Abstract
As the demographics of the U.S. continue to evolve, new markets are emerging that are-or should be-attracting the interest of the financial services industry. Almost by definition, these markets are comprised primarily of people who have few or no banking relationships, and they represent great potential for institutions that are searching for ways to build their customer bases and expand beyond the traditional banking markets that are already mature.
This report addresses the key topics in attracting and retaining the emerging banking and financial services consumer. These include:
- where the unbanked and underbanked are located and where they come from
- their current use of financial services and how to reach out to these populations
- the factors which impact the trust the unbanked have in financial institutions
- actionable customer acquisition and retention strategies
- elements of branding that will appeal to this group
- how emerging bank markets are evolving into the future, and how principal providers are developing their strategies going forward.
In addition, this report looks at the marketing channels and new products that will appeal to the disparate unbanked and underbanked customer, how individualized marketing strategies can be more effective, and how to find the populations that are under-utilizing banking services.
Table of Contents
- Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Scope of this report
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
- Executive Summary
- Overview--The Emerging Banking Markets
- Summary of un/underbanked population
- Who are the unbanked?
- Figure 1: Proportion of unbanked population, by gender, 2006
- Figure 2: Proportion of unbanked population, by age, 2006
- Figure 3: Population with no bank account by income, 2006
- Figure 4: Percentage of population with no bank account, by race/ethnicity, 2006
- Figure 5: Population with no bank account, by education, 2006
- Figure 6: Single parents as a percentage of the unbanked, by gender, 2006
- Immigration
- Figure 7: Percentage of immigrant heads of household who have a checking or savings account in the U.S.,
- Market Drivers--Demographics
- Summary of immigrant populations
- Figure 8: Number of foreign-born population from all countries, 1995-2005
- Figure 9: Growth in immigrant populations in the U.S. by regions of the world, 1990-2000
- Figure 10: Growth in immigration, by region, 1995-2005
- Figure 11: Countries that sent most immigrants, 1995-2005
- Geographical distribution of immigrants
- Figure 12: Immigrants to "gateway" states, 1995-2000
- Figure 13: Top ten states with most foreign-born population, 1990-2005
- Figure 14: Top ten states with greatest percentage change in foreign-born population, 1990-2005
- Undocumented immigrants
- Where do undocumented immigrants live?
- Figure 15: Undocumented immigrants by state, 2002
- Hispanics
- Market size and economic power
- Figure 16: Actual and projected percentage of U.S. population by race/Hispanic origin, 2000-50
- Figure 17: Age cohorts for all consumers, unbanked consumers, and unbanked Hispanic consumers, 2006
- Figure 18: Estimated buying power, 1990-2011
- Where are the largest Hispanic markets?
- Figure 19: Top ten states with most Hispanic buying power, 2006
- Figure 20: Top ten states ranked by growth of Hispanic buying power, 1990-2006
- Asians
- Asian buying power
- Figure 21: Countries of origin for Asian foreign-born populations with 500,000 or more immigrants,
- Single parents
- Market Drivers--Challenges to Attracting the Un/Underbanked
- Why don' t they use banks?
- Figure 22: Reasons people report not having a checking account, 2001
- Attitudes of the unbanked toward financial services
- Figure 23: Attitudes toward financial services, overall and unbanked, by gender, 2006
- Figure 24: Attitudes toward financial services, unbanked by age, 2006
- Figure 25: Attitudes toward financial services, unbanked by race/ethnicity, 2006
- Consequences of having limited or no bank relationship
- No opportunity to build savings
- Must pay high costs to access basic financial services
- Vulnerability to predatory lenders
- Social consequences
- Obstacles to un- and underbanked becoming banked
- Weak customer demand
- Attitudes toward banks
- Lack of identification
- Lack of income for saving
- Figure 26: Number of people in household, 2006
- Lack of interest in checking accounts
- Lack of financial liquidity
- Language and cultural barriers
- Inconvenience
- Negative perceptions of credit unions
- Effectiveness of alternative service providers (ASPs)
- Competitive Landscape--Alternative Service Providers
- Overview--What the unbanked do now
- Figure 27: How unbanked cash checks and pay bills, May 2006
- Figure 28: Method of paying bills for unbanked, Spring 2006
- Figure 29: Types of alternative service providers and the services they provide, 2005
- Check cashers
- ACE CashExpress
- Check-cashing ATM
- Remittances
- Figure 30: How money was sent, for respondents who have sent money in the last twelve months, overall and unbanked, 2006
- Figure 31: Hispanics who have sent money outside the U.S. in the last 12 months, how sent, by income, January-September 2005
- Figure 32: Hispanics that used a bank to send money to friends or relatives in the last six months, by nativity and primary language spoken, May 2006
- Bank of America
- Alpha Financial Services
- Payday loans and lenders
- Figure 33: Income of payday loan consumers vs. income of all adults, 2001
- Figure 34: Age of payday loan consumers vs. age of all adults, 2001
- Figure 35: Marital status of payday loan consumers vs. age of all adults, 2001
- Payday lenders stay competitive
- North Side Community Federal Credit Union
- Retail stores
- Figure 36: Department stores shopped by unbanked consumers, past 30 days, 2006
- Wal-Mart
- Competitive Landscape--Banks and Credit Unions
- Bank initiatives to reach the un- and underbanked markets
- Helping consumers build credit
- PRBC
- CompuCredit
- Providing credit cards to people without social security numbers
- Bank of America
- Credit Unions' interest in reaching the un- and underbanked markets
- Figure 37: Credit unions' attitudes towards the importance of serving the Hispanic/Latino market by asset size, 2006
- Figure 38: Whether plans are in place by percentage of potential membership that is Hispanic/Latino, 2006
- Payday loan alternatives
- BECU
- North Carolina State Employees Credit Union (SECU)
- North Side Community Federal Credit Union
- Second Chance Checking
- Get Checking
- Prepaid cards/stored value cards/payroll card
- University Bank
- Credit card companies
- Figure 39: Proportion of unbanked that have or use a credit card, 2006
- Figure 40: Type of credit card owned or used, 2006
- Building community partnerships
- Building customer trust and credibility
- Citibank
- El Banco Financial Services
- Assistance in developing more attractive products
- KeyBank
- H&R Block
- Tax preparation partnerships
- H&R Block
- Figure 41: How taxes were prepared in last 12 months, overall and unbanked, 2006
- Chase/Bank One
- ShoreBank
- Refund splitting
- Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)
- The Future--What Institutions Should Consider
- Products offered vs. opportunities
- Figure 42: Products offered to underbanked consumers, June 2006
- Figure 43: Product that offers the highest potential for creating relationships with un/underbanked,
- Know the market
- Create a product mix designed to meet the unique needs of the market
- Check cashing
- Example--El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad
- Money transfer
- Example--Unity One Federal Credit Union
- Create an environment where the customer feels comfortable
- Build trust with high quality customer service
- Create and leverage partnerships
- Un/underbanked insurance needs likely to increase
- Figure 44: Proportion of all respondents and unbanked who have P&C, life or health insurance, 2006
- Figure 45: Type of insurance owned, for those that own property or vehicle insurance,
- What the largest companies are doing
- Bank of America
- Wells Fargo
- Citibank
- Appendix: Industry Associations
