Delivering Financial Products and Services to the Unbanked and Underbanked in the United States – Challenges and Opportunities

A look at the obstacles and viable solutions for improving financial inclusion, providing access to bank accounts to the unbanked population in the United States, which currently represents approximately 6% of US households, and for reducing utilization of high-cost non-bank financial products and services. The report concludes that instead of establishing a large, duplicative and potentially expensive banking infrastructure to create bank accounts through the Federal Reserve or the U.S. Postal Service (postal banking), there are more effective and less costly ways to address the unbanked/underbanked challenge, including Expanding Broadband Access: Expanding broadband internet access to underserved areas allows individuals to better leverage digital banking services, which are the most convenient way to engage with unbanked/underbanked households.