12 Million U.S. Households are Either Superbanked or Unbanked

NEW YORK, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The American banking industry is an essential part of most Americans' daily lives and according to a new complimentary study from local market consumer research firm Scarborough, 10 percent of American adults are Atypical Bankers – they are either Superbanked or Unbanked.  

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Scarborough defines Superbanked Consumers as U.S. adults who live in a household that has multiple asset accounts at financial institutions. They make up five percent of American households and specifically, Superbanked Consumers have: a checking, savings, money market account and certificate of deposits (CDs), and at least one of the following investments: stocks or stock options, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, second home or real estate property and other securities or investments. Unbanked Consumers also make up five percent of American households and they are defined by Scarborough as U.S. adults who live in a household that does not use a bank or credit union.

"This banking study explores Atypical Bankers; revealing where they can be reached and identifying activities and financial services that are important to them," says Alisa Joseph, vice president of advertiser services for Scarborough. "By understanding the Superbanked and Unbanked Consumers, financial institutions, media companies and marketers can understand the opportunity that exists from both the consumer in need of assistance with their complicated portfolio, as well as the consumer who is not currently engaged with a bank for their money management needs."

Superbanked Consumers are twice as likely as all U.S. adults to have stocks or stock options and four times as likely to have money market funds. Ninety-three percent of Superbanked Consumers have used any credit card in the past three months and 49 percent have used online banking in the past 30 days. Forty-four percent of Superbanked Consumers are Baby Boomers* and they are 64 percent more likely than all U.S. adults to have a college degree or more.

Unbanked Consumers are 11 percent more likely than all U.S. adults to be women and 38 percent more likely to be unmarried. Forty-five percent of Unbanked Consumers have children under the age of 18 living in their household and 32 percent belong to Generation X*. Twenty-three percent of Unbanked Consumers have used any credit card in the past three months and seven percent used a check cashing service in the past year. 

Marketers can reach Atypical Bankers in their home towns; the top local markets for Superbanked Consumers are: Fort Myers, FL (7% of residents live in a household that is Superbanked); San Francisco, CA (7%) and Orlando, FL (7%). The top local markets for Unbanked Consumers are Harlingen, TX (17%); Fresno, CA (17%) and Memphis, TN (11%).  

More information on Atypical Banking can be found in the complimentary study issued by Scarborough, available for download at www.Scarborough.com/FreeStudies.php. In addition to the details within this study, Scarborough's measurements consist of further banking insights including: trends in bank services, credit card use, investments and much more.

*Scarborough defines the different American generations as Generation Y (age 18-29), Generation X (30-44), Baby Boomers (45-64) and the Silent Generation (65+).

Continue the dialogue with Scarborough over Twitter by reaching out to @ScarboroughInfo using hashtag #Banking and be sure to visit us on Facebook at Facebook.com/ScarboroughResearch.

To obtain additional reports on your markets or your brand, please contact Brad Sherer, Manager of Stat Shop Services, at [email protected].

This data is from Scarborough USA+, Release 2 2011. Scarborough measures 210,000 adults aged 18+ annually across a wide variety of media, lifestyle, shopping and demographic categories.

About Scarborough Research  
Scarborough ([email protected]) measures American life. Our consumer insights reflect shopping patterns, media usage across platforms and lifestyle trends for adults. Media professionals and marketers use Scarborough insights to make smarter marketing/business decisions on things like ad placement, multicultural targeting, and sponsorship opportunities.  The company's core syndicated consumer insight studies in 77 Top‐Tier Markets, its Multi‐Market Study and its national USA+ Study are Media Rating Council (MRC) accredited. Other products and services include Scarborough Mid‐Tier Local Market Studies, Hispanic Studies and Custom Research Solutions. Scarborough measures 2,000 consumer categories and serves a broad client base that includes marketers, advertising agencies, print and electronic media (broadcast and cable television, radio stations), sports teams and leagues and out-of-home media companies. Surveying more than 210,000 adults annually, Scarborough is a joint venture between Arbitron Inc. and The Nielsen Company.

SOURCE Scarborough Research