Center for the Study of Financial Access for Immigrants

Financial access — knowing what one's financial options are and having products and services to choose from — is closely linked to economic prosperity. The success of today's immigrants — who come to the United States largely seeking to improve their own prospects for prosperity — depends on their access to mainstream financial institutions that can help them save money, buy homes, access credit, start businesses and otherwise build wealth. As immigrant settlement has become a widespread phenomenon across the United States, more communities are concerned with the prospects for their full social and economic integration. Financial Access for Immigrants: Lessons from Diverse Perspectives presents new research on the financial practices of immigrants, describes both industry approaches to reaching the immigrant market and community innovations in moving immigrants into the financial mainstream. (PDF 4,352KB)

Executive Summary (PDF, 94KB)

Center for the Study of Financial Access for Immigrants

A key measure of success for the millions of immigrants who come to the U.S. seeking economic security for themselves and their children is the extent to which they participate in the U.S. financial services market. The degree to which immigrants make use of mainstream financial services is also an important indicator of how successful we, as a society, have been in profiting from the ambition and hopes that bring many immigrants to the U.S. The mission of the Center for the Study of Financial Access for Immigrants is to remove barriers to achieving these individual and societal goals through three related activities:

• producing, disseminating, and encouraging research that adds to our understanding of the key determinants of the financial behavior of immigrants;
• providing forums where bankers, policymakers, researchers, advocates and other interested parties can share ideas, best practices and innovative approaches to overcoming barriers to immigrant financial market participation; and
• documenting and publishing key findings, innovations, trends, practices, and policies that enhance financial market access for immigrants.