Financial Technology startups of late have been finding new ways to try and help lower income Americans. This extends to those especially who don’t have the means to obtain a bank account or rely on payday loans to make ends meet. About 7 percent of all Americans do not have a bank account. Because the regular banking systems aren’t designed to meet the needs of those living day to day, there is an opportunity here for fin tech firms to help, and also create business. This includes easing access to money, and loosening the restrictions on credit and low cost services. The article looks at a fintech company called Wise Banyan as an example. WiseBanyan is a robo-advisor app that offers investment advice after taking in clients financial goals into account. Customers can also withdraw and deposit with no fees similar to Robinhood. The CEO says one of the motivations for this was to allow anyone regardless of financial situation to be able to achieve their financial goals. He also noted that over 25% of his customers have incomes of under 50,00 dollars. There are similar companies that act in a similar manner, but have many hidden fees which people of lower classes may not have knowledge of. While the lending industry is still geared towards high income clients, there are definite movements to face the needs of the lower class, and fintech companies seem to be trying to fill that void.
https://digiday.com/brands/are-low-income-can-americans-the-new-market/