How can banks better serve people with disabilities, and why the time is now

With equity-centered design, banks can help elevate the financial well-being of people with disabilities—a growing segment of the US and global population. Deloitte research has identified areas where banks can make a significant impact in serving their needs.

Share by email

How can banks better serve people with disabilities, and why the time is now

by

Jonathan Valenti
Courtney Davis
Val Srinivas
Richa Wadhwani

Share by email

Click here to download the full report.

People with disabilities are a large and diverse community. One in four adults in the United States has a disability, totaling 67 million people¹—and counting, as the US population ages and chronic conditions among the nonelderly are becoming more common.²

Learn more

For many people with disabilities, financial insecurity can compound the challenges they face. As of 2021, the median earnings for people with disabilities were more than 37% lower than people without a disability.³ Also, people with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed than people without a disability,⁴ and the poverty rate among people with disabilities is two times higher.⁵

To understand the challenges people with disabilities may face in their banking experiences and what banks can consider to better serve their needs, the Deloitte Center for Financial Services conducted a survey of 1,000 people with disabilities and 1,000 caregivers in May and June 2022. Our research shows that, by adopting an equity-centered design philosophy and channeling the experiences, sensibilities, and perspectives of their employees with disabilities and their allies, banks can create more targeted products and more customer-friendly experiences. Here’s what they can do:

Elevate financial well-being with innovative products and tools

People with disabilities are often hit by a double whammy of higher expenses and lower income. Our survey shows nearly half (42%) of respondents with a disability struggle to pay their health care and living costs. For many of these respondents, long-term goals such as saving for retirement, investing money, or taking out a mortgage to buy a home do not feature among their top goals.

Banks can play a key role in helping people with disabilities save more and improve their financial well-being. In addition to tailoring their existing products to better serve this population, banks can collaborate with health care providers to expand their debit and credit card offers to reward spending on health care.⁶ They could also offer personal financial management tools tailored to people with disabilities, and look for ways to bolster the financial well-being of their caregivers.

Empower through information and advice

Financial empowerment is not likely to happen without financial knowledge. Take ABLE accounts, for instance: Nearly three-quarters of respondents with disabilities in our survey are not aware of ABLE accounts, let alone their eligibility as a beneficiary of one (figure 1).

Banks have an opportunity to amplify their financial literacy programs for people with disabilities and their caregivers. Currently, 54% of respondents with disabilities in our survey consider banks to be their go-to source of information for most things related to financial well-being. This ranks higher than other institutions, including government agencies or insurance, or wealth management companies. Enabling financial knowledge through digital channels should be a key priority to help maximize reach, and also minimize costs. Banks can work on demonstrating greater empathy and deliver more personalization by making the day-to-day customer interactions at the branch or via the call center more “human.”

Provide easier access to credit

The need for emergency funds can be more acute among people with disabilities given their economic profile and health conditions. People with disabilities also face credit discrimination. A 2022 study by the National Fair Housing Alliance suggests that more than one-half of housing discrimination complaints filed in 2021 across different interactions, including rental, real estate sales, mortgage lending, housing-related insurance and appraisal, and marketing, among others, were based on a disability.⁷

Banks can help alleviate their credit woes by offering innovative credit products and flexible pricing. They can consider offering health care-related loans that incorporate elements of micro loans or buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) loans, such as instant credit and flexible payment terms. Introducing credit products that enable borrowers to pay with their disability income. In addition, banks can look for more creative solutions that promote affordable and accessible lending.

Design more accessible banking experiences

In our survey, only 8% of respondents with a disability said bank branches and ATMs provide the most accessible in-person experiences, compared to 24% of respondents who said hospitals and health care facilities were most accessible. Similarly, hybrid devices that have both physical and digital features can be challenging. ATM screens, self-service kiosks,⁸ and video-conferencing screens may not be designed to accommodate all people with disabilities.

What can banks do to address these challenges? They can redesign physical spaces and use assistive technologies to facilitate easy movement and better access. They can also make digital banking channels more accessible, such as by customizing the font or design, offering text alternatives for people who cannot see images or colors, and offering keyboard support for people who cannot use a mouse, for example. Much of banks’ progress in improving accessibility will depend on how well they embrace emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR).

Banks should also consider working with third-party organizations committed to sustaining the future of people with disabilities in local communities, and public and private entities, including bigtechs and fintechs to adopt new technologies.

It all starts with adopting an equity-centered design philosophy. This will help banks curate products and experiences that could not only benefit people with disabilities, but also have a spillover effect,⁹ elevating banking experiences for all … products and experiences that people can truly “bank” on.

Interested in a deep dive? Download the full report to explore our in-depth analysis.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Disability impacts all of us,” January 5, 2023.View in Article
Tara O'Neill Hayes and Serena Gillian, “Chronic disease in the United States: A worsening health and economic crisis,” American Action Forum, September 10, 2020.
View in Article
US Census Bureau, “Median earnings in the past 12 months,” February 2022.View in Article
Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Persons with a disability: labor force characteristics—2022,” press release, February 24, 2022.View in Article
John Creamer et al., Poverty in the United States: 2021, US Census Bureau, September 13, 2022.View in Article
Karla Denis, “Understanding health savings accounts their advantages,” Forbes, December 9, 2022.
View in Article
Lindsay Augustine et al., 2022 Fair Housing Trends Report, National Fair Housing Alliance, accessed March 28, 2023.
View in Article
Katie Deighton, “Disabled shoppers struggle with inaccessible self-checkouts,” Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2022.
View in Article
Brenna Sniderman et al., A rising tide lifts all boats, Deloitte Insights, January 18, 2022.

View in Article

The authors wish to thank Shivalik Srivastav for his contributions toward research, data analysis, and overall development of this report. The Center would also like to thank the following Deloitte subject matter specialists for their insights in shaping this report: Ryan Walters and Tara Buffi from the Deloitte People with Disabilities and Allies community; Jay Bhatt, Nicole Kelm, and Wendy Gerhardt from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and Deloitte Health Equity Institute; Sam Friedman, Jill Gregorie, Paul Kaiser, and Patricia Danielecki from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services; Nick Cowell and Julius Tapper from Deloitte Digital; Alec Roberts and the Deloitte Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Institute; and Neil Blefeld and Arjun Sharma from Azure.

Deloitte’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Consulting services change the world by taking a systematic approach to help organizations access and engage a more diverse workforce; build inclusive leadership capabilities; foster a culture of belonging; and embed equity and inclusion across every business function.

Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Customer Strategy and Applied Design practice

Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Customer Strategy and Applied Design practice helps companies navigate a profitable path through new digital customer business models, offering your customers love, new digital experiences, and transformational end-to-end digital strategies.