We have the banked, the unbanked and now,
according to Aite Group, it is time to look at another customer
segment – the debanked.
The debanked is the segment of customers who
already have a bank account, but no longer are satisfied with the
services they receive from banks. One key characteristic of the
debanked is that they ditch traditional banking services not
because they have to, but because they want to.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The debanked therefore represent a major
market opportunity for prepaid and alternative debit card providers
such as Green Dot, NetSpend and even retail chains like Walmart,
says the latest Aite Group report.
The emergence of the debanked is no wonder: On
the one hand, alternative banking and/or payment service providers
have been on the rise for a few years now, and new start ups
continue to emerge. Just think of Square, PayPal, Google
Wallet.
On the other hand, the Durbin Amendment and
banks’ reaction to it has caused outrage among some consumers, a
great chunk of which have already abandoned their banks and
switched to smaller, more local credit unions.
Ron Shevlin, senior analyst at Aite Group and
co-author of the report said:
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“While the unbanked are often misperceived as
disadvantaged consumers living outside mainstream society, the
Debanked are anything but underprivileged. Furthermore, convincing
the debanked to use prepaid debit cards shouldn’t require a lot of
education or persuasion. The debanked are already highly satisfied
and frequent users of this product.”
The findings are based on the responses of 500
US consumers who use alternative financial services. They were
surveyed between February and March 2011, about half a year before
the Durbin Amendment came into power.
