St. Louis Fed Releases the Bank On National Data Hub Findings from 2024

ST. LOUIS — The Bank On National Data Hub: Findings from 2024 report analyzes 2024 data from 45 financial institutions and found that more than 23 million Bank On-certified accounts were open, a 19% increase from the previous year. Bank On accounts have been opened in almost 38,000 ZIP codes, or 91% of all U.S. ZIP codes, according to an updated report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

An estimated 4.2% of U.S. households—about 5.6 million—were unbanked in 2023, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation report. Unbanked means these households did not have checking or savings accounts at a traditional bank or credit union. The Bank On movement aims to increase safe and affordable banking options and bring the underbanked and unbanked into the financial mainstream. With continued growth in participation, Bank On-certified accounts have shown consistent expansion year over year.

Other findings include:

• Over 341 million debit transactions were processed per month for Bank On account holders. That's an average of 33 debit transactions per account holder per month, a 6% increase over 2023. Total monthly transactions averaged over $13 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.
• Over $260 billion was deposited into by Bank On-certified accounts in 2024 for an average of 8.3 deposits per month, and 39% of account holders used direct deposit. The average monthly balance per account was $1,273 and the monthly balance of all accounts across institutions was $16.7 billion.
• The average number of reported peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions per month increased from 31.8 million in 2023 to 61.4 million in 2024.

"The continued growth of Bank On accounts demonstrates how financial institutions are stepping up to meet the needs of underserved communities," said Sydney Diavua, vice president and community affairs officer at the St. Louis Fed. "These accounts provide essential financial services that help individuals build economic stability and participate more fully in our economy."

The St. Louis Fed and Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund established the Bank On National Data (BOND) Hub to present metrics from financial institutions related to account openings, account usage and consistency, and online access.

About Bank On

The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s (CFE Fund’s) national Bank On movement supports local coalition and financial institution efforts to connect consumers to safe, affordable banking accounts as a fundamental component of financial stability. Already, over 500 accounts at banks and credit unions nationwide – representing over two-thirds of the national deposit market share – are certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards, which designate both core and strongly recommended features that ensure low cost, no surprise fees, high functionality, and consumer safety. More than 100 Bank On coalitions across the country are working to connect unbanked and underbanked individuals to certified accounts, often through leveraging large-scale government program and payment opportunities. Visit www.joinbankon.org for more information, and www.joinbankon.org/joinbondhub to learn how to report Bank On account data to the BOND Hub.