2013 FDIC

National 

Survey of 

Unbanked 

and 

Underbanked 

Households

Executive Summary

October 2014

Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underaned Household

Members of the FDIC Unbanked/Underbanked Survey Study Group

Authors:

Susan Burhouse, Karyen Chu, Ryan Goodstein, Joyce Northwood, Yazmin Osaki, Dhruv Sharma

Contributors: 

Keith Ernst, Alicia Lloro, Sherrie Rhine
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underaned Household

1. Executive Summary and Implications

When households open an account at a federally 

insured depository institution, they establish a mainstream banking relationship. This relationship 

provides opportunities for households to deposit 

funds securely, conduct basic financial transactions, 

accumulate savings, and access credit on fair and 

affordable terms. 

Despite these benefits, many households—referred to 

in this report as “unbanked”—do not have an 

account at an insured institution. Additional households have an account, but have also obtained financial services and products from non-bank, alternative 

financial services (AFS) providers in the prior 12 

months. These households are referred to here as 

“underbanked.” The existence of unbanked and 

underbanked households presents an opportunity for 

banks to expand access to their products and services 

and forge relationships with these underserved 

groups, ultimately increasing economic inclusion.

The FDIC recognizes that public confidence in the 

banking system is strengthened when banks effectively serve the broadest possible set of consumers. As 

a result, the agency is committed to increasing the 

participation of unbanked and underbanked households in the financial mainstream. The FDIC 

National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked 

Households represents one contribution to this end. 

Conducted to assess the inclusiveness of the banking 

system, and in partial response to a statutory 

mandate, the biennial survey provides estimates of 

unbanked and underbanked populations. It also seeks 

to provide insights that will inform efforts to better 

meet the needs of these consumers. The FDIC partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau to administer this 

survey in June 2013, collecting responses from 40,998 

households.

Key Findings

Banking Status of U.S. Households

One in thirteen households was unbanked in 2013. 

This proportion decreased from 2011, reflecting 

changed economic conditions and household demographics. An additional one in five households was 

underbanked in 2013. 

• 7.7 percent of households in the United States 

were unbanked in 2013. This proportion represented nearly 9.6 million households composed 

of approximately 16.7 million adults and 8.7 

million children.1

• 20.0 percent of U.S. households were underbanked in 2013, meaning that they had a bank 

account but also used alternative financial 

services (AFS) outside of the banking system.2

Approximately 50.9 million adults and 16.6 

million children lived in underbanked 

households.

Figure ES1. Banking Status of U.S. Households, 2013

• The unbanked rate has varied from 7.6 percent in 

2009 to 8.2 percent in 2011 and 7.7 percent in 

2013.3

• The 0.5 percentage point decrease in the 

unbanked rate between 2011 and 2013 can be 

explained by differences in the economic 

1 Adults are defined as people aged 16 and older. This is a lower-bound 

estimate of the number of unbanked adults in the United States because it 

is based on the assumption that all adults residing in a “banked” household are banked in the sense that they may benefit from the account. A 

banked household may have one or more unbanked adults; these 

unbanked adults residing in banked households are not included in the 

16.7 million adults figure cited in this report.

2 In the 2013 survey, underbanked households are those that have used 

at least one of the following AFS from non-bank providers in the last 12 

months: money orders, check cashing, remittances, payday loans, refund 

anticipation loans, rent-to-own services, pawn shops loans, or auto title 

loans. Underbanked rates from the three surveys are not directly comparable because of changes in the definition of underbanked households in 

both 2011 and 2013.

3 All reported differences resulting from direct comparisons described in 

the text are statistically significant at the 10 percent level unless otherwise noted. In this case, the 2009 and 2013 estimates are each significantly different from 2011 but not from each other.

Unbanked

 7.7 

Underbanked

 20.0 

Fully

Banked

 67.0 

Banked,

Underbanked

Status

Unknown

 5.3 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbaked Househol

conditions and demographic composition of 

households over this period. 

• In particular, compared to 2011, households 

in 2013 had slightly higher levels of employment and income, and were slightly older 

and better educated.4 These characteristics 

are all associated with a higher likelihood of 

having a bank account.

• The highest unbanked rates continued to be 

found among non-Asian minorities, lower-income households, younger households, and 

unemployed households. Relative to 2011, the 

unbanked rates in 2013 were generally similar for 

these groups. One exception is Hispanic 

households. 

