The strong performance of the United States in the Global Financial Inclusion Index can be attributed to its excellent scores in the financial system support and employer support pillars.
Note: Below is a featured insight from the 2022 Global Financial Inclusion Index.
The strong performance of the United States in the Index, ranking second out of all 42 markets, can be attributed to its excellent scores in the financial system support and employer support pillars, at 76.7 and 81.3 for each pillar respectively. The U.S. ranks second for employer support while securing the top spot for financial inclusion support provided by the financial system.
For the financial system support pillar, the market’s performance is remarkable: The world’s largest economy attains scores of above 90 for five out of the seven indicators. In particular, the U.S. leads all markets in the enabler of SME growth and success indicator—which tracks business sentiment on whether a market’s financial system enables small and midsize businesses to thrive—showcasing the optimism surrounding the U.S. financial system.
Other indicators where the U.S. scored exceptionally well include the ease of access to credit, borrowers’ and lenders’ protection rights, access to bank accounts, and the quality of and developments in the fintech space. Nonetheless, the U.S. performs far below average in the use of real-time payments indicator, with a score of just 3.6, ranking 25th. Though the U.S. saw approximately 1.2 billion real-time transactions in 2020, it’s a market that remains almost completely untapped, and this is reflected in its low score when adjusting for population size.
The U.S. also is a leader in employer support, with scores of at least 70 in each of the pillar’s four indicators. A key driver for its overall second place ranking is its score in the employee pension contributions indicator (88.2), ranking first across all markets analyzed.
In particular, pension contributions by U.S. firms/organizations amounted to, on average, 9.6% of wages, based on results from the bespoke survey conducted, second only to China, where the corresponding figure stood at 11.6%. Moreover, a majority of U.S. firms’ (57.4%) pension/retirement contributions were above government-mandated levels, further fueling the market’s strong performance in the indicator.
Nonetheless, the U.S. misses out on the top spot in the Index due to its score in the government support pillar. Its score of 56.9 is the lowest among the markets in the top 10 of the Index. This is partly fueled by the market’s poor score in the complexity of corporate taxation systems indicator, where it scored 30.1 and ranked 32. Given the well-documented inefficiencies that affect the U.S. taxation system, its weak score is not surprising. Other indicators which fueled the low government support score include the state of public pensions and online connectivity indicators, where the U.S. registered scores of just 49.9 (17th) and 53.9 (eighth) respectively.
Deep dive on population perception of financial inclusion in the U.S.
Whilst the U.S. performs strongly in the Global Financial Inclusion Index (ranking second overall) and its population generally feels financially included (ranking 10th in the consumer survey), this Index explores at a deeper level the degree to which different demographics experience financial inclusion across the country.
To supplement the data relating to different demographic groups in the U.S., a further survey ascertains the extent to which people from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds feel financially included.
As this data was gathered three months later (May 2022) than the data which forms the basis of the consumer financial inclusion global rankings—during which time financial markets and household finances were significantly impacted by rapidly rising inflation and the war in Ukraine—the data sets have not been combined. Instead, the demographic analysis is derived from a standalone data set. The numbers in this section, therefore, do not correspond to the number used in the overall Consumer Financial Inclusion ranking and are used solely to enable comparisons within the U.S. and establish broad racial, gender, and socioeconomic trends. This separate study surveys over 2,000 household financial decision makers in the U.S.
Below are some of the key findings from the U.S. survey:
Key finding No. 1
Women feel they have less access to financial products, tools, services, and safeguards than men.
For the vast majority of indicators analyzed, women feel they have significantly less access than men. There are two exceptions—access to bank accounts and access to online banking—and, even then, the margin is mere percentage points.
