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The number of American households that were unbanked last 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 report says.

Roughly iv.5% of U.S. households – or 5.9 one thousand thousand – didn’t have a checking or savings business relationship with a bank or credit wedlock in 2021, a tape low, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s most contempo survey of unbanked and underbanked households.

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

“Safe and affordable bank accounts provide a way to bring more Americans into the banking arrangement and will go on to play an of import role in advancing economical 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 get more Americans to open an account to enable the direct deposit of those funds. And banks such equally Capital letter 1 and Ally Financial ended  overdraft and other fees that take been a key barrier to some Americans accessing the banking system.

What does it mean to exist unbanked?

A household is deemed unbanked when no one in the domicile has an business relationship with a bank or credit marriage. That share of households has dropped past virtually one-half since 2009. And since 2011, when 8% of U.South. households were unbanked, the highest since the start of the survey, and the record depression reached in 2021, roughly one-half of the drop was due to a shift in the financial circumstances of American households the FDIC says.

Who are the underbanked?

Those who have a checking or savings account, but likewise use financial alternatives like bank check cashing services are considered underbanked. The underbanked represented 14% of U.S. households, or eighteen.seven million, last yr.

Why are people unbanked or underbanked?

Many of those who are unbanked say they can’t afford to accept an account because of the fees for bereft funds and overdrafts that are tacked on when account balances fall short. Roughly 29% said fees or non having the required minimum balance were the primary reasons they didn’t have a checking or savings account, equally 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 take a depository financial institution account terminal yr as compared to xi% and 9% of their Black and Hispanic counterparts.

Meanwhile, almost xv% of households with a working age member who had a inability were unbanked compared to almost 4% of other households. And  nigh 16% of households with a single mother were unbanked every bit compared to about two% of married couples who lacked an account.

 “These gaps attest there’due south still a lot of opportunity to expand participation across the population in the banking system,” Keith Ernst, Acquaintance Director of Consumer Inquiry and Examination Analytics at the FDIC, said during a media call nigh the report.

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

Perhaps.

“During the last recession unbanked rates did indeed get up,” Karyen Chu, chief of the Cyberbanking Enquiry Section at the Center for Financial Inquiry, said during the telephone call.

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

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“To the extent that income goes downwardly … that has generally been associated with increases in unbanked rates,’’ Chu said.

Follow Charisse Jones on Twitter @charissejones