• While still relatively high, the unbanked rate 

for Hispanic households decreased to 17.9 

percent in 2013 from 20.1 percent in 2011. 

• Improvements in economic conditions and 

changing demographics among Hispanic 

households over this period explain nearly 

half of the reduction in the unbanked rate 

among this population. 

• In particular, relative to 2011, Hispanic 

households in 2013 experienced higher levels 

of employment, income, and education. 

These characteristics are all associated with a 

higher likelihood of having a bank account.

• Among working-age disabled households, 18.4 

percent were unbanked and 28.1 percent were 

underbanked in 2013.5 This is the first time that 

the survey has reported estimates for these 

households.

4 Household characteristics, such as race, age, education, and employment, are taken to be those of the owner or renter of the home (i.e., 

“householder”), unless the characteristic is one defined at the household 

level, such as income or household type. For convenience, some abbreviated language will be used to refer to these household characteristics. 

For example, the term “black household” refers to a household for which 

the householder has been identified as black. Note that other members of 

a household could have different characteristics from those of the householder. For instance, an unemployed household is defined as a household 

whose householder is unemployed, but other household members could 

be employed and earning income. The income measures included in this 

report reflect the income earned by all household members and not only 

the householder.

5 Working-age is considered to be between age 25 and 64. Consistent 

with our approach for other household characteristics such as employment status, we classify a household as one with disabilities based on the 

characteristics of the owner or renter of the home (i.e., “householder”). 

Please refer to Appendix I for a detailed discussion of how we classified 

households as disabled.

Checking and Savings Account Ownership, and 

Automatic Transfers

Checking and savings account ownership rates 

remained similar to previous years. For the first time, 

the survey asked about automatic transfers, finding 

that most households use them primarily in connection with checking accounts.

• The vast majority of all U.S. households (88.4 

percent) owned a checking account in 2013, 

while less than seven in ten (68.8 percent) owned 

a savings account. 

• Four in five (80.3 percent) banked households had 

money directly deposited into a bank account or 

automatically transferred funds between 

accounts: 

• 94.5 percent of these households directly 

deposited or automatically transferred funds 

into checking accounts and 17.3 percent into 

savings accounts.6

• Among the subset of households with savings 

accounts, 22.0 percent direct deposited or 

automatically transferred funds into a savings 

account.

Household Banking Status Transitions

For the first time, the survey asked households about 

both recent entrances and exits from the banking 

system as well as the circumstances affecting those 

transitions. Overall, economic events and motivations, such as job loss or opening an account to 

receive direct deposits, are found to have a stronger 

effect on banking status transitions than changes in 

household structure, such as marriage.

• Consistent with previous survey results, slightly 

less than half (45.9 percent) of unbanked households in 2013 were previously banked, which 

represented 3.6 percent of all U.S. households.

• In 2013, 0.7 percent of all U.S. households (or 

almost one in ten unbanked households) became 

unbanked within the last 12 months, while 1.6 

percent became banked in the last 12 months. 

6 13.2 percent of these direct deposits or transfers were to both checking 

and savings accounts. As a result, the total does not sum to 100 percent. 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underaned Household

Figure ES2. Previous Banking Status of Unbanked 

Households 

• While relatively small proportions of U.S. households experienced major life events in the past 

year, households that transitioned in or out of the 

banking system were more likely to have experienced certain events:

• Among households that recently became 

unbanked, 34.1 percent experienced either a 

significant income loss or a job loss that they 

said contributed to the household becoming 

unbanked. 

• Among households that recently became 

banked, 19.4 percent reported that a new job 

contributed to their opening a bank account.

• About one-third (34.2 percent) of recently banked 

households also reported that receiving direct 

deposits was the main reason they opened an 

account. This was the most frequently reported 

reason, followed by “paying for everyday 

purchases, writing checks and/or paying bills,” 

reported by one-quarter (25.0 percent) of recently 

banked households.

Reasons Households Were Unbanked

Unbanked households cited both economic and attitudinal reasons for remaining outside the banking 

system. 

• A majority (57.5 percent) of unbanked households 

reported not having enough money to keep in an 

account or meet a minimum balance as one 

reason they did not have an account and slightly 

more than a third (35.6 percent) of all unbanked 

households reported this to be the main reason.

