The Financial Credit Profifile of Low-Income Families Seeking Assets

Individual Development Account (IDA) participants need strong credit histories to access affordable credit for their IDA asset purchase … Compared to national IDA participants, participants in this study had higher incomes, were more educated, and had a higher rate of being “banked.” … However, participants also utilize higher-cost alternative financial services, such as payday lenders and pawnshops, at similar rates to other low-income families and are beginning their IDA programs with low credit scores and poor credit history.