Bank On National Data Hub: Findings from 2022
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- More than 17 million Bank On-certified accounts have been opened to date across this year’s 35 reporting institutions—a 24% increase from the number of accounts reported in the previous year. Of those, over 8 million accounts were open and active in December 2022; Bank On accounts have been opened in more than 36,000 ZIP codes, or 87% of all U.S. ZIP codes.
- Over 145 million debit transactions were processed per month for Bank On account holders. That is an average of over 27 debit transactions per account holder per month—nearly the same as in 2021—creating a total monthly average of over $5.8 billion in debit transactions. Debit transactions can help account holders avoid fees and service charges from credit cards and help them stay accountable with their spending.
- Most institutions new to reporting their data this year were community financial institutions. More than 98,000 new Bank On-certified accounts were opened at these institutions in 2022, compared with just over 12,000 Bank On-certified accounts opened in 2021.
- Account holders continue to engage services provided by Bank On-certified accounts. More than $120 billion was deposited into these accounts in 2022, for an average of seven deposits per month, and 34% of account holders used direct deposit.
- The average monthly balance for Bank On-certified accounts increased from $1,072 in 2021 to $1,117 in 2022, and 81% of account holders were digitally active.
According to the latest Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. survey of unbanked and underbanked households, an estimated 4.5% of U.S. households—or approximately 5.9 million—were unbanked in 2021 (PDF). This means that these households did not have a checking or savings account at a traditional bank or credit union. Having access to basic banking services is an essential component to achieving economic stability and building wealth.
Each year, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis invites all financial institutions with accounts certified as meeting Bank On National Account Standards (PDF) to report data to its Bank On National Data (BOND) Hub. Data are aggregated and released annually. The St. Louis Fed tracks Bank On-certified accounts and their use across the metrics shown in the following table. (Full descriptions of each metric are available to assist in interpreting data.)
| Account Opening | Total Number of Certified Accounts Opened |
|---|---|
| Number of Accounts Currently Open | |
| Number of Accounts Newly Opened | |
| Number of Account-Opening Customers New to Institution | |
| Number of Accounts Newly Closed | |
| Account Usage and Consistency | Number of Account Holders Using Direct Deposit |
| Number of Account Holders Making Debit Transactions | |
| Frequency of Debit Transactions | |
| Total Value of Debit Transactions | |
| Number of Account Holders Making Withdrawals | |
| Frequency of Withdrawals | |
| Total Value of Withdrawals | |
| Number of Account Holders Making Deposits | |
| Frequency of Deposits | |
| Total Value of Deposits | |
| Average Monthly Balance | |
| Online Access | Total Number of Account Holders Using Bill Pay |
| Frequency of Online Bill Pay | |
| Total Value of Online Bill Pay | |
| Number of Accounts Using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Transactions | |
| Number of P2P Transactions | |
| Value of P2P Transactions | |
| Number of Accounts that Are Digitally Active |
ZIP Codes Covered in the Data
Across the 35 institutions reporting 2022 data, the sample of Bank On accounts studied for each metric represents 36,258 ZIP codes throughout the United States and its territories. The St. Louis Fed also aggregates the data by ZIP code with three or more reporting institutions, a subsample that represents accounts in 25,993 ZIP codes.
The ZIP code-level data are essential to local Bank On coalitions for identifying where markets and coalition activity are strong. Overall, more than 17.4 million Bank On-certified accounts have been opened to date. Of those, over 8.1 million were open and active as of December 2022, and they represent approximately 87% of ZIP codes nationwide.
ZIP Codes Reporting
Download: ZIP Codes Reporting (XLSX)
Account Opening
The purpose of collecting account opening and closure data is to understand the growth and popularity of Bank On accounts. To provide insight into account-opening trends across the country, key metrics include the number of:
- Total certified accounts ever opened
- Accounts currently open
- Accounts opened during reporting year
- Accounts opened by customers new to the institution
- Accounts newly closed
We looked at account-opening data in several ways that offer different measures of demand for products certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. The running total of accounts opened over time and the number of accounts newly opened during the reporting period offer perspective on growth and momentum, allowing for annual comparisons that show the growth of the marketplace and institutions involved.
Bank On Account Openings at Participating Institutions, 2018-2022
Download: Bank On Account Openings at Participating Institutions (XLSX)
The 2022 data reflect an increase of 3,330,708 accounts ever opened—24% higher than the previous reporting year. Part of the increase is due to the addition of participating financial institutions; 28 institutions participated in 2021 compared with the 35 that reported data in 2022. The 8.1 million accounts currently open represent the combined total of all participating institutions as of Dec. 31, 2022—38% higher than the previous reporting year. Again, some of this increase is likely because of the additional financial institutions reporting. There was an increase of nearly 700,000 new customers to reporting financial institutions in 2022, rising to 3.4 million from 2.7 million in 2021. Accounts opened by new customers represent 85% of total accounts opened. The 24% of accounts closed in 2022 is consistent with the expectations of financial institutions and data findings from previous years. The data do not disaggregate accounts closed by those leaving the financial institutions or those closed to open another account.
At large financial institutions,Large banks have over $100 billion in assets. the number of new Bank On account openings reported in 2022 was 3,327,746, a 24% increase relative to 2021, when there were 2,691,557 new customers. Per the 2022 data, the month with the highest number of account openings at large financial institutions was August, with 432,187 accounts opened. The month with the lowest number of account openings was January, when 249,998 accounts were opened. The average number of monthly account openings at large institutions was 325,516.