The most notable gaps include:
- Confident they could get a mortgage:
- 44% of women
- 60% of men
- Feel they have sufficient access to financial education:
- 48% of women
- 60% of men
- Say they have sufficient access to affordable loans/debt products:
- 46% of women
- 64% of men
- Feel they’d be able to quickly withdraw money from retirement savings for emergencies:
- 50% of women
- 63% of men
- Feel they have sufficient access to affordable professional financial advice and planning:
- 49% of women
- 63% of men
- Are confident in their ability to get a job:
- 59% of women
- 69% of men
- Think there’s opportunity to earn a fair wage:
- 50% of women
- 62% of men
- Feel they are adequately protected against fraud and financial abuse:
- 47% of women
- 60% of men
The following table provides the percentages of those who responded positively to the questions:
- How sufficient, if at all, is the access you have to the following financial products, tools, and services?
- To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements “In my market there is/are…”
- How easy would you say is it to set up the following in your market?
| Men | Women | |
| Understanding and paying my taxes | 68% | 66% |
|---|---|---|
| The ability to quickly withdraw money from my retirement savings for emergencies | 63% | 50% |
| The ability to easily make domestic payments and transactions | 73% | 69% |
| Staying on top of my savings | 68% | 59% |
| Stability in the cost of living | 50% | 30% |
| Setting up Tax-incentivised Retirement Accounts | 51% | 37% |
| Safeguards to ensure my financial data is protected and private | 61% | 52% |
| Protection against fraud and financial abuse | 60% | 47% |
| Managing income & expenditure | 69% | 64% |
| Affordable education | 54% | 41% |
| Access to online banking | 78% | 81% |
| Access to government-run guaranteed income programs for retirement | 59% | 41% |
| Access to easy to use online financial services | 69% | 64% |
| Access to affordable professional financial advice and planning | 63% | 49% |
| Access to affordable and comprehensive insurance protection | 68% | 61% |
| Ability to get a mortgage | 60% | 44% |
| Setting up Tax-Incentivised Investment Accounts | 50% | 35% |
| A fair tax system | 50% | 31% |
| Access to a bank account | 79% | 81% |
| Access to affordable debt products | 64% | 46% |
| Access to budgeting advice | 65% | 54% |
| Access to financial education | 60% | 48% |
| Access to investment products | 66% | 49% |
| Access to retirement planning | 61% | 49% |
| Managing household bills | 73% | 71% |
| Managing debt | 66% | 58% |
| Regulatory protection against uncompetitive business practices | 56% | 39% |
| Setting up insurance products | 56% | 53% |
| Setting up Tax-incentivised Savings Accounts | 52% | 36% |
| Staying on top of my retirement plan/pension | 61% | 49% |
| The ability to earn a fair wage | 62% | 50% |
| The ability to get a job | 69% | 59% |
| The ability to securely make e-commerce transactions | 64% | 46% |
Key finding No. 2
Black and Hispanic communities in the U.S. find it harder than white communities to access financial products, tools, services and advice.
- Find managing their income and expenditure achievable:
- 59% of Hispanic respondents
- 60% of Black respondents
- 70% of white respondents
- Say it’s sufficiently easy to get access to a bank account:
- 69% of Hispanic respondents
- 74% of Black respondents
- 85% of white respondents
- Say they have good access to digital services (online banking):
- 69% of Hispanic respondents
- 72% of Black respondents
- 83% of white respondents
- Think getting a job is achievable:
- 63% of Hispanic respondents
- 61% of Black respondents
- 65% of white respondents
- Find it easy to understand and pay their taxes:
- 61% of Hispanic respondents
- 62% of Black respondents
- 69% of white respondents
The following table provides the percentages of those who responded positively to the questions:
- How sufficient, if at all, is the access you have to the following financial products, tools, and services?