• Roughly one in three (34.2 percent) unbanked 

households reported their dislike of or distrust in 

banks as one reason they were unbanked and 

slightly more than one in seven (14.9 percent) 

unbanked households reported this to be the 

main reason.

• Almost one in three unbanked households (30.8 

percent) reported high or unpredictable account 

fees as one reason they did not have accounts and 

about 13 percent (13.4 percent) of unbanked 

households reported this to be the main reason.

• Previously banked households (almost one in 

five or 17.7 percent) were more likely to say 

high or unpredictable fees were the main 

reason they were unbanked compared with 

households that never had an account (one in 

ten or 9.8 percent).

Future Banking Plans of Unbanked Households

Higher proportions of households that previously 

had an account reported being likely to open one in 

the next 12 months compared with households that 

had never been banked. How long ago a household 

last had a bank account also appeared to be correlated 

with intentions to rejoin the banking system. These 

results suggest that many consumers who have had 

experience, especially recent experience, with a bank 

account find value in having one.

• Almost half (48.6 percent) of unbanked households that previously had an account expressed 

an intention to open another in the next 12 

months compared with only about one-quarter 

(25.2 percent) of households that had never been 

banked.

• Almost three out of four (74.8 percent) unbanked 

households that recently had a bank account, and 

42.7 percent of unbanked households that had an 

account more than a year ago, reported being 

somewhat or very likely to open another in the 

next 12 months. 

Had bank account

within last year 

 8.9 

Had bank account more than 1 yr ago 

 36.5 

Never had bank account 

 52.6 

Prev banked, recency 

unknown 0.5 

Unknown 1.5
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbaked Househol

Figure ES3. Reasons Households Were Unbanked 

Prepaid Debit Card Use

Prepaid debit cards have emerged in recent years as a 

new payment method that some consumers use to 

address their transactional needs. Similar to a checking account, these cards can be used to pay bills, 

withdraw cash at ATMs, make purchases, deposit 

checks, and receive direct deposits. Many, although 

not all, such cards store funds in accounts eligible for 

deposit insurance. The survey results suggest that 

sizeable proportions of unbanked households and, to 

a lesser degree, underbanked households, relied on 

prepaid cards for many of the same purposes that 

households associate with checking accounts. Moreover, while some fully banked households used 

prepaid cards, unbanked and underbanked households accounted for a majority of prepaid card users.

• Nearly eight percent (7.9) of all households used 

prepaid cards in the last 12 months.

• Unbanked households had the highest rate of 

use: 22.3 percent of unbanked households 

used a prepaid card in the last 12 months, 

compared with 13.1 percent of underbanked 

households and 5.3 percent of fully banked 

households.

• Within the group of unbanked households, 

recently unbanked households had the highest rate of prepaid card use: 28.8 percent of 

this subset used a prepaid card in the last 12 

months, compared with 22.0 percent of 

longer-term unbanked households.

• The highest rate of growth in prepaid card use 

was among unbanked households: In 2013, more 

than a quarter (27.1 percent) of unbanked households reported having ever used a prepaid card, 

up from 17.8 percent in 2011 and 12.2 percent in 

2009. 

• Unbanked prepaid card users appeared to more 

actively use their prepaid cards compared with 

other prepaid card users:

• They were more likely to have reloaded their 

prepaid cards in the past 12 months (57.8 

percent), relative to underbanked (42.9 

percent) and fully banked (23.4 percent) 

households. 

Other

Banks do not oer needed products or services

Inconvenient hours or locations

Privacy

ID, credit, or banking history problems

Account fees are too high or unpredictable

Don’t like dealing with or don’t trust banks

Do not have enough money

Cited as a reason

Main reason

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

7.4

12.5

1.2

10.5

2.6

6.8

3.7

26.4

6.8

16.8

13.4

30.8

14.9

34.2

35.6

57.5
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underaned Household

• Unbanked households were also about two 

and a half times more likely to have used a 

prepaid card in the last 30 days (16.8 percent) 

compared with underbanked households (6.6 

percent) and almost nine times more likely 

than fully banked households (1.9 percent).

• A much higher proportion of unbanked households that used prepaid cards in the last 12 

months reported doing so primarily to meet their 

financial transaction needs. Specifically, 79.4 

percent of these households cited “to pay for 

every day purchases or bills” or “to receive 

payments” as the main reason for using a prepaid 

card, compared with 53.3 percent of underbanked and 37.6 percent of fully banked households that used prepaid cards in the same period.

