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21/08/2009 -
The recession and consequent credit crunch has pushed many business and consumers to the brink of bankruptcy. Yet for many people, these problems have been a way of life far before the recession began, with studies estimating that millions of Canadians are what is considered "unbanked," meaning they do not have - and generally cannot get approved for - bank accounts and lines of credit.
For these consumers - in an increasingly digital, credit card-dominated world - this can make even everyday purchases very difficult.
In response, many banks have started to increase their outreach programs to the unbanked population, by holding financial education seminars and offering prepaid credit card programs.
"The unbanked and underbanked consumer population presents an expanding market opportunity for financial services institutions, particularly in today's economic environment," said Zaydoon H. Munir, senior vice president of Experian.
In addition to this increased attention given to the unbanked population, there is reason to believe that the number of unbanked persons is only going to rise due to the hardships of the recession.
Both of those factors make it particularly important for businesses to have a wide range of payment processing options, as the growing number of unbanked consumers using prepaid credit cards represents a large portion of potential sales.
