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Analysis 2021 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households


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FDIC Consumer Research

						
						
                        Additional Resources:
    Remarks by FDIC Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg at the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders
	 Press Release – Despite COVID-19 Pandemic, Record 96% of U.S. Households Were Banked in 2021
						
                        
                        FDIC Seal GraphicAbout the FDIC:
    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency
      created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the
      nation's financial system. The FDIC insures deposits; examines and
      supervises financial institutions for safety, soundness, and consumer
      protection; makes large and complex financial institutions resolvable; and
      manages receiverships.
    Learn More Additional Resources:
    Remarks by FDIC Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg at the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders
	 Press Release – Despite COVID-19 Pandemic, Record 96% of U.S. Households Were Banked in 2021
                        FDIC Seal GraphicAbout the FDIC:
    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency
      created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the
      nation's financial system. The FDIC insures deposits; examines and
      supervises financial institutions for safety, soundness, and consumer
      protection; makes large and complex financial institutions resolvable; and
      manages receiverships.
    Learn More The FDIC is committed to expanding Americans' access to safe, secure, and affordable banking services, which is integral to the FDIC's mission of
              maintaining the stability of and public confidence in the U.S. financial system. The *FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked
                  Households* is one contribution to this end. Conducted biennially since 2009 partly in response to a statutory mandate, the survey is
              administered in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and collects information on bank account ownership; use of prepaid cards and nonbank online
              payment services; use of nonbank money orders, check cashing, and money transfer services; and use of bank and nonbank credit.
						
						


                        2021 Survey Results
                        All PDF files on this page reference Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Adobe Acrobat, a reader available for free on the Internet, is required
                            to display or print PDF files. (PDF
                                Help)
                        2021 Executive Summary - PDF
                            2021 Report - PDF
                            2021 Appendix Tables - PDF
                            2021 Technical Notes and Survey Revisions - PDF
                            2021 Instrument - PDFClick for an interactive map of unbanked rates by geography

