Harnessing Technology to Increase Savings of Lower-Income Households
Saving is difficult for households across income levels, but it is more difficult for low-income households that have less money to set aside and lower access to savings vehicles. Institutional barriers can keep low-income households from accessing savings mechanisms, but technology that is readily accessible on mobile devices may reduce those barriers and enable access. As an introduction to the potential utility and benefits of these technologies for promoting saving within asset-building programs, this brief describes the efforts of four organizations that incorporated technology into their matched-savings programs and one that serves such organizations with assistive software. We found that technology was used for three purposes: (1) to increase access to account information and support (access), (2) to provide motivation/nudges designed to change behavior (behavior), and (3) to simplify the process of enrolling in a matched-saving program (simplification). Four of the five organizations aimed to increase access to savings account information or resources. Three used their tech to provide behavioral prompts to keep savers on track. Two pursued two of the three purposes: one incorporated technology to increase access and motivate savings behavior, while another worked to increase access and simplify the steps from enrollment to saving. Only one program used technology to pursue all three aims. Technology solutions seem promising for helping low-income households overcome barriers to saving.