New Findings on Financial Access for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities

This research project was designed to examine the ways in which low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities of color are accessing mainstream and alternative financial services and products, and the extent to which they are financially engaged. To do so, the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), and the National Urban League (NUL) launched a financial survey in 2013.

Survey results illustrate how the financial market is currently serving communities of color, what these communities’ overall perceptions and attitudes toward banking and financial services are, and how technology is used in banking transactions. While there are national-level studies that examine how various ethnic and racial groups use financial services, few are able to capture the experiences of historically marginalized populations, including those with very low incomes, the non-English speaking, and noncitizens, to the depth done in this survey.

Read the full text at NCLR.org