25Oct
Report Finds “Americans Further Behind in all Walks of Life”– How Fair Neobank Founder Khalid Parekh Aims to Solve This Disparity with Wealth Building Opportunities – Yahoo Finance

Parekh explains how banks & financial technology can help underserved populations build wealth after release of new national NPR poll

HOUSTON, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Khalid Parekh’s recent article in Fast Company magazine explains how his membership-driven bank Fair is offering solutions for underserved communities that usually pay excessive bank fees or even get completely pushed out of traditional banking services. He also explains how mission-driven neobanks like his are working to make real change for the better. With more than half of Americans lacking an adequate emergency fund, improved banking solutions could be a game changer for many.

Khalid Parekh, CEO & Founder of Fair Neobank

Many are still struggling despite billions of dollars in relief money from federal and state governments, according to the new research from NPR, the Robert Wood Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“What we have here is a lot of people who are still one step from drowning financially,” said Robert Blendon, emeritus professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard Chan School.

Findings from the NPR study include:

  • Thirty-eight percent of households across the nation report facing serious financial problems in the past few months.

  • Among Latino, Black and Native American households, more than 50% had serious financial problems, while 29% of white households did.

  • This disparity is echoed in many other poll findings, with the minority families bearing a disproportionate share of the pandemics’ socio-economic impact.

In his Fast Company article Parekh cites a Bankrate survey showing that Black and Hispanic respondents pay twice as much in banking fees as white respondents. He also explains how a 2019 Pew Research Center study shows that about 25% of Hispanic and Black Americans can only access the internet at home with their smartphones. Only 12% of white Americans are in the same situation.

Parekh also lists additional ways that Fair bank is designed to lift up underserved populations by offering:

  • Transparent membership with no overdraft fees, no balance minimums and no additional fees at a network of over 55,000 ATMs

  • A new wealth building investment feature that can return annual dividends of up to 4%

  • International money transfers with no additional fees

  • Debit cards for children included with membership

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    Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/report-finds-americans-further-behind-164800757.html