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Unbanked Household Survey

Research Method

After reviewing available literature, I was unable to find a study that specifically

analyze how unbanked residents living in Boston are affected. Thus, for low- to

moderate-income families residing in Boston, my survey will attempt to:

1. Identify why households do not currently have an account with banks, credit

unions, or other mainstream financial institutions;

2. Identify the preferences of households that do that prefer to use alternative

financial services instead of banks, credit unions, or other mainstream financial

institutions;

3. Quantify the number of households that do not have a checking account;

4. Measure the cost that households incur in using alternative financial services;

5. Identify what types of financial services that respondents are using to currently

meet their financial needs;

6. Measure the households current financial stability as defined by their ability to

survive an unexpected personal financial crisis;

7. Identify whether or not respondents are currently utilizing asset-savings

mechanisms; and

8. For households that do not currently have a checking account, identify interest

in participating in a program designed to overcome barriers (real or perceived) in

accessing mainstream banking services.

At the end of the survey, for those individual families / households identified that

do not have a checking account, they will be asked if they would like to participate in a

future focus group in designing a program to overcome these barriers.

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Respondent Telephone #: _______________________________________________________________

Introduction 1. Hello, this is not a sales call. My name is <name>. May I have 30 seconds to tell you

why I am calling? WAIT FOR RESPONDENT TO ANSWER Yes 01 No 02 THANK AND TERMINATE CALL

2. My purpose is to talk to you about your opinions and attitudes toward the services provided by banks and other alternative financial institutions. Your responses will contribute to identify issues that concern us all. Everything that you say will be confidential. I am doing this for a research project at school. I do not work at a bank nor do I work for an alternative financial institution.

You have been randomly selected to participate in this project. While your participation is voluntary, I greatly value your opinions and they are vital to my project’s success. If we should come to any question you do not want to answer let me know and we will go on to the next question. This survey should take no more than X minutes of your time (to be determined after trial runs). Is it OK to continue? WAIT FOR RESPONDENT TO ANSWER

Yes 01 No 02 SCHEDULE AND/OR THANK AND TERMINATE CALL

Prescreen Questions 3. Are you 18 years or older?

Yes 01 GO TO Q4 No 02 GO TO Q3A

3A. May I speak with someone who lives at this house who is 18 years or older?

Yes 01 GO TO 1 No 02 THANK AND TERMINATE CALL

4. Where do you live?

Boston 01 Charlestown 02 Dorchester 03 East Boston 04 Hyde Park 05 Jamaica Plain 06 Mattapan 07 Roslindale 08 Roxbury 09 South Boston 10 West Roxbury 11 Other 12 THANK AND TERMINATE CALL

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5. Do you or does anyone in your immediate family work in the financial services industry?

Yes 01 THANK AND TERMINATE CALL No 02

6. Counting yourself, how many members of your household are 18 or older? __________________ 7. How many members of your household are under the age of 18? __________________________

Use of Banking / Alternative Financial Services 8. Do you currently have a checking account at any bank, credit union, or other financial

institution? Yes 01 GO TO 9 No 02 GO TO 8A

8A. Have you ever had a checking account?

Yes 01 No 02

9. IF THERE ARE OTHER MEMBERS IN RESPONDENT’S HOUSEHOLD THAT

ARE 18 YEARS OR OLDER. Do any members of your household who are 18 years or older currently have a checking account at any bank, credit union, or other financial institution?

Yes 01 GO TO 10 No 02 GO TO 9A

9A. Did any members of your household who are 18 years or older ever have a checking

account? Yes 01 No 02

10. Do you currently have a savings account at any bank, credit union, or other financial

institution? Yes 01 GO TO 11 No 02 GO TO 10A

10A. Have you ever had a savings account?

Yes 01 No 02

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11. IF THERE ARE OTHER MEMBERS IN RESPONDENT’S HOUSEHOLD THAT ARE 18 YEARS OR OLDER. Do any members of your household who are 18 years or older currently have a savings account at any bank, credit union, or other financial institution?

Yes 01 GO TO 12 No 02 GO TO 11A Don’t know 03 GO TO 12

11A. Did any members of your household who are 18 years or older ever have a savings

account? Yes 01 No 02 Don’t know 03

12. IF THERE ARE OTHER MEMBERS IN RESPONDENT’S HOUSEHOLD THAT

ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD. Do any members of your household who are under 18 years old currently have a savings account at any bank, credit union, or other financial institution?

Yes 01 No 02

13. Do you (or any other members of your household) have any (other) accounts at banks,

credit unions or financial institutions? These could be money market accounts, passbook accounts, share accounts, Christmas Club accounts, vacation club accounts, or any other type of savings account.

