According to the survey mentioned in the article, some of the main reasons people are unbanked include:
- Not having enough money to meet minimum balance requirements, cited by a significant portion of unbanked households (around 23.3% to 42.3% depending on the survey year).
- Issues related to bank fees and minimum balances, such as high fees, unpredictable fees, and minimum balance requirements, cited by about one-third of unbanked households.
- Distrust of banks, with around 15.7% citing this as the main reason. This distrust can stem from historical financial exclusion and discriminatory lending practices.
- Privacy concerns, with some people avoiding banks to maintain more privacy.
- Other barriers include inconvenient bank locations and hours, lack of access to needed products and services from banks, poor credit history or negative status in financial databases, and lack of financial literacy or education.
These reasons reflect a combination of financial barriers, social factors, and institutional challenges that prevent people from having bank accounts.