New Bank On account openings reported by participating community financial institutionsFor the purposes of this report, community banks have under $100 billion in assets. in 2022 were eight times higher relative to those in 2021, with 98,739 certified accounts opened in 2022 versus 12,327 in 2021. This large increase in openings is likely because most of the financial institutions that were incorporated in the reporting were community financial institutions. For community financial institutions, November had the most accounts reported opened in 2022 at 13,693, 10 times as many as reported in 2021. April had the lowest number of account openings at community institutions, with 4,963. The account closure rate at community institutions was 36% in 2022, higher than the 24% closure rate at large banks.
Bank On Account Openings at Community Financial Institutions, 2018-2022
Download: Bank On Account Openings at Community Financial Institutions (XLSX)
At large institutions, 85% of customers opening Bank On-certified accounts in 2022 were new to the institution, compared with 72% at community institutions. As data are collected in future years, we hope to take a deeper dive into Bank On-related differences between community institutions and large institutions.
Bank On Account Openings at Large Financial Institutions, 2018-2022
Download: Bank On Account Openings at Large Financial Institutions (XLSX)
Account Usage and Consistency
Beyond account openings, it is crucial for analysts to understand how account holders use Bank On-certified accounts for everyday transactions in order to determine the functionality of the accounts and their ability to meet consumers’ transactional needs. These metrics also help inform the Bank On National Account Standards by providing quantitative data that demonstrate the use and importance of specific account characteristics. The St. Louis Fed assessed overall account activity for debit, deposit and withdrawal transactions, as well as the average monthly balance of the accounts.
The 35 participating financial institutions processed more than 145 million debit transactions per month, creating an average of over $5.8 billion in debit transaction value per month. Overall, the majority of Bank On account holders, 75%, use debit functionality. This suggests that account holders value, use and largely rely on this account feature for regular financial transactions.
Bank On Account Holders’ Debit Transactions at Participating Institutions, 2018-2022
Download: Bank On Account Holders’ Debit Transactions at Participating Institutions (XLSX)
Direct deposit is a telling indicator of consistent usage by account holders, as well as an indication that account holders are engaging different features of the account (e.g., paycheck deposits, tax programs, and government assistance or public benefits). More than a third of Bank On account holders used direct deposit.
Customers also accessed their money using account withdrawal and deposit capabilities, both of which are indicators of safe banking and money management. Among the 35 reporting financial institutions, 74% of all account holders made non-automated clearinghouse deposits in 2022, with an average value of $279.
The average number of deposits per month in 2022 was 6.9, which remained stable relative to those in the previous year. Account holders making withdrawals represented 77% of the 2022 data, showing that most account holders were actively using their accounts. On average, the amount per transaction increased from $94 in 2021 to $105 in 2022.
The average account monthly balance in 2022 was $1,117 (the median was $1,035), and the monthly balance of all accounts across institutions was $8 billion. The monthly balance reported by the participating financial institutions has been increasing since 2018.
Bank On Account Holders’ Deposits and Withdrawals at Participating Institutions, 2018-2022
Download: Bank On Account Holders’ Deposits and Withdrawals at Participating Institutions (XLSX)
Online Access
Banking capabilities like online access and bill pay serve as trusted and convenient options for transferring funds between accounts or to other people, all while keeping funds and customers’ accounts safer. Digital activity, defined as account holders who have online access and use it for transactions, was 81% in 2022.
In 2022, 41% of account holders used peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, an increase from the previous year’s 37%. The average number of reported P2P transactions per month increased from almost 12 million to 19.3 million. The P2P transaction average value per month was $183.
The number of account holders using bill pay was 4% in 2022. Participating financial institutions noted that debit transactions and withdrawals were common methods account holders used to pay bills rather than through this feature.
Bank On Account Holders’ Online Usage at Participating Institutions, 2018-2022
Download: Bank On Account Holders’ Online Usage at Participating Institutions (XLSX)
The data in this report continue to show that Bank On-certified accounts attract new customers to the financial mainstream. We would like to thank all of our participating financial institutions, and we look forward to welcoming new participants in the future.
Community banks are those with $10 billion or less in assets and that can be owned by members of the community they serve. They are usually small to medium in size and can be private or public. Large banks have over $100 billion in assets. They are owned by shareholders and are public. The BOND Hub continues to allow all financial institutions with accounts that meet Bank On National Account Standards to submit their data to a federal regulator, ensuring the reporting process is consistent, accurate and secure. Because of the limited number of financial institutions with between $10 billion and $100 billion in assets, in this report we placed all banks under $100 billion in assets in the community bank category.
These data are critical to sustaining the momentum of the Bank On movement and, importantly, the availability of safe and affordable banking products. To illustrate the growth of the Bank On market and to support local banking access efforts, the St. Louis Fed has published an interactive tool to display account data at the ZIP code, metropolitan statistical area and state levels.
Due to the nature of the data collection and limits on the data that some financial institutions could provide, a year-to-year comparison of all data points is not applicable.
Notes
- Large banks have over $100 billion in assets.
- For the purposes of this report, community banks have under $100 billion in assets.
The authors worked closely with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis or the Federal Reserve System.
