We can educate consumers and provide access to financial products and services. But how do we help consumers use their knowledge and tools to improve their financial behavior and become financially healthy?

Taking a deeper look at data collected for our Consumer Financial Health Study released in March 2015, this Network-exclusive report highlights the financial behaviors, challenges, product usage patterns and demographics of small-dollar credit users.

Discover how Nix Neighborhood Lending has made a lasting impact on its customers in South Central Los Angeles by providing a variety of credit services to this vulnerable group.

This report reveals that financially underserved American consumers spent $138 billion in fees and interest revenue in 2014, generated from a volume of $1.6 trillion in financial activity.

LIFT-UP (Local Interventions for Financial Empowerment through Utility Payments) is a multi-city initiative overseen by the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education, and Families designed to provide financial counseling to delinquent utility customers

In 2010, Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) launched its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Credit Builder program with the primary goal to establish or improve credit for low-income Latino immigrants and help them responsibly manage credit over the long term.

Filene’s LIFT (Lower Interest For Timeliness) program offered interest rate reductions to borrowers who made timely loan payments.

Center for Community Self-Help’s (Self-Help) “Just Right” line of small-dollar credit (SDC) products was designed to test features of SDC products offered to clients as affordable and safe credit options.

This infographic illustrates the types and uses of Small-Dollar Credit products.

Millions of Americans lack access to high-quality, affordable credit. While innovating in the small-dollar credit industry poses challenges, the opportunity to serve borrowers in need of high-quality, small-dollar loans is significant.