This report provides insights from Commonwealth’s 2023 national survey focused on understanding usage of emerging technologies in digital consumer finance. It provides data on persistent uptake gaps based on income and highlights opportunities for digital finance to meet the needs of households living on low and moderate incomes (LMI).  It also examines patterns of usage of chatbots and other emerging technologies to identify barriers and opportunities for these tools to better serve households living on LMI. 

In recent decades, the rise of disruptive technologies—such as the Internet, broadband connectivity, and smartphones—fundamentally changed the landscape of personal finance and financial services. The next generation of innovation, including artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving finance, may be similarly game-changing, a trend that was accelerated due to COVID-19. People living on low and moderate incomes (LMI)—disproportionately Black, Latinx, and women—have typically been the last to benefit from technological revolutions. Their perspectives often are given consideration only in the end stages of innovation life cycles when there is little ability to fundamentally shape technology design and use.

Commonwealth is working to change this pattern for emerging financial technologies. We bring together original research conducted with people living on LMI, an understanding of the needs of financial service providers, partnerships with industry actors for practical in-market testing, and strategic “inform and influence” work to change systems. This work brings attention to the perspectives of people living on LMI and the opportunities for effective use of technology to effect positive social and business change.

Drawing insights from a national survey of approximately 3,000 people, including both households living on LMI and those with higher incomes, this report identifies key disparities and critical opportunities for designing AI and other technology solutions to better meet the needs of underserved markets. This represents both a social good and an opportunity to use AI and other new technologies to reach markets underserved by traditional banking tools.

This work is supported by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The views and opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates.