This report reveals that American consumers spent $103 billion in fees and interest revenue in 2013, generated from a volume of $1.3 trillion in financial activity.

The Compass Principles are guidelines for the U.S. financial services industry. They affirm standards of excellence in the design and delivery of basic tools that people use to manage their daily financial lives.

Reliable access to high-quality small-dollar credit (SDC) is vital to the financial success of millions of U.S consumers.

To be truly groundbreaking, financial services companies must go further than delighting their customers with convenient, beautifully designed products and services.

Despite their gradual decline in use, checks remain prevalent, accounting for 33% of non-cash payments in the United States by face value.

Millions of Americans do not have access to small-dollar credit or only have access to high-cost, low quality small-dollar credit products that too often lead them into a cycle of repeat usage and mounting debt.

The underserved represent a vast opportunity for financial services providers to meet consumer demand for high-quality products that support financial health.

An increasing number of Americans are turning to nontraditional credit sources for quick access to cash.

The United States financially underserved market generated $89 billion in fees and interest in 2012, representing growth of 8% from $82 billion in 2011.

As developing technology and new regulations continue to spark competition and transform the marketplace, deep consumer knowledge remains the key to success for businesses across the sector.

For eight years, the Financial Health Network has championed innovative strategies for meeting the needs of underbanked consumers

Based in San Francisco, Mission Asset Fund (MAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping low-income, financially excluded consumers enter the mainstream financial system.

Financial lives have changed. Financial advice, policies and products should too. See the infographic by the U.S. Financial Diaries.

The emerging industry of technology startups providing financial services, known as FinTech, has typically targeted a relatively affluent customer base.

Driven to help households better manage their finances and attain financial stability, a number of nonprofits, financial services providers, and government agencies have turned to the concept of financial capability in the search for effective solutions.

The Financial Health Network realizes that information disclosure is a key part of the financial capability equation, and we also believe that for information to lead to behavior change it needs to be relevant, timely, actionable, and ongoing.

Centris Federal Credit Union believes serving underserved consumers doesn’t just make good business sense, but is integral to its heritage and mission.

Though prepaid card use is gaining in prevalence—there were 6 billion prepaid card transactions valued at more than $140 billion in 2009—few studies have examined how consumers really use prepaid cards.

AARP Foundation understands that many older people do not necessarily have access to affordable and reliable financial services.

Banks and credit unions can and should be doing much more to support consumer credit building – and, importantly, they can do so in ways that align their own success with the success of their customers.

Banks and credit unions can and should be doing much more to support consumer credit building – and, importantly, they can do so in ways that align their own success with the success of their customers.

The National Community Tax Coalition is a national network dedicated to strengthening economies, building communities, and improving lives through tax assistance and asset building.

Every year, millions of American consumers use small-dollar credit (SDC) products for quick access to cash.

The Compass Guide to Prepaid defines industry-wide best practices for the design and delivery of GPR prepaid card accounts.

Discover the Compass Guide to Prepaid, with insights into the increased use of prepaid cards and the growing need for guidance around developing high-quality prepaid products. 

This one-page document has examples of applying each of the four Compass Principles to savings products.

Discover the Compass Principles through this informative infographic.

The products and services that cater to the needs of financially underserved consumers are big business.

More than 600 participants gathered at the Sixth Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum to discuss the future of the marketplace for the underbanked.

Millions of underbanked Americans have found prepaid cards an effective way to meet their basic financial services needs.

The Financial Health Network led a consumer research study on secured card products, conducted with MasterCard and Blue Flame Consulting.

Young adults entering the work force and managing wages for the first time today face a financial services marketplace that is markedly more complex than the one their parents first encountered as young adults.

The current economy has spawned renewed examination of the market potential for secured credit cards.

The Financial Health Network led a consumer research study on secured card products, conducted with MasterCard and Blue Flame Consulting.

Almost one-third of the 30 million U.S. households who are unbanked or underbanked borrow to pay for small-dollar, short-term needs.

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.

This the Financial Health Network inBrief analyses the financial attitudes and behaviors of the 20.6 million Latino underbanked consumers in the U.S.

This the Financial Health Network inBrief provides some insights on underbanked consumers’ preferences and usage regarding financial service providers. The information is drawn from the 2008 the Financial Health Network Underbanked Consumer Stud.

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.

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.

Discover likely affinities among underbanked consumers and explore how financial products could be marketed to these consumers through community-based nonprofits and nonprofits offering advocacy and social services.

In this report, learn insights into the current credit reporting system, why it doesn’t work for everyone, and efforts underway to improve it with the addition of new data sources.

This report addresses the extent to which traditional affinity marketing models apply to underbanked segments while exploring the nonprofit community's role in marketing and distributing financial services.