Our Research
Commonwealth conducts original qualitative and quantitative research with financially vulnerable people—including Black, Latinx, and women-led households who disproportionately experience financial insecurity. We also interview industry experts and academics. We take what we learn and translate findings into actionable insights and practical solutions designed to change systems to work better for financially vulnerable people. We work with community groups, employers, financial services firms, fintechs, policymakers, and workplace solution providers to design and test real-world, practical solutions that not only work for individuals and families, but are also scalable and address the business needs of our partners.
We share the results of our work to provide you with innovative ideas, practical insights, and the tools you need to act. Explore our publications below.
Scaling an Emergency Frame and Savings on Prepaid
With unbanked households experiencing the highest growth rate in prepaid card use, innovation in the prepaid industry has the potential to help financially vulnerable Americans. Commonwealth is collaborating with prepaid card providers to build scalable, creative solutions to engage low to…
Save to Win 2014
In 2014, Save to Win continued to see success in 4 states, with Michigan and Nebraska finishing their sixth and fourth years, respectively, and North Carolina and Washington each completing their second year. As of 2014, since the program's inception,…
Save to Win: Michigan 2014
The Michigan Save to Win program completed its sixth year in 2014. This brief contains key highlights and findings from the program year, including: The product was offered in 34 credit unions and there were 10,984 active accounts; 70% of…
Save to Win: North Carolina 2014
In 2014, Save to Win from D2D (now Commonwealth) entered its second year in North Carolina. This brief contains key highlights and findings from the program year, including: The average account balance at the end of the year was $1,991;…
Save to Win: Washington 2014
In 2014, Save to Win entered its second year in Washington. This brief contains key highlights and findings from the program year, including: 1) 88% of new accountholderes were financially vulnerable; 2) 68% of new accountholders had never had a…
Save to Win: Nebraska 2014
In 2014, Save to Win entered its third year in Nebraska. The program surpassed $3 million in total savings. This brief contains key highlights and findings from the program year, including: 1) The average account balance at the end of…
Prize-Linked Savings: Creating Financial Confidence and Opportunity
Prize-linked savings (PLS) products are improving financial confidence and self-efficacy. Previous D2D research has provided evidence on the impact of prized-linked solutions on helping financially vulnerable consumers try savings products and build reserves. New research shows that consumers are building…
Savable Funds
Americans are struggling to save. New technology and new platforms, including crowdfunding, can provide opportunities for vulnerable consumers to access broader networks and leverage online accounts to help cover the costs of financial emergencies. However, most Americans don't even know…
2014 FinCapDev Competition: Ten Mobile App Innovations for Underserved Americans
FinCapDev is a mobile app development competition that helps millions of underserved Americans make smarter financial choices and achieve better access to financial services. This year's competition brought ten new mobile apps directly to the hands of financially vulnerable consumers.
Prize-linked Savings: Scaling Savings on Prepaid Cards
With unbanked households experiencing the highest growth rate in prepaid card use, innovation in the prepaid industry has real potential to help financially vulnerable Americans. D2D (now Commonwealth) is collaborating with prepaid card providers to build scalable, creative solutions to…