The unbanked are adults who do not have their own bank accounts. Along with the underbanked, they may rely on alternative financial services for their financial needs, where these are available.

about 1.7 billion adults
Globally, about 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked — without an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money provider. In 2014 that number was 2 billion.

India’s banked population more than doubled from 2011 to reach 80% by 2017, and by 2018, 66% of about 536 million no-frills accounts were Jan Dhan accounts. Yet, having an account does not amount to being financially included. These accounts are also part of a larger shift in welfare delivery.

What was uncovered? Account penetration increased by about 20 percent or 700 million adults, bringing the world’s banked rate from 51 to 62 percent, and the number of unbanked individuals from 2.5 billion to 2 billion.

How to Live With No Bank Account

1. Prepaid Debit Cards.
2. Everyday Spending.
3. Paying Bills Without a Bank Account.
4. Cashing Checks.
5. Storing (and Saving)
6. Sending and Receiving Money.
7. Get a Loan.
8. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

People who are unbanked don’t use traditional financial services such as credit cards and bank accounts; instead, they rely on alternative financial services, which are often expensive. Those who are underbanked have some type of bank account but still use cash and alternative financial services to make purchases.

Reasons You May Have Been Denied a Checking Account Too many past bounced checks or overdrafts. Unpaid fees or negative balances from a current or closed account. Suspected fraud or identity theft. Too many accounts applied for over a short amount of time.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, banks are required to tell you why you’ve been denied a bank account. The most likely reason to be denied an account is that you’ve got an outstanding debt with a bank – often because of unpaid bank fees. But you may also be denied because of a history of frequent overdrafts.

Currently, there are two billion people worldwide who cannot access financial services because their data is not held on ‘traditional’ sources.

The number of non-banking financial companies has expanded greatly in the last several years as venture capital companies, retail and industrial companies have entered the lending business. Non-bank institutions also frequently support investments in property and prepare feasibility, market or industry studies for companies.

LONDON – Two billion people worldwide do not have a bank account or access to a financial institution via a mobile phone, or any other device. But between 2011 and 2014, 700 million adults became account holders, and the unbanked population fell by 20%, down from 2.5 billion.

That means they don’t have bank accounts or regularly make non-bank financial transactions. One in five households has zero or negative assets. Twenty-five million have no credit score, which makes them invisible to the mainstream U.S. financial system.

Previously, the banking industry didn’t show much interest in this large population of unbanked borrowers. These borrowers were forced to take out high-cost loans from non-traditional, often predatory lenders.