The underbanked are people or businesses that have poor access to mainstream financial services normally offered by retail banks. The underbanked can be characterized by a strong reliance on non-traditional forms of finance and micro-finance often associated with disadvantaged and the poor, such as cheque cashers, loan sharks and pawnbrokers.
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Many people who are classified as underbanked may also refer to those who have language barrier such as migrant workers, unable to access to banking facilities due to distance such as the elderly people, or simply feel uncomfortable using Automated Teller Machines.
The underbanked are a distinct group from the unbanked, who are characterized by having no banking facilities at all.
Distribution
Small countries have less banking provision than large countries, even allowing for the smaller size of their economies.
Remediation
There are many microfinance initiatives such as the Grameen Bank which aim to improve the provision of banking and financial services to poor communities.