PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the world watched the U.S. Presidential election come to a conclusion on Tuesday, a new MasterCard (NYSE:MA) survey confirms the economy, health care, and taxes remain top of mind for Americans.
But the findings also uncovered an outlier: when the 1,000 plus Americans surveyed learned that as many as 88 million Americans* lack access to basic financial services including a traditional savings or checking account or access to credit, two-thirds said it’s an issue to be addressed.
When asked how financial inclusion would factor in determining their vote, about one-third of Americans interviewed said it would be important. The vote importance is higher among males ages 18-54 with 41% stating that financial inclusion would be important as well as unmarried Americans (single, never married, divorced, separated and widowed) with 42% considering the issue important. Interestingly, the survey found no difference in opinion on financial inclusion as a voting issue by income level.
“Lack of access to the global economy excludes people from being able to buy goods and services, to borrow and save, or to invest in their future,” said Walt Macnee, vice chairman, MasterCard Worldwide. “It is important to advance the dialogue between public, private and government entities in order to ensure that 2.5 billion** people who are unbanked globally have the same services as those in the financial mainstream.”
In an effort to advance a public-private dialogue on the issue, MasterCard is hosting a Financial Inclusion Dialogue as part of its Cashless Conversations Series on November 13th. The Company will convene experts across financial services, non-governmental organizations – including The World Bank, academia and other key stakeholders to discuss strategies and share best practices for increasing financial inclusion.
The cashless conversation will evaluate the progress in developing new business models as well as products and partnerships to reach the “last mile” toward reaching the 2.5 billion adults in the U.S. and around the globe currently underserved by traditional financial services.
To follow the dialogue, follow @MasterCardNews on Twitter: #CashlessConvo #FinancialInclusion. An edited version of the dialogue will be available on November 14 as part of MasterCard’s Morning Brew news series.
* KPMG 20122 -
http://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/serving-underserved-market.pdf
**World Bank August, 2012 -
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/FINANCIALSECTOR/Resources/General_Guidelines_Govt_Payment_Aug2012.pdf
Survey Methodology
A nationally-representative online survey was conducted among 1,034 adults in the United States from October 23-25, 2012. This American Financial Inclusion survey is sponsored by MasterCard Worldwide and was conducted by APCO Insight, an international opinion research consultancy. The theoretical sampling error for the full sample is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence interval. Data have been weighted according to key demographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau.
About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a global payments and technology company. It operates the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow MasterCard on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news.