Bank On National Data Hub: Findings from 2023

Having access to basic banking services is an essential component of achieving economic stability and building wealth. Without a bank account, households may face challenges in saving reliably or automatically and in establishing a banking relationship that can lead to access to affordable credit. The national Bank On movement works to expand banking access efforts by increasing the availability of safe and affordable banking products.

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. For assistance in interpreting data, refer to our glossary of Bank On data metrics for full descriptions.

ZIP Codes Covered in the Data

Across the 44 institutions reporting 2023 data, the sample of Bank On accounts studied for each metric represents 37,206 ZIP codes throughout the U.S. and its territories. The St. Louis Fed also aggregates data by ZIP code with three or more reporting institutions, a subsample that represents accounts in 27,560 ZIP codes.

ZIP code-level data are essential to local Bank On coalitions for identifying where markets and coalition activity are strong. As of December 2023, over 11 million Bank On-certified accounts were open and active, representing a presence in approximately 89% 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 of Bank On accounts. Key metrics that provide insights into account-opening trends across the country include the number of:

• Total certified accounts ever opened
• Accounts currently open
• Accounts opened during the reporting year
• Accounts opened by customers new to the institution
• Accounts closed during the reporting year

We looked at account-opening data in several ways that offer different measures of demand for Bank On-certified products. The running total of accounts opened over time and the number of accounts newly opened during the reporting period offer perspective on Bank On accounts’ growth and momentum, allowing for annual comparisons across the marketplace and institutions involved.

Bank On Account Openings at Participating Institutions, 2018-23

Download: Bank On Account Openings at Participating Institutions (XLSX)

The more than 11 million Bank On-certified accounts currently open represent the combined total of all participating institutions as of Dec. 31, 2023—39% higher than the previous reporting year. Some of this increase is likely due to the addition in 2024 of nine new financial institutions reporting data. The number of Bank On accounts opened in 2023 by new customers was similar to that in the previous year, at 3.4 million. Accounts opened by new customers represented 84% of total accounts opened. In 2023, 21% of Bank On accounts were closed, down slightly from 24% in 2022. The data for accounts closed is not disaggregated by whether account holders left the financial institution or closed a Bank On account to open other accounts.

At large financial institutions,Large banks have more than $100 billion in assets. 3,408,825 new Bank On accounts were opened in 2023—a 2% increase compared with 2022. In 2023, the month with the highest number of account openings at large financial institutions was August, when 393,509 accounts were opened. The month with the lowest number of account openings was November, when 303,516 accounts were opened. Monthly account openings at large financial institutions averaged 338,013 in 2023.

At community financial institutions,For purposes of this report, community banks have less than $100 billion in assets. 29,328 new Bank On accounts were opened in 2023. In 2023, August had the most account openings at community financial institutions, with 3,044; January had the fewest account openings, with 1,899. In 2023, the account closure rate at community financial institutions was 40%.

Bank On Account Openings at Community Financial Institutions, 2018-23

Download: Bank On Account Openings at Community Financial Institutions (XLSX)

At large institutions, 85% of customers opening Bank On-certified accounts in 2023 were new to the institution, compared with 57% at community financial institutions. As data are collected in future years, we hope to take a deeper dive into Bank On-related differences between community financial institutions and large financial institutions.

Bank On Account Openings at Large Financial Institutions, 2018-23

Download: Bank On Account Openings at Large Financial Institutions (XLSX)

Account Usage and Consistency

To determine the functionality of Bank On-certified accounts and their ability to meet consumers’ transactional needs, it is important for analysts to understand how account holders use them for everyday transactions. 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 Bank On account activity for debit, deposit and withdrawal transactions, as well as accounts’ average monthly balance.

In 2023, the 44 participating financial institutions processed more than 241 million debit transactions per month, creating an average of more than $10.5 billion in debit transaction value per month. The majority—75%—of Bank On account holders 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, 2018-23

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 with different features of the account (e.g., paycheck deposits, tax programs, and government assistance or public benefits). More than one-third—or 36%—of Bank On account holders used direct deposit.

Customers also accessed their money using Bank On accounts’ withdrawal and other deposit capabilities, both of which are indicators of safe banking and money management. Among the 44 financial institutions reporting data in 2023, 73% of account holders made nonautomated clearinghouse deposits in 2023, with an average value of $271.

The average number of deposits per month per Bank On account holder in 2023 was 7.5, a slight increase from the 6.9 average deposits per month per account holder in 2022. Bank On account holders making withdrawals represented 77% of the 2023 data, showing that most account holders were actively using their accounts. On average, the amount per transaction increased by 8%, to $113 in 2023 from $105 in 2022.

The average monthly account balance in 2023 was $1,195 (the median was $1,106), and the monthly balance of all accounts across institutions was $12.2 billion. The monthly balance reported by participating institutions has been increasing since 2018.

Bank On Account Holders’ Deposits and Withdrawals at Participating Institutions, 2018-23

Download: Bank On Account Holders’ Deposits and Withdrawals at Participating Institutions (XLSX)

Online Access

Banking capabilities like online access and bill pay can serve as trusted and convenient options for transferring funds between accounts or to other people and institutions, all while keeping funds and customers’ accounts safer. Digital activity, defined as account holders who have online access and use it for transactions, remained steady at 82% in 2023.

In 2023, 45% of account holders used peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, compared with 41% of account holders in 2022. The average number of P2P transactions per month reported by participating financial institutions increased from 19.3 million to 31.8 million. The P2P transaction average value per month in 2023 was $182.

The number of Bank On account holders using bill pay was only 3% in 2023. Participating financial institutions noted debit transactions and withdrawals were common methods that account holders used to pay bills rather than through this feature.

Bank On Account Holders’ Online Usage at Participating Institutions, 2018-23

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 more than $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.

BOND Hub 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.

Because of 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. The “total number of accounts ever opened” variable is reported only for large financial institutions. We will update the report when data for the remaining financial institutions become available.

Notes

1. Large banks have more than $100 billion in assets.
2. For purposes of this report, community banks have less than $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.