Opening a bank account is the first step towards financial inclusion and building long-term wealth. Yet nearly 9 million U.S. households are unbanked, meaning no person in the household holds a bank account. In addition, 25 million households are underbanked, meaning that they have a checking or savings account but also rely on alternative financial services (AFS) such as payday loans, pawnshop loans or check-cashing services to carry out every day financial transactions. These predatory financial products threaten unbanked and underbanked households with future financial insecurity.