Payments, credit, and savings: the experience for LMI households

The Payment Cards Center and the Community Affairs Department invited Michael Barr, University of Michigan Law School and faculty investigator for the 2005-2006 Detroit Area Study (DAS), to collaborate in organizing a conference, ?Payments, Credit, and Savings: The Experience for LMI Households,? held May 21-22, 2007, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. This year?s DAS survey was designed to gain a better understanding of 1) how and why LMI households use a wide array of financial services as well as the costs and benefits of such services and 2) how LMI households would respond to new types of cost-effective financial products specifically tailored to their needs. This conference brought together viewpoints from the financial services industry, academic community, consumer and community development organizations, and federal and state regulatory agencies to consider data and early findings from the 2005-2006 DAS in three main areas: making payments, accessing credit, and accumulating savings. The conference discussion emphasized both the challenges and opportunities for consumers, private-sector financial services providers, and regulators in moving toward a more inclusive financial system.