Unbanked and Underbanked Findings
The 2013 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
- Key Overall Findings
- Unbanked and Underbanked Findings
- Bank Account Ownership and Automatic Transfer Findings
- Prepaid Cards Findings
- Alternative Financial Services Findings
- Technology and banking methods findings
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2013 Downloads
2013 Executive Summary - PDF (PDF Help)- 2013 Report - PDF (PDF Help)
- 2013 Appendix Tables - PDF (PDF Help)
- 2013 Instrument - PDF (PDF Help)
2013 Raw Dataset
Key National Statistics
| 2011 | 2013 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbanked | 8.6% | 8.2% | 0.6% (S) |
| Underbanked | |||
| 2011 | 19.2% | --- | --- |
| 2013 | --- | 18.1% | --- |
S: Statistically significant change
Results may not be shown for all groups. Data is suppressed when there are insufficient observations to make a precise estimate.
Banking Status of U.S. Households
7.7 percent of households in the U.S. were unbanked in 2013. An additional 20.0 percent were underbanked — these households had a bank account but also obtained financial services and products from alternative financial services (AFS) providers in the prior 12 months.
Unbanked Households by Year
The unbanked rate has varied from 7.6 percent in 2009 to 8.2 percent in 2011 and 7.7 percent in 2013.
Unbanked and Underbanked Households by Race/Ethnicity
Non-Asian minority households had the highest unbanked and underbanked rates: 53.6 percent of Black, 46.5 percent of Hispanic, 42.4 percent of American indian/Alaskan and 31.3 percent of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander households were unbanked or underbanked in 2013. In comparison, 19.6 percent of White non-Hispanic non-Black and 20.0 percent of Asian households were unbanked or underbanked.
Unbanked and Underbanked Households by Disability Status
Among working-age disabled households, 18.4 percent were unbanked and 28.1 percent were underbanked in 2013. This is the first time that the survey reports estimates for these households. In comparison, among working-age households that were not disabled, 7.2 percent were unbanked and 21.1 percent were underbanked.
Unbanked and Underbanked Households by Age
Unbanked rates and underbanked rates decreased with increases in household age. For example, among households aged 15 to 24, 15.7 percent were unbanked and 30.8 percent were underbanked in 2013. In comparison, among households 65 years and older, 3.5 percent were unbanked and 11.6 percent were underbanked.
Unbanked and Underbanked Households by Income
Unbanked rates and underbanked rates decreased with increases in family income. For example, among households with incomes of less than $15,000, 27.7 percent were unbanked and 22.4 percent were underbanked in 2013. In comparison, among households with incomes of at least $75,000, 0.5 percent were unbanked and 13.6 percent were underbanked.
Unbanked and Underbanked Households by Household Type
Unbanked rates and underbanked rates were highest among unmarried famly households and lowest for married couples. In 2013, among unmarried female-headed families, 18.4 percent were unbanked and 29.2 percent were underbanked. Among unmarried male-headed families, 13.2 percent were unbanked and 28.3 percent were underbanked. Among married couples, 3.4 percent were unbanked and 17.7 percent were underbanked.
Previous Banking Status of Unbanked Households
Slightly less than half (45.9 percent) of unbanked households in 2013 had a bank account in the past: 8.9 percent of unbanked households had an account within the last year and 36.5 percent had an account more than 1 year ago.
Incidence of Selected Life Events by Dynamics of Banking Status
Households that recently became banked or unbanked reported a relatively high incidence of financial life events compared with longer-term banked households and longer-term unbanked households.
Recently Unbanked - Event Contributed to Account Closing
Among households that recently became unbanked, 27.7 percent experienced a significant income loss that contributed to the household becoming unbanked, and 28.0 percent experienced a job loss that contributed to the household becoming unbanked.
Recently banked - Event Contributed to Account Opening
Among households that recently became banked, 27.0 percent reported a new job in the prior 12 months and 19.4 percent reported that a new job contributed to their opening a bank account.
Reasons Households were Unbanked
In 2013, the most common reason for being unbanked, selected by more than half of all unbanked households (57.5 percent) was that they did not feel they had enough money to keep in an account or to meet a minimum balance requirement. More than 1 in 3 unbanked households (35.6 percent) said that lack ofmoney was the main reason they did not have an account.
Reasons Previously Banked Households were Unbanked
Among previously banked households, the second most common reason for not having an account was high and unpredictable fees (37.6 percent) and this was the main reason for 17.7 percent of previously banked households.
Reasons Never Banked Households were Unbanked
Lower percentages of never banked households than previously banked households reported high and unpredictable fees as either a reason or a main reason for being unbanked.
Main Reason for Opening an Account
In 2013, recently banked households were asked the main reason why they had opened an account. A majority cited reasons related to transactional needs: 34.2 percent opened an account to receive direct deposits and 25.0 percent did so to pay for everyday items, pay bills and write checks.
Likelihood of Opening An Account in the Future
Higher proportions of previously banked households reported being somewhat or very likely to open an account in the near future compared with households that had never been banked. In addition, almost 3 out of 4 (74.8 percent) of unbanked households that recently had an account reported being very or somewhat likely to open another account in the near future. These results suggest that many consumers with experience, esepcially recent experience, with a bank account find value in having one.