New report on financial needs of low-income individuals

Between December 2010 and March 2011, AccountAbility Minnesota and the Improve Group convened more than 150 Minnesotans with low to moderate-incomes to learn about their needs for and the impact that financial services has on their lives.

Our goal was threefold:

1. To assess the financial planning and service needs, practices and experiences of low- to moderate-income individuals based on the experiences of AccountAbility Minnesota customers and existing research.

2. To assess the strengths and gaps of existing financial products and services provided by mainstream financial institutions compared to those provided through Alternative Financial Services3 (AFS) for low- to moderate-income individuals based on the experiences of AccountAbility Minnesota customers and existing research.

3. To develop and/or refine strategies, tactics and/or services for improving the financial well-being and long-term asset accumulation for low- to moderate- income AccountAbility Minnesota customers.

Read what we learned:

Full report:  "Unbanked to Assets:  Meeting the financial needs of low-income Minnesotans"

Two-pager:  Summary of evaluation and findings