid Card Use by Banking Status and Year
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Share of Prepaid Cards Reloaded in Last 12 Months by Banking Status
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Unbanked Prepaid Card Users – Bank Account Useage

• More than two thirds (68%) of Unbanked Prepaid Card 

Users had a bank account in the past

• Almost half (47%) of Unbanked Prepaid Card Users report 

that they are very likely or somewhat likely to open a bank 

account in the future
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Use of Prepaid Cards and Alternative Financial Services (AFS)

• 76 percent of Unbanked Prepaid Card Users have also used 

transaction AFS in the last 12 months.

• One third of Unbanked Prepaid Card Users have also used 

credit AFS in the last 12 months
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Household Use of Alternative Financial Services

Products or Services Obtained from 

Non-Bank Alternative Financial Services Providers

Money Orders

Check Cashing Transaction AFS

Remittances

Payday Loans

AFS Credit

Pawn Shop

Rent-To-Own

Refund Anticipation Loans

Auto Title Loans
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Locations From Which Households Obtained Transaction AFS

• Most common locations:

• Grocery, liquor, convenience and drug stores

• Relatively large proportions also obtained transaction AFS from large 

retail/department stores

• Larger proportions of unbanked households, compared with 

underbanked households, obtained their transaction AFS from standalone AFS providers
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Methods Used To Access Bank Account In Last 12 Months

Methods

• Bank Teller

• ATM/Kiosk

• Online Banking

• Telephone Banking

• Mobile Banking

• All methods used

• Primary (most commonly used) method
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Banking Methods

• Most banked households used multiple methods to access their bank accounts

• 71.1 percent used 2 or more methods

• 47.9 percent used 3 or more methods
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Banking Methods

• Most banked households used multiple methods to access their bank accounts

• 71.1 percent used 2 or more methods

• 47.9 percent used 3 or more methods
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

All Methods Used To Access Bank Account
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Primary Method Used To Access Bank Account
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Access to Mobile Phones, Smartphones, And The Internet
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Primary Use of Bank Tellers, Online Banking and Mobile Banking 

By Income
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Primary Use of Bank Tellers, Online Banking and Mobile Banking 

By Education
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Number of Different Banking Methods Used By Households’ Primary Method
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Use of One Banking Method and Use of Multiple Methods

Use of Bank Tellers Only

• More likely to be age 65 or above

• More likely to have income under $30,000

• More likely to have lower levels of education 

Households That Primarily Used Online Banking or Mobile Banking

• More than 7 in 10 of these households also used a bank teller in the last year
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Households That Used Mobile Banking: Primary Banking Method
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Types of Mobile Banking Activity By Banking Status
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

Agenda

1. Unbanked and Underbanked Estimates

2. Household Banking Status Transitions

3. Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and Direct Deposit

4. Prepaid Cards

5. Non-bank Alternative Financial Services Use

6. Technology and Banking Methods

7. economicinclusion.gov

8. Implications
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014

www.economicinclusion.gov

• Tools

• Custom Data Tool

• Compare Tool

• Data Page

• Datasets (yearly and 

multiyear)

• Data Documentation

• Subscribe to FDIC Update
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

October 2014