• A majority of prepaid card users were unbanked 

and underbanked households. More than half 

(55.0 percent) of the households that used 

prepaid cards in the last 12 months and about 

two-thirds (66.6 percent) of the households that 

used prepaid cards in the last 30 days were 

unbanked or underbanked.

• Almost half (46.5 percent) of unbanked households that used prepaid cards in the last 12 

months reported being “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to open a bank account in the next 

12 months, compared with 32.6 percent of 

unbanked households that had not used prepaid 

cards.

• Relatively few households (one in ten or 10.7 

percent) that used prepaid cards obtained their 

card from a bank branch. Among households 

that used prepaid cards, fully banked households 

were the most likely (15.4 percent) to have 

obtained their cards from a bank branch, while 

unbanked households were least likely (4.2 

percent) to have done so. 

Alternative Financial Services Use

One in four households reported obtaining either 

transactional products or credit from non-bank 

providers in the prior 12 months.7 Households overall reported that “grocery, liquor, convenience, or 

drug stores” were the most common locations for 

obtaining transaction alternative financial services 

(AFS), but unbanked households were more likely to 

obtain these services from standalone AFS providers.

• Consistent with previous survey findings, about 

one in four households (24.9 percent) used at 

least one AFS in the previous 12 months, and 

12.0 percent of all households used an AFS in the 

last 30 days. 

• Transaction AFS products, used by 21.9 

percent of all households in the last 12 

7 The 2013 survey asks about nonbank use of three transactional products 

(money orders, check cashing, remittances) and five credit products 

(payday loans, pawn shop, refund anticipation loans, rent-to-own 

services, and auto title loans). Auto title loans were first asked about in 

the 2013 survey, so the AFS use estimates in this report are not directly 

comparable to estimates in past reports.

Figure ES4. Banking Status of Households that Used Prepaid 

Cards in the Last 12 Months

Figure ES5. Banking Status of Households that Used Prepaid 

Cards in the Last 30 Days 

Unbanked

 21.8 

Underbanked

 33.2 

Fully

Banked

 44.6 

Banked,

Underbanked

Status

Unknown

 0.5 

Unbanked

 33.2 

Underbanked

 33.4 

Fully

Banked

 33.0 

Banked,

Underbanked

Status

Unknown

 0.4 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbaked Househol

months, continue to be more widely used 

than credit AFS products, which were used 

by 7.0 percent of all households. 

• AFS use continues to be relatively high among 

unbanked households: 63.2 percent used an AFS 

in the last 12 months, and 47.0 percent used an 

AFS in the last 30 days.

• The most common locations from which households obtained transaction AFS were “grocery, 

liquor, convenience, or drug stores.” 

• For example, among households that used 

non-bank check cashing, 37.8 percent did so 

at a “grocery, liquor, convenience, or drug 

store” while 31.4 percent used a large retail or 

department store and 24.3 percent cashed 

their checks at standalone AFS providers. 

• Among transaction AFS users, unbanked households were more likely than underbanked households to use stand-alone AFS providers. For 

example, 29.3 percent of unbanked households 

that used non-bank check cashing went to standalone AFS providers, compared to 20.6 percent of 

underbanked non-bank check cashing users.

Methods of Banking 

For the first time, the 2013 survey examines the various ways households access their bank accounts.8

 The 

results show that bank tellers and online banking 

were the primary methods relied on by the largest 

share of banked households – about one-third of 

banked households primarily used bank tellers and 

another third primarily used online banking. Underbanked households were less likely to use online 

banking as their primary means of access, but were 

more likely to use mobile devices as a primary 

method. For those that did primarily use electronic 

means (online or mobile device) to access their 

account, most used at least two additional methods 

and many also reported using a teller. These results 

suggest that electronic means of access continue to be 

a supplement rather than a wholesale substitute for 

tellers. 

8 The survey asks whether the household used any of the following 

methods to access their account in the past 12 months: bank tellers, 

ATMs/kiosks, online banking, mobile banking, or telephone banking.