Yes 01 No 02

14. Are you a member of a neighborhood or community joint savings plan in which members

pool their savings together in order to make loans to other members? Yes 01 No 02

15. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to focus on where you go to deposit or cash the checks

that you get. Examples include checks that you may receive from your employer, the government, friends, rebates, etc.

Do you have direct deposit?

Yes 01 VALIDATION CHECK – MAKE SURE THEY SAID YES TO Q8 OR Q10 No 02

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15. I am going to read a list of places where you can cash your check. As I read each place, could you tell me whether or not you’ve cashed a check there during the past year:

ATM machine at a bank, credit union, or other financial institution

Yes (01) No (02) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (03) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (05) No (06) If yes, how much? ________ (07) Check cashing service Yes (08) No (09) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (10) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (11) No (12) If yes, how much? ________ (13) Drug Store Yes (14) No (15) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (16) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (17) No (18) If yes, how much? ________ (19) Employer Yes (20) No (21) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (22) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (23) No (24) If yes, how much? ________ (25) Friend or relative Yes (26) No (27) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (28) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (29) No (30) If yes, how much? ________ (31) Grocery store Yes (32) No (33) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (34) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (35) No (36) If yes, how much? ________ (37) Liquor store Yes (38) No (39) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (40) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (41) No (42) If yes, how much? ________ (43) Other retail store Yes (44) No (45) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (46) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (47) No (48) If yes, how much? ________ (49) Pawn shop Yes (50) No (51) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (52) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (53) No (54) If yes, how much? ________ (55) Teller at a bank, credit union, or other financial institution Yes (56) No (57) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?___ (58) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (59) No (60) If yes, how much? ________ (61) Was there a place I didn’t mention? (SPECIFY): _____________________________________ (62) How many times during the last 30 days? ________________________ (63) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (64) No (65) If yes, how much? ________ (66)

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16. I am going to read a list of ways that you can pay your bills. As I read each way, could you tell me whether or not you’ve used that method to pay your bills:

Automatic payment feature

Yes (01) No (02) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?______ (03) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (04) No (05) If yes, how much? ____________ (06) Cash Yes (07) No (08) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?______ (09) Check Yes (08) No (09) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?______ (10) If yes, do you pay a fee for each check written? Yes (11) No (12) If yes, how much? _____________________________________ ( 13) Money order Yes (14) No (15) If yes, how many times during the last 30 days?______ (16) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (17) No (18) If yes, how much? ____________ (19) If yes, where do you buy your money orders? __________________________ (20) Was there a place I didn’t mention? (SPECIFY): ___________________________________ (21) How many times during the last 30 days?_____________________________ (22) If yes, was there a fee? Yes (64) No (65) If yes, how much? ____________ (23)

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17. Using a scale from 1 to 7 where 1 is strongly agree and 7 is strongly disagree, please rate the following: READ LIST BEGINNING WITH “X1” – ORDER IN WHICH ITEMS IN LIST ARE READ IS RANDOMIZED FOR EACH RESPONDENT TO PREVENT ORDER BIAS

______ I trust banks with my money______________________________________________ (01) ______ Bank branches are conveniently located near me ______________________________ (02) ______ I have no need for bank services___________________________________________ (03) ______ Banking hours are convenient_____________________________________________ (04) ______ Checking accounts are easy to manage______________________________________ (05) ______ I don’t want anyone else to have records of how much money I have ______________ (06) ______ When I go to the bank, I feel that I am treated with respect ______________________ (07) ______ It is easy to communicate with the people who work at the bank__________________ (08) ______ I don’t have enough money to justify having a checking account _________________ (09) ______ It is easy for me to get a personal loan at the bank _____________________________ (10) ______ It is easy for me to maintain a minimum balance in my checking account to avoid paying additional service fees___________________________________________________ (11) ______ Bank service fees average $50 per year _____________________________________ (12) ______ Bank service fees are reasonable___________________________________________ (13) 18. About how many minutes from your home is the nearest bank, credit union, or financial

institution? _______________________________________________________________ 19. During the past 12 months, have you gotten a rapid refund on taxes?

Yes (01) GO TO 19A No (02) GO TO 20

19A. Did you pay an extra fee to receive your refund early?

