Over 29 million Americans comprise the “at risk” segment – most likely of all the segments to live paycheck to paycheck and run out of money before the end of the month.

A whopping sixteen percent of the country is unengaged with their financial situation. This segment earns its name from these consumers’ lack of awareness about their financial lives and their low level of engagement with traditional financial services.

More than half of Americans in the tenuous segment live paycheck to paycheck (53%) and struggle to keep up with bills and credit payments.

Strivers are generally able to make ends meet, but many of them are not satisfied with their current financial situation and are working to better their financial circumstances.

The Financial Health Network recognizes that access to high-quality financial products are crucial to help consumers improve and maintain their financial health.

U.S. Financial Diaries Case study: Mateo Valencia, 31, and Lucia Benitez, 30, are an unmarried couple living in Queens with their four year-old son Pablo.

This research explores the state of financial health in America in a groundbreaking examination of consumer behaviors, attitudes, and preferences.

The Financial Health Network’s letter to the CFPB focuses on four main areas, each framed around what is best to achieve the overall goal of consumer financial protections that support financial health:

Learn how Goodwill created a mutually beneficial situation for the organization and its employees by offering payroll cards with features to help employees spend, save, and budget.

The Compass Guide to Payroll Cards defines industry-wide best practices for the design and delivery of payroll cards.

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.

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

U.S. Financial Diaries Case study: Elena Navarro is a single, 27-year-old woman living outside of San Jose, CA.

Over the past decade, millions of American households have turned to prepaid cards to spend, save, and manage their money.

Read case studies and discover recommendations for using prepaid cards to promote financial health by helping consumers spend, save, and manage their money.

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

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.

This report examines the significant volume of recent investment activity in the FinTech market for financially underserved consumers. This consumer finance segment is a dynamic and growing space.

In 2009, Peter Alvarez of Redstone Federal Credit Union attended his first Underbanked Financial Services Forum, an annual conference held by the Financial Health Network and SourceMedia, to learn more about the underserved market.

The Financial Health Network believes that steps toward consumer protections for all GPR prepaid cards will ultimately benefit consumers by allowing them safe and trustworthy financial services to help them achieve financial health.

U.S. Financial Diaries Case study: Lauren Walker, 29, is a single mother living with her four-year-old son Riley in a rented townhome in a small town in eastern Mississippi.

U.S. Financial Diaries: Rita Douglas, 62, lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a marginal, sometimes dangerous neighborhood near Cincinnati, OH.

U.S. Financial Diaries: Sarah and Sam Johnson are a hardworking Ohio couple struggling to make ends meet despite the fact that they both work in stable, full-time jobs, and several part-time ones.

U.S. Financial Diaries: Ahmed and Shaila Hossain are immigrants from Bangladesh who moved in 2010 to Queens, NY, where there is a large Bangladeshi community.

U.S. Financial Diaries: Mike Smith, a single man in his mid-50s, lives in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Kentucky, in a small town near the Ohio River.

U.S. Financial Diaries: Tim and Clara Adrian are in their early 30’s and live in Mississippi in a four-bedroom house that they own.

Since 1955, H&R Block has been known as the go-to company for income tax advice and tax return preparation.

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

Armed with a Financial Capability Innovation Fund grant from the Financial Health Network, Piggymojo is transforming the way people think about savings.

Electronic payments are growing by leaps and bounds,overtaking paper as preferred payment mechanisms.

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.

Since launching its first general purpose reloadable prepaid card program in 2008, Sunrise Community Banks affiliate University Bank has expanded to issuing 50 prepaid card programs for 16 program managers.

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

In this case study, the Center for Financial Services Innovation looks at the steps Regions took to create and implement products and services for the underserved, and why it is important to the bank to serve this customer segment well.

Nexxo Financial Corporation joined forces with Centris Federal Credit Union and Carver Federal Savings Bank to supply transaction kiosks to provide consumers more convenient access to the financial services they need.

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.

When Patrice Peyret started Plastyc in 2006, he saw an opportunity to help people outside the mainstream economy participate in better and more cost-effective financial services.

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

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. 

Increasingly, underserved Americans are turning to prepaid cards to meet their basic financial services needs.

Increasingly, underserved Americans are turning to prepaid cards to meet their basic financial services needs.

The Financial Health Network is submitting this letter in response to the request for comment by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on May 24, 2012.