                        Key Findings and Implications from the 2021 Survey

                            **Key Findings**
                            National Unbanked Rate
                                    An estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. households (approximately 5.9 million) were “unbanked” in 2021, meaning that no one in the
                                            household had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union.
                                        The unbanked rate in 2021—4.5 percent—was the lowest since the survey began in 2009. Between 2019 and 2021, the unbanked rate fell
                                            0.9 percentage points, corresponding to an increase of approximately 1.2 million banked households.
                                        Between 2011—when the unbanked rate was at its highest level since the survey began—and 2021, the unbanked rate fell 3.7 percentage
                                            points, corresponding to an increase of approximately 5.0 million banked households.
                                Unbanked Rates by Household Characteristics
                                    Consistent with the results of previous surveys, unbanked rates in 2021 varied considerably across the U.S. population. For
                                            example, unbanked rates were higher among lower-income households, less-educated households, Black households, Hispanic households,
                                            working-age households with a disability, and single-mother households.
                                            Differences in unbanked rates between Black and White households and between Hispanic and White households in 2021 were
                                                    present at every income level. For example, among households with income between $30,000 and $50,000, 8.0 percent of Black
                                                    households and 8.4 percent of Hispanic households were unbanked, compared with 1.7 percent of White households.
                                Unbanked Households: Reasons for Not Having a Bank Account
                                    “Don't have enough money to meet minimum balance requirements” was cited by 21.7 percent of unbanked households as the main reason
                                            for not having an account—the most cited main reason.
                                        “Don't trust banks” was the second-most cited main reason for not having an account in 2021 (13.2 percent), and “Avoiding a
                                            bank gives more privacy” was the third-most cited main reason (8.4 percent).
                                COVID-19 Pandemic and Transitions in Bank Account Ownership
                                    New questions in the 2021 survey asked households whether they experienced economic changes since the start of the COVID-19
                                            pandemic in March 2020 and whether those changes contributed to the closing or opening of households’ bank accounts.
                                            About one in three (34.9 percent) recently banked households reported that receiving a government benefit payment (for
                                                    example, unemployment benefits or a pandemic stimulus payment) contributed to opening a bank account since March 2020.
                                                    In other words, among the 77.9 percent of recently banked households that received a government benefit payment,
                                                            almost half (44.8 percent)—representing approximately 1.9 million households—said that the payment contributed to
                                                            opening an account.
                                                About one in five (21.1 percent) recently unbanked households reported that losing or quitting a job, being furloughed,
                                                    having reduced hours, or having a significant loss of income contributed to closing a bank account since March 2020.
                                Banked Households: Primary Method Used to Access Bank Accounts
                                    Among banked households:
                                            Use of mobile banking increased sharply (from 15.1 percent in 2017 to 34.0 percent in 2019 to 43.5 percent in 2021) and
                                                    remained the most prevalent primary method of account access.
                                                Use of a bank teller declined considerably (from 24.8 percent in 2017 to 21.0 percent in 2019 to 14.9 percent in 2021) but
                                                    remained prevalent among certain segments of the population, including lower-income households, less-educated households,
                                                    older households, and households that did not live in a metropolitan area.
                                Prepaid Cards and Nonbank Online Payment Services
                                    In 2021, 6.9 percent of all households were using general purpose reloadable prepaid cards at the time of the survey, and 46.4
                                            percent of all households were using nonbank online payment services. Examples of nonbank online payment services are PayPal,
                                            Venmo, and Cash App.
                                            Use of prepaid cards was much higher among unbanked households (32.8 percent) than among banked households (5.7 percent).
                                                Use of nonbank online payment services was much lower among unbanked households (18.1 percent) than among banked households
                                                    (47.7 percent).
                                                Unbanked households were twice as likely to use prepaid cards or nonbank online payment services to conduct four or more
                                                    types of transactions compared with banked households.
                                Nonbank Money Orders, Check Cashing, and Money Transfer Services
                                    Use of nonbank money orders and nonbank check cashing declined steadily between 2017 and 2021.
                                            In 2021, 9.7 percent of all households used nonbank money orders, down from 14.3 percent in 2017 and 11.9 percent in 2019.
                                                In 2021, 3.2 percent of all households used nonbank check cashing, down from 6.4 percent in 2017 and 5.5 percent in 2019.
                                        In 2021, 7.0 percent of all households used nonbank money transfer services from companies like Western Union, MoneyGram, Walmart
                                            Money Center, or Ria Money Transfer.
                                Bank and Nonbank Credit
                                    In 2021, 71.5 percent of households had a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card (i.e., a credit card),
                                            similar to the proportion in 2019 (71.3 percent) and above the 2017 level (68.5 percent). The share of households that had a
                                            personal loan or line of credit from a bank (i.e., a bank personal loan) decreased from 10.8 percent in 2019 to 8.0 percent in
