Nearly 5% of Americans don’t have a bank account, per latest 2021 data
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has released plans to get more Americans to open bank accounts, as part of the department's first-ever strategy to increase access to financial systems nationally. The 35-page “national roadmap,” unveiled Tuesday, is designed to “expand access to foundational financial tools like credit and investments that are key to building wealth.”
Per Yahoo Finance, the first objective is reducing the number of Americans that are “unbanked” — members of households where no one has a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union. According to the most recent survey of unbanked and underbanked households from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an estimated 4.5% of US households did not have a bank account in 2021.
That’s the lowest rate recorded since the survey began in 2009, but is still equivalent to almost 6 million households lacking access to arguably the most fundamental of financial products. The Treasury is proposing that the federal government work with local administrations to encourage people to open accounts when they get new jobs, government payments, or tax refunds, as well as requesting that banks make more affordable accounts widely available.
Per Yahoo Finance, the first objective is reducing the number of Americans that are “unbanked” — members of households where no one has a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union. According to the most recent survey of unbanked and underbanked households from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an estimated 4.5% of US households did not have a bank account in 2021.
That’s the lowest rate recorded since the survey began in 2009, but is still equivalent to almost 6 million households lacking access to arguably the most fundamental of financial products. The Treasury is proposing that the federal government work with local administrations to encourage people to open accounts when they get new jobs, government payments, or tax refunds, as well as requesting that banks make more affordable accounts widely available.
