un·der·banked
ˌən-dər-ˈbaŋ(k)t 
: not using or having access to a full range of banking options
[The survey] also measures how many households are underbanked, meaning they have a bank account but look outside the banking system to meet transaction or credit needs.—
FDIC
FDICWorkers who live from paycheck to paycheck can easily slide from the traditional banking world to the underbanked world and then to the unbanked.—Mikki Kendall
Mikki Kendall
: a person or group of people who do not utilize or have access to a full range of banking options
As online transactions become ubiquitous, life has become more challenging for those who rely on cash: the unbanked, those who don't or can't access banking and financial services, and the underbanked, those who don't make full use of such services.—Jackie Benton
Jackie BentonNow he [Michael Broughton, CEO of Altro] wants to empower the underbanked, and eventually folks without any bank account at all, to have more financial power.—Sara Bloomberg
Sara BloombergExamples of underbanked in a Sentence
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Jayant Walia, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The people who have benefited most from the infrastructure for electronic transactions are low-income Americans who are unbanked or underbanked.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2025
But considering that many global citizens remain unbanked or underbanked, this technology could be more complementary than competitive with traditional banking in the medium term.
—Boaz Sobrado, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
By connecting rural banks to the existing instant digital payment system, the cost of transactions will be lowered, which will allow these institutions to serve more of the underbanked population while mitigating the existing single point of failure in digital infrastructure.
—Jamey Butcher, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
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Adjective
For example, consider Revolut’s focus on competitive foreign exchange rates, Chime’s early direct deposit and no-fee overdraft and CashApp’s peer-to-peer service that focuses on the underbanked segment.
—Jayant Walia, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The people who have benefited most from the infrastructure for electronic transactions are low-income Americans who are unbanked or underbanked.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2025
But considering that many global citizens remain unbanked or underbanked, this technology could be more complementary than competitive with traditional banking in the medium term.
—Boaz Sobrado, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
By connecting rural banks to the existing instant digital payment system, the cost of transactions will be lowered, which will allow these institutions to serve more of the underbanked population while mitigating the existing single point of failure in digital infrastructure.
—Jamey Butcher, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underbanked
Cite this Entry
“Underbanked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbanked. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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