                                            2021. Altogether, 72.5 percent of households in 2019 and 72.3 percent of households in 2021 had a credit card or bank personal
                                            loan. In addition, 2.8 percent of households had a personal loan or line of credit from a company other than a bank (i.e. a nonbank
                                            personal loan) in 2021.
                                            Differences by race and ethnicity in the likelihood of having a credit card or bank personal loan were present at every
                                                    income level. For example, even among households with income between $50,000 and $75,000, 64.8 percent of Black households
                                                    and 71.2 percent of Hispanic households had a credit card or bank personal loan, whereas 81.3 percent of White households
                                                    did so.
                                        Use of rent-to-own services and payday, pawn shop, tax refund anticipation, and auto title loans all decreased between 2017 and
                                            2021. About 1 percent of households in 2021 used each product or service. The proportion of households that used at least one of
                                            the five products or services declined sharply from 7.4 percent in 2017, to 4.8 percent in 2019, and to 4.4 percent in 2021.
                                            The proportion of unbanked households that used at least one of the five products or services decreased substantially
                                                    between 2017 and 2021. Despite this decline, use of these nonbank credit products or services in 2021 continued to be more
                                                    prevalent among unbanked households than among banked households.
                                Underbanked Households
                                    An estimated 14.1 percent of U.S. households (approximately 18.7 million) were “underbanked” in 2021, meaning that the household
                                            was banked and in the past 12 months used at least one of the following nonbank transaction or credit products or services that are
                                            disproportionately used by unbanked households to meet their transaction and credit needs:
                                            Money orders, check cashing, or international remittances (i.e., nonbank transactions) or
                                                Rent-to-own services or payday, pawn shop, tax refund anticipation, or auto title loans (i.e., nonbank credit).
                                        An estimated 81.5 percent of U.S. households (approximately 107.9 million) were “fully banked” in 2021, meaning that the household
                                            was
                                            banked and in the past 12 months did not use any of the above nonbank transactions and credit.
                                        As the primary method of bank account access, use of mobile banking was higher among underbanked households (48.8 percent) than
                                            among fully
                                            banked households (42.5 percent). Use of online banking as the primary method of account access was much lower among underbanked
                                            households
                                            (11.6 percent) than among fully banked households (23.8 percent). Similar proportions of underbanked households (15.0 percent) and
                                            fully
                                            banked households (14.9 percent) used a bank teller as the primary method of account access.
                                        Almost all underbanked households (96.1 percent) and fully banked households (97.3 percent) used their bank accounts to pay bills
                                            or
                                            receive income. However, while 81.6 percent of fully banked households exclusively used their bank accounts to conduct these
                                            transactions,
                                            only 38.1 percent of underbanked households did so.
                                        Underbanked households were less likely to have a credit card and were more likely to have both bank and nonbank personal loans
                                            than fully
                                            banked households in 2021. For example, 62.4 percent of underbanked households had a credit card, compared with 76.6 percent of
                                            fully
                                            banked households. One in ten underbanked households (10.0 percent) had a bank personal loan, compared with 8.0 percent of fully
                                            banked
                                            households. And 5.6 percent of underbanked households had a nonbank personal loan, compared with 2.4 percent of fully banked
                                            households.**Implications**
                                    The financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic created unique opportunities and challenges for economic inclusion, some of which
                                        may be temporary, while others may be longer lasting. The importance of quickly receiving income from Economic Impact Payments or other
                                        government relief programs created a unique bankable moment, and consumers benefitted from enhanced online and mobile account opening
                                        technologies and the greater availability of safe and affordable bank accounts. This combination of factors resulted in meaningful
                                        gains in connecting households to the banking system.
                                    Health and safety concerns regarding in-person interactions during the pandemic may have accelerated the long-term trend of increasing use
                                        of mobile and online channels to access financial products and services, such as mobile banking and online payment services. As the
                                        pandemic wanes, it will be important to carefully monitor whether the shift from in-person activity continues, stabilizes, or subsides.
                                    Beyond impacts directly tied to the pandemic, the financial services marketplace continues to become more disaggregated, and consumers are
                                        bundling services and providers (bank and nonbank) in new and interesting ways. This disaggregation may provide greater choices for
                                        consumers but also may make it more difficult for consumers to clearly distinguish differences between bank and nonbank products and to
                                        understand the protections available, such as deposit insurance. The economic inclusion implications of disaggregation on different
                                        segments of the population bear further research and highlight the need to learn more about how consumers are navigating the
                                        choices presented to them by the evolving marketplace.

