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The number of American households that were unbanked terminal year dropped to its lowest level since 2009, a dip due in part to people opening accounts to receive financial assistance during the pandemic, a new study says.

Roughly four.5% of U.Due south. households – or 5.9 million – didn't take a checking or savings account with a banking company or credit union in 2021, a tape low, co-ordinate to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's about contempo survey of unbanked and underbanked households.

Roughly 45% of households that received a stimulus payment, jobless benefits or other government assistance after the kickoff of the pandemic in March, 2020 said those funds helped compel them to open an business relationship, according to the biennial report which has been conducted since 2009.

"Safe and affordable depository financial institution accounts provide a way to bring more Americans into the banking system and will continue to play an of import role in advancing economic inclusion for all Americans,'' FDIC acting chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said in a statement.

A lack of banking options delayed some households from getting federal payments aimed at helping the country weather the economic fallout from the COVID-19 health crisis.

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The FDIC initiated an educational entrada to become more Americans to open an account to enable the direct deposit of those funds. And banks such as Capital One and Marry Financial ended  overdraft and other fees that have been a primal barrier to some Americans accessing the cyberbanking organisation.

What does it mean to be unbanked?

A household is deemed unbanked when no one in the dwelling house has an account with a bank or credit union. That share of households has dropped by nearly one-half since 2009. And since 2011, when 8% of U.S. households were unbanked, the highest since the commencement of the survey, and the record low reached in 2021, roughly one-half of the driblet was due to a shift in the financial circumstances of American households the FDIC says.

Who are the underbanked?

Those who accept a checking or savings account, only also utilise fiscal alternatives like check cashing services are considered underbanked. The underbanked represented 14% of U.S. households, or eighteen.7 million, concluding twelvemonth.

Why are people unbanked or underbanked?

Many of those who are unbanked say they tin't afford to have an business relationship considering of the fees for insufficient funds and overdrafts that are tacked on when account balances fall short. Roughly 29% said fees or non having the required minimum residuum were the primary reasons they didn't have a checking or savings business relationship, as compared to 38% who cited those obstacles in 2019.

Are some groups more likely to be unbanked?

The numbers of the unbanked were greater among households that included those who were working age and disabled, lower income, included a single mother, or were Black or Hispanic. Among white households for instance, 2% didn't have a depository financial institution account last year as compared to 11% and 9% of their Black and Hispanic counterparts.

Meanwhile, nearly 15% of households with a working age member who had a disability were unbanked compared to well-nigh 4% of other households. And  nearly 16% of households with a single female parent were unbanked as compared to well-nigh 2% of married couples who lacked an business relationship.

 "These gaps attest there's still a lot of opportunity to aggrandize participation across the population in the banking system,'' Keith Ernst, Associate Director of Consumer Enquiry and Exam Analytics at the FDIC, said during a media call near the written report.

Will the number of unbanked ascension if the U.Due south. has a recession?

Perhaps.

"During the last recession unbanked rates did indeed go up,'' Karyen Chu, chief of the Banking Research Section at the Center for Financial Research, said during the telephone call.

Additionally, last year, homes where the caput of household was out of work were nearly 5 times more probable to not have a bank account as compared to those where the household caput was employed.

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"To the extent that income goes down ... that has mostly been associated with increases in unbanked rates,’’ Chu said.

Follow Charisse Jones on Twitter @charissejones