Bank On National Data Hub: Findings from 2024

The latest Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. national survey of unbanked and underbanked households reveals that an estimated 4.2% of U.S. households—or about 5.6 million—were unbanked in 2023 (PDF). These households lack having a checking or savings account at a traditional bank or credit union.

Access to basic banking services is a foundational step in achieving economic stability and building wealth. Without a bank account, households struggle to save, to manage everyday financial transactions and to build a banking relationship that can lead to affordable credit. The national Bank On movement works to expand access to safe and affordable banking products. Partnerships with Bank On coalitions, financial institutions and community organizations help ensure everyone has access to banking products and services.

Each year, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis invites all financial institutions with accounts that meet the Bank On National Account Standards (PDF) to report data to the Bank On National Data (BOND) Hub. Data are then aggregated and released annually. The St. Louis Fed tracks Bank On-certified accounts and their use across the metrics shown in the following table. Refer to our glossary of Bank On data metrics for full descriptions to assist in interpreting data.

ZIP Codes Covered in the Data

Across the 45 institutions reporting 2024 data, the sample of Bank On accounts studied for each metric represents 37,997 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 28,484 ZIP codes.

The ZIP code-level data are essential to local Bank On coalitions for identifying where markets and coalition activity are the strongest. Overall, more than 23 million Bank On-certified accounts have been opened to date. Of those, over 14 million were open and active as of December 2024, and they represent approximately 91% 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. To provide insight into account-opening trends across the country, key metrics include the number of:

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

We look 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 new accounts opened during the reporting period offer perspectives 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, 2018-24

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

The more than 14 million accounts currently open represent the combined total of all participating institutions as of Dec. 31, 2024—27% higher than the previous reporting year. In comparing the number of accounts open and active at financial institutions that reported data for 2023 and 2024, the increase is 25%. The number of accounts opened by customers new to the participating financial institution was 4.1 million. Accounts opened by new customers represent 84% of the total accounts opened. Account closures in 2024 were 15%, down from 21% in 2023. The data do not disaggregate accounts closed by those leaving the financial institutions or those closed to open other accounts.

At participating large financial institutions,Large banks have more than $100 billion in assets. the number of Bank On account openings by new customers reported in 2024 was 4,060,767—a 19% increase relative to 2023, when there were 3,408,825 new customers. Per 2024 data, the month with the highest number of account openings at large financial institutions was August, with 480,520 accounts opened. The month with the lowest number of account openings was January, with 341,015 accounts opened. The average number of monthly account openings at large financial institutions was 400,450.

Account openings by new customers at participating community financial institutionsFor purposes of this report, community banks have less than $100 billion in assets. in 2024 were 34% higher relative to those in 2023, with 39,377 certified accounts opened to such consumers. For community financial institutions, August had the most accounts opened, with 4,116, and November had the fewest accounts opened, with 2,497. Account closures at community financial institutions were 31%.

Bank On Account Openings at Community Financial Institutions, 2018-24

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

At large financial institutions, 84% of customers opening Bank On-certified accounts were new to the institution, compared with 65% at community institutions. As data are collected in future years, we hope to take a deeper dive into Bank On-related differences between community and large financial institutions.

Bank On Account Openings at Large Financial Institutions, 2018-24

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

Account Usage and Consistency

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

The 45 participating financial institutions processed more than 341 million debit transactions per month, creating an average of over $13 billion in debit transaction value per month. Overall, the majority of Bank On account holders (78%) 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, 2018-24

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 a third of Bank On account holders used direct deposit.

Customers also accessed their money using withdrawal and deposit capabilities, both of which are indicators of safe banking and money management. Among the 45 reporting institutions, 76% of all account holders made nonautomated clearinghouse deposits in 2024, with an average value of $276.

The average number of deposits per month per account holder was 8.3, which was a slight increase from 7.5 deposits in 2023. Account holders making withdrawals represented 79% of the 2024 data, showing that most account holders were actively using their accounts. On average, the amount withdrawn per transaction was $109.

The average monthly balance in 2024 was $1,273 (the median was $1,184), and the monthly balance of all accounts across institutions was $16.7 billion.

Bank On Account Holders’ Deposits and Withdrawals at Participating Institutions, 2018-24

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, increased slightly to 87%.

In 2024, 50% of account holders used peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, compared with 45% in 2023. The average number of reported P2P transactions per month rose from 31.8 million to 61.4 million. The P2P transaction average value per month was $186.

The number of account holders using bill pay remained at 3% in 2024. Participating financial institutions noted that debit and withdrawal transactions were common methods account holders used to pay bills rather than through this feature.

Bank On Account Holders’ Online Usage at Participating Institutions, 2018-24

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. Community banks—traditionally those with $10 billion or less in assets—can be owned by members of the community they serve, 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. Because of the limited number of financial institutions with between $10 billion and $100 billion in assets reporting data, this report places all banks under $100 billion in assets in the community bank category. The BOND Hub welcomes all financial institutions with accounts that meet the Bank On National Account Standards to submit their data to a federal regulator, ensuring the reporting process is consistent, accurate and secure.

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 state, metropolitan statistical area, county and ZIP code levels.

We would like to thank all of our participating financial institutions, and we look forward to welcoming new participants in the future.

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.

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.