                                    Expand implication-1Expand
                                                    Despite economic challenges posed by the pandemic, more consumers became banked and sustained their banking
                                                    relationship
                                                    through financial distress. The importance of quickly receiving government payments contributed to decisions by many
                                                    unbanked
                                                    consumers to open bank accounts. Focusing on opportunities to connect consumers to safe and affordable bank accounts
                                                    when they
                                                    are receiving income and other government payments continues to be a promising economic inclusion strategy.
                                                    Enhancements to
                                                    online account opening technology deployed during the pandemic and the increased availability of low-cost accounts in
                                                    recent
                                                    years also may facilitate these banking efforts. Disruptions in income had a smaller impact in exits from the banking
                                                    system
                                                    than previous survey results might suggest, and further research is needed to explore the reasons for this smaller than
                                                    expected impact, including strategies banks used to assist low- and moderate-income (LMI) consumers navigate short-term
                                                    financial shocks.
                                        The pandemic highlighted the need for consumers to quickly respond to economic shocks, particularly to ensure that they
                                                were able
                                                to receive and access relief funds and other benefits. Community organizations, policymakers, and bankers raised awareness
                                                about
                                                Economic Impact Payments and connected consumers to bank accounts. For example, the FDIC launched a national #GetBanked
                                                consumer
                                                education campaign and collaborated with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help consumers connect to banks that
                                                offered online
                                                opening of safe and affordable accounts so that they could establish a banking relationship and receive stimulus payments
                                                more
                                                quickly and securely.
                                            The 2021 survey provides strong evidence that receipt of income, such as stimulus payments, unemployment benefits, and
                                                employment
                                                income, was an important motivator for account openings. Among recently banked households that received a government
                                                benefit
                                                payment, almost half said that the payment contributed to opening an account. And among recently banked households that
                                                started a
                                                new job, one in three said that the new job contributed to opening an account. These results are consistent with 2013
                                                findings that
                                                showed that the most common reason recently banked households opened an account was to receive direct deposit. Together,
                                                these
                                                findings provide compelling evidence of the effectiveness of focusing on bringing people into the financial mainstream when
                                                they
                                                are receiving funds.
                                            Economic inclusion efforts should continue to focus on connecting consumers with safe and affordable accounts at a variety
                                                of
                                                bankable moments, for example, with receipt of new employment income, tax refunds, and government benefits and transfers.
                                                While
                                                initiatives to bank consumers at opportune moments have existed for some time (e.g., Bank On, Volunteer Income Tax
                                                Assistance site
                                                banking efforts), more options are available today than in the past to connect consumers with safe and affordable bank
                                                accounts. As
                                                of September 2022, over 250 banks and credit unions offer an account that meets Bank On National Account Standards. In
                                                addition,
                                                mobile and online account opening options are more accessible. Restrictions on in-person activities during the pandemic led
                                                many
                                                banks to enhance their digital account opening technologies to make it easier and quicker for consumers to open accounts
                                                remotely
                                                through online and mobile banking. At the same time, consumer comfort and familiarity with financial technology increased
                                                as many
                                                consumers used online and mobile methods for shopping or handling their finances. Public awareness campaigns timed with
                                                bankable
                                                moments highlighting account opening options could be helpful for bringing consumers into banking.
                                            In addition to expanding access to banking, maintaining sustainable banking relations is a key economic inclusion
                                                consideration.
                                                The pandemic tested the sustainability of banking relationships when labor market disruptions reduced or curtailed many
                                                household
                                                income streams. In 2021, about one in five recently unbanked households (21.1 percent) reported that losing or quitting a
                                                job,
                                                being furloughed, having reduced hours, or having a significant loss of income contributed to closing a bank account in the
                                                prior
                                                15 months. As sizeable as this share is, it is much lower than results reported in a past FDIC survey. Although not
                                                directly
                                                comparable, in 2013, one-third (33.9 percent) of recently unbanked households experienced a significant income loss or a
                                                job loss
                                                that they said contributed to the household becoming unbanked. Government aid and financial system flexibilities during the
                                                pandemic likely played a role in mitigating consumer financial distress, particularly in helping consumers meet their
                                                credit
                                                obligations. But it would be beneficial to identify lessons learned regarding communication strategies, staff training, or
                                                bank
                                                policies that were particularly effective in helping consumers and financial institutions navigate financial disruptions.
                                                For
                                                example, at the start of the pandemic, regulators
                                                    encouraged financial institutions to work with consumers, especially LMI consumers, and to consider measures to reduce
                                                the
                                                financial impact of
                                                the pandemic, such as waiving early withdrawal penalties for time deposits or ATM fees. It is important to explore whether
                                                these or other efforts were effective and could be continued to help LMI consumers cope with short-term financial shocks
                                                without
                                                becoming unbanked.

