Approximately 30 million American households are unbanked or underbanked, and it’s affecting your bottom line.
An estimated 25 percent of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked, according to a 2009 study conducted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC). Unbanked is defined as having no checking or savings account. Underbanked households have checking or savings accounts but rely on alternative, often predatory financial services, such as payday lenders and pawn shops, to avoid overdraft fees their banks charge. Unfortunately, the fees these alternative financial services charge are often higher than the bank overdraft fees they’re trying to avoid.
How does this affect my bottom line?
Unbanked and underbanked employees often do not participate in direct deposit programs. They require paper checks, costing you money in the form of issuance, mailing, and reissuance of lost or stolen checks. Moreover, the unbanked and underbanked suffer from higher levels of financial stress making them less effective at their jobs.
How can FlexWage help?
FlexWage’s payroll card program eliminates the need for paper checks. Employees’ wages are deposited directly onto a Visa debit card that they can use virtually anywhere without incurring check-cashing and other fees. With WageBank, employees have access to their earned but unpaid wages ahead of their scheduled paydays, eliminating the need to use alternative financial services.