Yes (01) No (02)

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20. IF THE RESPONDENT HAS A BANK ACCOUNT. What are the things you like about your bank account? DO NOT READ RESPONSES LISTED BELOW

It is easy (01) Nothing in particular (02) I can use direct deposit (03) It is safe (04) It has convenient office (or ATM) locations (05) It is inexpensive (06) The checks I deposit clear quickly (07) It is fast (08) The required balance is low (09) It is easy to use in my own language (10) Its branches are open during convenient hours (11) Refused to answer (12) Other _________________________________________________________________________

21. IF THE RESPONDENT HAS A BANK ACCOUNT. What are the things you do not

like about your bank account? DO NOT READ RESPONSES LISTED BELOW Nothing in particular (01) It is expensive (02) The bank requires a high balance to avoid fees (03) It is slow to operate (04) It has no convenient office (or ATM) locations (05) The checks I deposit clear slowly (06) It is not safe (at offices or ATMs) (07) The offices are not open during convenient hours (08) I can not operate bank account in my language (09) The bank requires me to use direct deposit (in order to have low fees or a free account) (10) It is difficult to operate (11) The bank does not offer all the services that I need (12) Refused to answer (13) Other ______________________________________________________________________

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22. IF THE RESPONDENT DOES NOT CURRENTLY HAVE A CHECKING ACCOUNT. Why don’t you have a checking account? DO NOT READ RESPONSES LISTED BELOW

The fees or costs too high (01) I do not have enough money to justify / make worthwhile (02) I do not need an account (03) Banks are not conveniently located (04) Bank hours are not convenient for me (05) Don’t want government to know how much money I have (06) Don’t want my money frozen / taken in event of divorce / lawsuit / judgment (07) I currently use another person’s account for my banking needs (08) I have problems managing an account (09) Poor credit history / turned down for a checking account (10) Don’t write enough checks to make it worthwhile (11) Minimum balance is too high (12) Don’t like dealing with banks (13) Refused to answer (14) Other ______________________________________________________________________

23. A “smart card” or EBT is a type of payment card containing a computer chip which is set

to hold a sum of money. As the card is used, purchases are subtracted from that sum. Do you or anyone in your family living here have any such cards that you can use for a variety of purchases?

Yes (01) No (02)

Financial Stability 24. Do you (or anyone in your household) have any money in mutual funds, stocks, bonds,

money market funds, certificates of deposits, government savings bonds, treasury bills, pensions, IRAs, or 401k / Keogh retirement savings plans or other financial investments?

Yes (01) No (02)

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25. Now we want to know how families get a loan in good times or in bad times. The following questions will help us to understand this.

In the event that you needed extra money for unexpected expenses, or you decided to

make an investment, would you get that money from READ EACH RESPONSE AND WAIT FOR AN ANSWER

Personal savings Yes (01) No (02) Family savings Yes (03) No (04) Gifts or loans from relatives Yes (05) No (06) Bank loan Yes (07) No (08) Private lenders Yes (09) No (10) Ethnic or community-based association Yes (11) No (12) Mortgage / home equity Yes (13) No (14) Gifts or loans from friends Yes (15) No (16) Rotating savings and credit associations Yes (17) No (18) Credit card Yes (19) No (20) Other (SPECIFY)_______________________________________________________________

26. In the last five years, have you (or in your household) suffered any personal setback that

caused financial difficulties? Yes (01) GO TO 26A No (02) GO TO 27

26A. What was this personal setback about? __________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 27. To make sure we have not left anything out, let me review some setbacks other people

have encountered that might cause financial difficulties. Please tell me if they apply to your case. READ EACH RESPONSE AND WAIT FOR AN ANSWER

Death of a family member Yes (01) No (02) Substantial unemployment Yes (03) No (04) Periods of unusually low income Yes (05) No (06) Illness Yes (07) No (08) Substantial increase in living expense (e.g. rent) Yes (09) No (10) Substantial increase in the number of dependents Yes (11) No (12) Bankruptcy Yes (13) No (14) Major theft Yes (15) No (16) Other (SPECIFY)_______________________________________________________________ None (17) GO TO Q30

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28. What steps did you take to deal with the situation? ________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 29. To make sure we have not left anything out, let me review some examples of what others

have done to deal with economic difficulties. Do any of these apply to you? For example READ EACH RESPONSE AND WAIT FOR AN ANSWER

Borrowed from banks or individual lenders Yes (01) No (02) Got gifts or assistance from relatives Yes (03) No (04) Borrowed from friends Yes (05) No (06) Got gifts or assistance from friends Yes (07) No (08) Borrowed from ethnic associations, formally or informally Yes (09) No (10) Used cash or household savings account Yes (11) No (12) Sold assets Yes (13) No (14) Worked harder / increased hours Yes (15) No (16) Got other job to tide over Yes (17) No (18) Reduced household consumption expenditures Yes (19) No (20) Delayed or failed to pay debts Yes (21) No (22) Used credit card Yes (23) No (24) Other (SPECIFY)_______________________________________________________________

30. Were you ever behind in your payments by two months or more?

Yes (01) No (02)

31. Which of the following three statements comes closest to describing your saving habits?

Don’t save (01) Save whatever is left over at the end of the month (02) Save regularly by putting money aside each month (03)

32. In an emergency, could you get financial assistance of $3,000 or more from any friends

or relatives who do not live with you? Yes (01) No (02)