                                        Expand implication-1Expand
                                                    Household use of some nonbank financial services, such as check cashing and certain consumer credit products, has
                                                    declined
                                                    significantly over the past decade. A combination of factors may be driving these trends, including reduced demand from
                                                    changing needs, increased participation in the banking system, or the increasing supply of other, new nonbank products
                                                    and
                                                    services, many of which can be found online or through mobile applications. Much remains to be learned about consumer
                                                    choices
                                                    and the factors that are motivating them. Additional research into these choices and motivations is vital to ensuring
                                                    that
                                                    economic inclusion efforts evolve to address consumers’ changing needs and preferences.
                                        An example of how consumer use of financial providers has been shifting over time is the long-term trend of declining use
                                                of the
                                                nonbank financial products and services covered by the survey. For the most commonly used nonbank financial transaction
                                                services,
                                                usage has fallen significantly. In 2021, the share of households that used nonbank money orders and nonbank check cashing
                                                in the
                                                past year was half of what it had been in 2011. Check cashing use fell from 7.9 percent in 2011 to 3.2 percent in 2021,
                                                while money
                                                order use fell from 18.8 percent to 9.7 percent.
                                            These declines have persisted across bank account ownership and demographic groups. Significant drops have been seen among
                                                both the
                                                highest- and lowest-income households. For example, the use of nonbank money orders among households with less than $15,000
                                                in
                                                income dropped from 30.8 percent to 19.4 percent between 2011 and 2021, while it fell from 10.2 percent to 5.1 percent
                                                among
                                                households with income of $75,000 or more. Among some groups, use of nonbank financial services declined considerably
                                                between 2019
                                                and 2021; for example, unbanked households' use of nonbank check cashing fell from 39.9 percent in 2011 to 31.9 in 2019,
                                                and
                                                dropped to 21.8 percent in 2021. Impacts from the pandemic may have played a role in accelerating changes in consumer
                                                financial
                                                services choices.
                                            Similarly, nonbank credit use has also declined. In 2013, 7.5 percent of households used at least one of the nonbank credit
                                                products tracked by the survey at that time: rent-to-own services and payday, pawn shop, tax refund anticipation, and auto
                                                title
                                                loans. But in 2021, the share of households using those same products fell by 40 percent to 4.4 percent. The decline was
                                                particularly pronounced among unbanked households; nearly one in five unbanked households (18.2 percent) used at least one
                                                of these
                                                nonbank credit products in 2013, but fewer than one in ten (9.5 percent) did so in 2021.
                                            Decreasing use of these nonbank services, especially through a period of declining unbanked rates, could imply that a
                                                growing
                                                number of households is fulfilling financial services needs within the banking system and benefiting from the consumer
                                                protections
                                                and opportunities that the system provides. However, to understand whether the decline in observed use of nonbank financial
                                                services correlates with greater inclusion in banking, more information is needed about whether and how households have
                                                replaced
                                                nonbank products and services like money orders and check cashing. It is also important to think about household attitudes,
                                                characteristics, and usage patterns when assessing how and why financial habits are changing. For example, while it may be
                                                reasonable to consider that unbanked households that were using nonbank services but were very interested in having a bank
                                                account
                                                may have curtailed their use of nonbanks in favor of banks, a significant portion of unbanked households do not trust
                                                banks, and it
                                                is less likely that these households are shifting from nonbanks to banks.
                                            The declines in observed nonbank financial service use may also reflect a change in demand among consumers driven by
                                                changing
                                                needs. In some cases, consumers may simply no longer need a service. For example, the overall decline in the use of paper
                                                checks
                                                has been well documented and could explain why some households no longer use check cashing services. Potential drivers of
                                                the
                                                long-term decline in demand for nonbank credit are less clear, but it is likely that changes in economic conditions, policy
                                                changes, and shifts in prevailing attitudes about the nonbank credit products mentioned in the survey affected demand.
                                            On the supply side, the rapidly changing marketplace has led to a proliferation of new nonbank financial products, and some
                                                households may be turning to these new products as they become available. Providers like nonbank fintechs and online
                                                payment
                                                services offer new ways to conduct core financial transactions such as receiving income (e.g., new ways to cash checks
                                                virtually),
                                                while emerging credit options such as buy now, pay later products provide new alternatives to existing credit offerings
                                                inside and
                                                outside of the banking system. To the extent that households have replaced existing nonbank financial services with new
                                                nonbank
                                                products, there may be consumer protection concerns. Also, banks may need to better target their economic inclusion
                                                strategies to
                                                align with changes in consumer behavior.
                                            Learning more about how households use new and existing bank and nonbank services will help clarify the true extent to
                                                which
                                                consumers are transacting within or outside of the banking system. As the diversity of options available in the marketplace
                                                grows,
                                                financial services are becoming more disaggregated as banked and unbanked households alike may increasingly turn to
                                                separate
                                                providers to meet different needs. As households combine bank and nonbank products in new ways, banks may need to work
                                                harder to
                                                distinguish themselves from nonbank providers and demonstrate the unique value and protections they offer consumers. The
                                                research
                                                community, including the *FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households*, should strive to ensure adequate
                                                coverage of
                                                emerging products and to better understand how consumers are evaluating their options. Knowing more about the full range of
                                                services that households are using and the reasons motivating their choices will also allow economic inclusion stakeholders
                                                to
                                                better gauge the status of their efforts to develop, promote, and connect consumers to appealing banking products and can
                                                inform
                                                ways to evolve this work going forward.