Figure ES6. Methods Used to Access Bank Accounts in the Last 12 Months

Other

Mobile Banking

Telephone Banking

Online Banking

ATM/Kiosk

Bank Teller

Method Used

Main Method Used

0 20 40 60 80 100

0.8

1.0

5.7

23.2

3.3

26.1

32.9

55.1

24.4

69.6

32.2

78.8
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underaned Household

• Most banked households (71.1 percent) used 

multiple methods to access their bank accounts.9

• Many households used bank tellers to access their 

bank account. Nearly four out of five households 

(78.8 percent) used a bank teller in the past 12 

months, one in three (32.2 percent) used bank 

tellers as their primary method of account access, 

and 17.5 percent used bank tellers as their only 

method of account access. 

• Roughly half (54.7 percent) of households age 

65 or older, 55.7 percent of households without a high school degree, and 47.5 percent of 

households with annual income under 

$15,000 primarily used bank tellers to access 

their account. 

• Use of online banking was also quite common. 

Over half (55.1 percent) of banked households 

accessed their account online in the past 12 

months, and one in three (32.9 percent) used 

online banking as their primary means of account 

access. Underbanked households were less likely 

to have used online banking as their main banking method (26.6 percent) compared with fully 

banked households (35.1 percent). 

• Among households that primarily used either 

online or mobile banking, use of additional 

methods was common. For example, households 

that primarily used online banking used a median 

of two additional methods to access their account 

while those that primarily relied on mobile banking used a median of three additional methods. 

One commonly used additional method was bank 

tellers, which were used by more than 70 percent 

of both groups. 

Use of Mobile Technology and Mobile Banking

A majority of households reported having access to 

smartphones, and almost one in four reported using 

those devices to engage in mobile banking in the 

prior 12 months.10 While a significant share of 

unbanked households had access to smart phones, 

their access lagged the population as a whole. In 

contrast, underbanked households were both more 

9 About 5 percent of banked households reported not having accessed 

their bank account in the past 12 months or did not report whether they 

had accessed their account in the last 12 months. These households are 

excluded from the estimates of bank account access presented here.

10 Mobile banking was defined in the 2013 survey questionnaire as using 

text messages, mobile apps, or using a mobile phone’s Internet browser 

or email to access a bank account.

likely to have access to smartphones than the general 

population and to have used them to engage in 

mobile banking. 

• The vast majority of households (82.7 percent) 

had access to a mobile phone, of which two 

thirds (67.4 percent of all with mobile phone 

access or 55.7 percent overall) were smartphones. 

• Relative to fully banked households (86.8 

percent), underbanked households were 

somewhat more likely to have had access to 

mobile phones (90.5 percent) and smartphones (64.5 percent of underbanked households compared with 59.0 percent of fully 

banked households). 

• Notably smaller, but still significant, proportions of unbanked households had access to 

mobile phones (68.1 percent) and smartphones (33.1 percent).

• Overall, 23.2 percent of banked households used 

mobile banking in the last 12 months, and a 

greater share of underbanked households (29.2 

percent) than fully banked households (21.7 

percent) had used mobile banking.

• Among mobile banking users, underbanked 

households were considerably more likely (32.4 

percent) than the fully banked (21.6 percent) to 

use mobile banking as their main banking 

method. In contrast, fully banked mobile banking 

users were significantly more likely (54.2 percent) 

to use online banking as their main banking 

method than the underbanked (38.1 percent).

• Monitoring of account balance or recent transactions was the most common mobile banking 

activity (86.0 percent of mobile banking users). 

Only a quarter (25.5 percent) of households that 

used mobile banking used it to deposit a check. 

Underbanked households were more likely (51.5 

percent) to have used mobile text alerts than fully 

banked households (44.6 percent). 

Implications 

The survey results presented in this report suggest 

implications for policymakers, financial institutions 

and other stakeholders who are working to improve 

access to mainstream financial services.

1. Entrances and exits from the banking system are 

often associated with changes in employment 
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbaked Household

and income. Interventions designed to help 

households maintain and renew their banking 

relationships through economic challenges may 

reduce unbanked rates over time. 

Banking status is dynamic: many households cycle in 

and out of the banking system. For these households, 

financial life events, such as job loss, significant 

income loss, or a new job, appear to be important 

explanations for why they enter or exit the banking 

system. 

Stakeholders might consider ways to cushion the 

impact of adverse financial shocks on a household’s 

ability or desire to maintain a bank account. In 

particular, opportunities may exist for forbearance of 

fees, flexible product design, or direct interventions. 