33. Have you or any other member of your household ever filed for bankruptcy?

Yes (01) No (02)

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Demographics 34. These last few questions are for statistical purposes only. Are you currently married, living with a partner, widowed, divorced, separated, or have

you never been married? Married (01) Living with a partner (02) Widowed (03) Divorced (04) Separated (05) Never married (06) Refused to answer (07)

35. In what month were you born?

January (01) February (02) March (03) April (04) May (05) June (06) July (07) August (08) September (09) October (10) November (11) December (12)

35. What year were you born?_________________________________________________________ 36. In what city and state were you born? IF FOREIGN-BORN, RECORD COUNTRY

AND GO TO Q36A _____________________________________________________________ 36A. How many years have you lived in the States? _________________________________________ 37. How would you describe your specific ethnic or national background?

White or Caucasian (01) Black or African American (02) Asian or Pacific Islander (03) Native American or Alaskan native (04) Hispanic / Latino / Chicano (05) Other (SPECIFY)____________________________________________________________

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39. What is the highest degree that you have received? No degree received (00) High school diploma or equivalent (01) Associate / Junior College (02) Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Science (03) Master’s Degree (MA, MBA, MS, MSW) (04) Doctoral Degree (PhD) (05) Professional Degree (MD, LLD, DDS) (06) Other (SPECIFY)____________________________________________________________

40. IF RESPONDENT HAS A PARTNER / SPOUSE. In what month was your (partner /

spouse) born? January (01) February (02) March (03) April (04) May (05) June (06) July (07) August (08) September (09) October (10) November (11) December (12)

41. IF RESPONDENT HAS A PARTNER / SPOUSE. What year was your (partner /

spouse) born? _______________________________________________________________ 42. IF RESPONDENT HAS A PARTNER / SPOUSE. In what city and state were you

born? IF FOREIGN-BORN, RECORD COUNTRY AND GO TO Q42A ________________ 42A. How many years has your (partner / spouse) lived in the States? __________________________ 43. IF RESPONDENT HAS A PARTNER / SPOUSE. How would you describe your

(partner’s or spouse’s) specific ethnic or national background? White or Caucasian (01) Black or African American (02) Asian or Pacific Islander (03) Native American or Alaskan native (04) Hispanic / Latino / Chicano (05) Other (SPECIFY)____________________________________________________________

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44. IF RESPONDENT HAS A PARTNER / SPOUSE. What is the highest degree that your (partner or spouse) has received?

No degree received (00) High school diploma or equivalent (01) Associate / Junior College (02) Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Science (03) Master’s Degree (MA, MBA, MS, MSW) (04) Doctoral Degree (PhD) (05) Professional Degree (MD, LLD, DDS) (06) Other (SPECIFY)____________________________________________________________

45. How many members of your household, including yourself, contribute to household

expenses? 46. What was your total household income – from all sources – for 2002, before taxes or any

other deductions. IF RESPONDENT DOES ANSWERS, SKIP TO Q48_________________?

47. Taken altogether, would you estimate that your total household income from all sources

last year was $0 to $19,999 (01) GO TO 47A $20,000 to $39,999 (02) GO TO 47B $40,000 to $74,999 (03) GO TO 47C $75,000 or more (04) GO TO 47D

47A. Would you say then that your total household income for 2002 was

$0 to $9,999 (01) GO TO 48 $10,000 to $14,999 (02) GO TO 48 $15,000 to $19,999 (03) GO TO 48

47B. Would you say then that your total household income for 2002 was

$20,000 to $24,999 (01) GO TO 48 $25,000 to $29,999 (02) GO TO 48 $30,000 to $34,999 (03) GO TO 48 $35,000 to $39,999 (04) GO TO 48

47C. Would you say then that your total household income for 2002 was

$40,000 to $44,999 (01) GO TO 48 $45,000 to $49,999 (02) GO TO 48 $50,000 to $59,999 (03) GO TO 48 $60,000 to $74,999 (04) GO TO 48

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47D. Would you say then that your total household income for 2002 was $75,000 to $99,999 (01) GO TO 48 $100,000 to $124,999 (02) GO TO 48 $125,000 to $149,999 (03) GO TO 48 $150,000 to $199,999 (04) GO TO 48 $200,000 or more (05) GO TO 48

48. IF RESPONDENT DOES NOT HAVE A CURRENT CHECKING ACCOUNT.

Would you be interested in participating in a future survey that examines potential solutions to overcoming some of the barriers that we have discussed in establishing a checking account with a bank, credit union, or other financial institution?

yes (01) no (02)

Thank you for participating. RESPONDENT NAME: ________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP: ____________________________________________________________________ TELEPHONE: ________________________________________________________________________