The recent financial crisis has revealed that Americans at all income levels exhibit difficulty in managing their finances and are ill-prepared to weather economic stresses.

This paper outlines some of the major themes which emerged during Fourth Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum, in 2009, inlcuding an exploration of the heterogeneity of underbanked market segments

In the face of today’s economic crisis, Americans have started saving again. And while saving could be a short-lived response to the crisis, the current impetus to save has created an opportunity for financial services organizations to lead the way in encouraging saving, especially those institutions targeting financially underserved consumers.

The Financial Health Network has conducted an investigation into the amounts that prepaid cardholders spend each month to conduct essential financial transactions, and compared that to the amounts that they would spend if they remained underbanked or used checking accounts for the majority of their transactions instead.

Millions of lower-income consumers lack access to high-quality financial products and services that simultaneously meet their short-term needs and prepare them for long-term financial success.

Gain insights from this third annual event, including the importance of building relationships, understanding the underbanked market, and increasing our conversations around saving.

This resource identifies market size data and preferences among eight unique segments of the underbanked market, including "The Strivers," "Middle of the Road," and "Almost There."

Learn how the increased scrutiny recently placed on the payday loan industry has underscored the need for innovation and motivated financial services providers to develop solutions.

Discover how three nonprofit organizations are marketing and distributing prepaid debit cards to provide their community members with economical and convenient financial services.

At this second annual event, attendees learned how to reach out to unbanked and underbanked consumers using various methods, including prepaid cards, remittances, credit scoring, and small-dollar loans.

Being “credit underserved” can have many unfortunate consequences. Learn how companies are designing new strategies that assess creditworthiness in innovative ways.

This event underscored the business opportunities inherent in serving the underbanked market and identified opportunities to help move consumers along a pathway to savings.