Interventions could include targeted outreach or 

financial education for recently unemployed households to encourage them to remain in the banking 

system, for example. 

The most frequently reported reason recently banked 

households cited for opening an account was to 

receive direct deposits. This finding suggests that 

opportunities may exist for bringing newly employed 

consumers into the financial mainstream by educating them on the use of bank accounts and on 

personal financial management. Opportunities also 

may exist to reach out to employers that do not yet 

offer direct deposit to help them lower costs and help 

their employees better understand opportunities 

offered by the mainstream banking system.

2. Unbanked households are increasingly turning 

to general purpose reloadable prepaid cards to 

address their financial transaction needs and are 

generally obtaining them at non-bank locations. 

Opportunities may exist to meet these consumers’ needs within the banking system.

Prepaid card use is higher among unbanked households than other banking status groups, and has been 

growing rapidly. Although many unbanked prepaid 

card users, like other unbanked households, feel that 

they cannot have a bank account because they “do 

not have enough money to keep in an account or 

meet a minimum balance” or because “bank fees are 

too high or unpredictable,” these households do have 

financial transaction needs. Many unbanked prepaid 

card users are using non-bank prepaid cards, instead 

of banking services, to make and receive payments. 

Banking products such as a low-cost, safe transaction 

account or a bank prepaid debit card that meets the 

specifications of the FDIC Safe Accounts Template 

could help meet these financial needs while building 

banking relationships.11

In addition, many prepaid card users have prior 

experience with banking services and are relatively 

more inclined to enter a banking relationship going 

forward. Specifically, unbanked prepaid card users 

are more likely than nonusers to have had a bank 

account in the past, and to say they are likely to open 

an account in the future. This implies that, relative to 

other unbanked households, unbanked prepaid card 

users may be particularly receptive to entering or 

rejoining the banking system.

3. Mobile banking is a potential tool to expand 

economic inclusion but branches continue to 

play an important role for many consumers, 

including those who are underbanked.

Mobile banking has the potential to help expand 

economic inclusion. Mobile technologies provide the 

anytime, anyplace convenience that is highly valued 

by underserved consumers. The survey results show 

that mobile and smartphones are accessible to underserved populations, and that many underbanked 

households are already using mobile banking. Smartphones are more prevalent among underbanked 

households than among the fully banked. Underbanked households also are more likely than fully 

banked households to use mobile banking and more 

likely to use it as their primary banking channel. 

Mobile technologies might also become useful tools 

for bringing unbanked households into the financial 

mainstream. While mobile phone ownership is less 

common among unbanked households than among 

the underbanked and fully banked, it is still sizable. 

Innovations such as mobile account opening could 

play a role in expanding access to banking for the 

unbanked. 

In order for mobile banking to help promote 

economic inclusion, it is important that mobile banking offerings be designed and implemented in ways 

that are accessible and beneficial to the underserved. 

For example, to fully avail themselves of mobile 

banking opportunities, users must often have access 

to an online banking account. This could prevent 

underserved consumers who cannot or do not wish 

to use online banking from accessing and enjoying 

the benefits of mobile banking services. 

11 The FDIC Model Safe Accounts template provides insured institutions 

with guidelines on offering cost-effective transactional and savings 

accounts that are safe and affordable for consumers. See https://www.

fdic.gov/consumers/template/.
2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underaned Households

Notably, the rise of mobile banking as a channel has 

not rendered other modes of banking unimportant, 

and non-mobile channels should continue to have a 

role in economic inclusion and outreach efforts. 

Other banking modes continue to be widely used by 

both underbanked and fully banked households. 

Traditional banking channels, such as branches, 

provide functions not commonly available through 

online and mobile banking. In particular, FDIC pilot 

studies have found that branch staff play an important role in making consumers aware of products, 

providing basic financial education, and growing 

their banking relationships.12 As banking technologies continue to evolve, it is important to continue 

tracking how households access banking services, and 

to assess opportunities to increase banking engagement with underserved consumers across all relevant 

channels. 

12 Rae-Ann Miller, Susan Burhouse, Luke Reynolds and Aileen Sampson, 

“A Template for Success: The FDIC’s Small Dollar Loan Pilot Program,” 

FDIC Quarterly 2010, Volume 4, No. 2 and Sherrie Rhine and Susan 

Burhouse, “FDIC Model Safe Accounts Pilot: Final Report,” April 2012.