                                        Expand implication-1Expand
                                                    While many banked households appear to use nonbank online payment services such as PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App to
                                                    complement
                                                    banking products, unbanked households may be using them as substitutes for banking or other financial services. These
                                                    use cases
                                                    have different economic inclusion implications but highlight that it is important for all consumers to understand
                                                    limits and
                                                    applicability of consumer protections, especially deposit insurance.
                                        Nonbank online payment services have quickly become a common tool for many households, particularly younger households, to
                                                conduct
                                                financial transactions. Nearly half of all households (46.4 percent) used nonbank online payment services in 2021,
                                                including
                                                two-thirds of households aged 34 or younger. A similar (although not directly comparable and somewhat narrower) result from
                                                the
                                                2019 survey found that less than one-third of households (31.1 percent) were using nonbank person-to-person (P2P) payment
                                                services
                                                at that time.
                                            Unlike some of the other nonbank services included in the survey, nonbank online payment services are not
                                                disproportionately used
                                                by unbanked households. Nearly half of banked households (47.7 percent) used nonbank online payment services in 2021,
                                                compared with
                                                less than one in five unbanked households (18.1 percent). User characteristics differ greatly from those of households that
                                                use
                                                other nonbank financial services; in general, households that use nonbank online payment services tend to be higher income
                                                and more
                                                educated than households that do not use these services.
                                            Banked households appear to use nonbank online payment services in conjunction with banking products by linking them to
                                                credit
                                                cards or bank accounts, and they use them for a limited set of transactions. Most banked households that use nonbank online
                                                payment
                                                services use them to make purchases online and to send money to or receive money from family or friends. Banked households
                                                do not
                                                commonly use nonbank online payment services for core financial transactions; fewer than one in five (18.7 percent) used
                                                them to
                                                receive income, and 27.2 percent used them to pay bills. These findings suggest that banked households might be
                                                disaggregating
                                                their use of financial services and that they are turning to other providers to meet some needs while continuing to rely on
                                                bank
                                                products for core transactions.
                                            Unbanked households use nonbank online payment services quite differently than banked households. Unbanked users frequently
                                                use
                                                them to conduct both core and secondary types of transactions, and the majority of unbanked households use them as
                                                stand-alone
                                                services not linked to a prepaid card or other type of account. These findings suggest that some unbanked households are
                                                using
                                                nonbank online payment services in place of bank accounts, consistent with prior qualitative research.
                                                Focus groups conducted by the
                                                    FDIC in 2015
                                                highlighted that some unbanked households felt that nonbank P2P payment services could function like bank accounts
                                                and were effective substitutes.
                                            Banked and unbanked households’ different use cases prompt different economic inclusion considerations. Among unbanked
                                                households,
                                                those using nonbank online payment services are demonstrating that they need ways to conduct core financial transactions.
                                                But their
                                                choice to use nonbank services implies that they do not view banks or banking products as appropriate for their needs, so
                                                inclusion
                                                efforts responsive to these use cases might be helpful. Banked households, which have not commonly used nonbank financial
                                                services
                                                such as nonbank money orders, check cashing, or money transfer services, are often not the main focus of inclusion efforts.
                                                Yet
                                                banked households may not understand the implications of including a nonbank provider in the transaction process.
                                                Consequently,
                                                both banked and unbanked households may benefit from public awareness and education efforts to clarify consumer protections
                                                and the
                                                applicability of deposit insurance, distinguish between types of providers, and demonstrate the benefits and opportunities
                                                afforded
                                                by the banking system.


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