Of Banking Deserts and Payment App Scams
A week of consumer finance news
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The consumer finance marketplace can be full of traps and risks. And then, there are the places where there aren’t even banks, which creates a whole different set of challenges.
Here’s more on the challenges of living in a banking desert — a problem that impacts many in the rural South:
“While Southern rural consumers apply for mortgages at the same rate as consumers nationwide (19 per 1,000 residents), they are much more likely to have their applications denied (27% of mortgage applications are denied in the rural South compared to 11% nationally). Additionally, rural Southerners who obtain credit tend to pay higher interest rates on average, 3.51% compared to 3.13% nationally.”
Payment apps can be convenient tools for moving money and managing finances — but they are also susceptible to scams at an alarming rate.
Here’s more on ways scammer prey on consumers — specifically military servicemembers and their families:
In 2022, servicemembers submitted more than 1,100 complaints on digital payment apps, one of the fastest-growing complaint types submitted to the CFPB. Many of the reported issues and complaints about digital payment apps relate to frauds and scams, suggesting it is a rapidly growing financial threat to military families.
More consumer finance news:
An entirely different consumer protection issue:
