Beyond broadband: The link between digital access and financial well-being

Digital access has become inseparable from financial access, yet the digital divide (or the gap between those who have safe and reliable access to the internet and those who do not) threatens to deepen existing inequalities. As banks close physical branches and move services online, individuals without reliable internet service, smartphones, or digital skills encounter new barriers. Low- and moderate-income households with bank accounts but no dependable internet connection may struggle to avoid overdraft fees through real-time account monitoring or to easily access digital tools that make financial management more efficient and less costly. For the millions of Americans navigating both barriers simultaneously (4.2 percent of Americans are unbanked and five percent lack access to the internet), these challenges are interconnected obstacles to economic stability. However, digital access also offers transformative opportunities for building financial well-being, such as mobile banking that reaches underserved rural communities, budgeting apps that help people save automatically, and online credit options to smooth costs and address financial emergencies.