NEW YORK—The number of unbanked consumers in the U.S. is falling, a new report shows.
There are currently seven-million households in the United States considered unbanked. However, in 2020 the percentage of the U.S. population that was unbanked fell to 5%, a Federal Reserve report shows.
That figure was down from 8% in 2015 and 6% in 2019, the Fed report shows.
The Fed study also found the portion of fully banked individuals — those who have bank accounts and do not use nonbank alternatives — rose to 81% last year, Pymnts.com stated in its analysis.
“Many banks are taking steps to further reduce the population of unbanked and underbanked individuals through new programs,” Pymnts.com reported. “Wells Fargo recently announced the launch of its Banking Inclusion Initiative, a 10-year plan to improve access for historically underserved demographics such as Black, Hispanic and Native American families, who currently account for more than half of the unbanked households in the U.S. Other targets of the initiative include those who use high-cost nonbank services and would be better served using traditional banking services.”