- To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements “In my market there is/are…”
| White | Black or African American | Hispanic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting up Tax-Incentivised Investment Accounts | 42% | 43% | 47% |
| Setting up Tax-incentivised Savings Accounts | 45% | 45% | 43% |
| The ability to earn a fair wage | 56% | 57% | 55% |
| Protection against fraud and financial abuse | 54% | 57% | 54% |
| Safeguards to ensure my financial data is protected and private | 57% | 60% | 55% |
| Access to budgeting advice | 60% | 63% | 57% |
| Access to easy to use online financial services | 70% | 60% | 59% |
| Managing debt | 63% | 63% | 57% |
| The ability to quickly withdraw money from retirement savings for emergencies | 55% | 58% | 61% |
| The ability to easily make domestic payments and transactions | 55% | 58% | 51% |
| Ability to get a mortgage | 53% | 51% | 52% |
| Staying on top of my retirement plan/pension | 57% | 55% | 54% |
| Access to affordable and comprehensive insurance protection | 67% | 66% | 58% |
| Access to a bank account | 85% | 74% | 69% |
| Access to online banking | 85% | 74% | 69% |
| Access to retirement planning | 56% | 56% | 51% |
| Access to affordable debt products | 55% | 54% | 53% |
| Access to investment products | 59% | 56% | 56% |
| Staying on top of my savings | 64% | 64% | 63% |
| Managing income & expenditure | 70% | 60% | 59% |
| Managing household bills | 75% | 65% | 66% |
| Access to affordable professional financial advice | 56% | 61% | 55% |
| Understanding and paying my taxes | 69% | 62% | 61% |
| The ability to securely make e-commerce transactions | 56% | 56% | 55% |
| The ability to get a job | 65% | 61% | 63% |
| Access to government-run guaranteed income programmes for retirement | 50% | 49% | 56% |
| Setting up Tax-incentivised Retirement Accounts | 45% | 44% | 45% |
| Setting up insurance products | 59% | 54% | 43% |
Key finding No. 3
People in full-time employment feel they have better access to financial support than those who work part-time.
- Feel they have sufficient access to the products and services provided by the government, the financial system, and their employer:
- 65% of full-time workers
- 53% of part-time workers
- 41% of unemployed respondents
- Feel they have sufficient access to affordable debt products:
- 66% of full-time workers
- 35% of unemployed respondents
- Feel they have good access to financial education:
- 44% of unemployed respondents
- 63% of full-time workers
- 55% of part-time workers
- Say they have sufficient access to retirement planning services:
- 68% of full-time workers
- 46% of part-time workers
- Say they have sufficient access to tax incentivized savings and investment accounts:
- 50% of full-time workers
- 39% of part-time workers
- Feel they can easily get a mortgage:
- 66% of full-time workers
- 46% of part-time workers
Those who work part time, and who are therefore more likely to be part of an informal or freelance economy, report substandard access to retirement, savings and investment products. The statistics regarding those who are unemployed are substantially lower.
- Say they have sufficient access to retirement planning services:
- 68% of full-time workers
- 46% of part-time workers
- Say they have sufficient access to tax incentivized savings and investment accounts:
- 50% of full-time workers
- 39% of part-time workers
- Feel they can easily get a mortgage:
- 66% of full-time workers
- 46% of part-time workers
Those who work part time, and who are therefore more likely to be part of an informal or freelance economy, report substandard access to retirement, savings and investment products. The statistics regarding those who are unemployed are substantially lower.
The following table provides the percentages of those who responded positively to the question:
- How sufficient, if at all, is the access you have to the following financial products, tools, and services?
- To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements “In my market there is/are...”
- How easy would you say is it to set up the following in your market?
| Work full time | work part time | Unemployed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The ability to earn a fair wage | 63% | 53% | 45% |
| The ability to get a job | 73% | 62% | 50% |
| Access to financial education | 63% | 55% | 44% |
| Access to affordable and comprehensive insurance protection | 71% | 60% | 43% |
| Access to online banking | 82% | 73% | 63% |
| Access to a bank account | 84% | 75% | 61% |
| Access to affordable debt products | 66% | 48% | 35% |
| Ability to get a mortgage | 66% | 46% | 30% |
| Setting up Tax-Incentivised Investment Accounts | 53% | 39% | 27% |
| Setting up Tax-incentivised Retirement Accounts | 54% | 36% | 28% |
| Setting up Tax-incentivised Savings Accounts | 54% | 39% | 31% |
To read more Index insights or the full report, see Data and Resources.
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