In 2019, an estimated seven million or five percent of U.S. households were unbanked, choosing to not open or simply not qualifying for a checking account at traditional banks. While this percentage might seem low on a country-wide scale, it is nonetheless an opportunity for so-called neobanks, who forego physical branch networks in favor of mobile- and digital-first solutions. These types of banks, which are either imprints of traditional banking institutions or fintech start-ups, are seen by some as the future of banking due to their ease of use. As data from the recent Brand Profiler special of our Statista Global Consumer Survey shows, U.S. residents are favoring one direct bank in particular.
48 percent of respondents claimed they like Chime, a neobank founded in 2013 and backed by U.S. Bancorp, the fifth-largest banking institution in the United States. One of the possible reasons for Chime's popularity could be its fee-free mobile transactions, which normally are one of the revenue streams for competitors in the field. The race for the runner-ups in terms of popularity is decidedly closer, with the second-ranked Current and the sixth-ranked GoBank divided by only five percent.
Neobrokers, fintechs who typically waive transaction fees for trading stocks and lower the entry threshold to investing, also make an appearance in the top 8. What's especially striking is the continued popularity of Robinhood. 28 percent of respondents said they like the company despite its history of controversies including storing user passwords in plain text, allegations of market manipulation during the short squeeze on GameStop stock in 2021 and an SEC probe in 2020 that was settled out of court to the tune of $65 million.
