underbanked

The CDFI formerly known as Progreso Financiero targets consumers with little or no credit history.

Regional and community banks will offer low-cost or no-cost financial products through Bank On, which has already reached agreements with Regions Bank, Wells Fargo and SunTrust.

Grupo Coppel and Insikt, an online lender, would appear to be cut from different cloth, but they share an expertise in providing credit to working-class, largely Hispanic consumers. The retail conglomerate also operates 1,000 bank branches in Mexico, mixing banking and commerce in a way that U.S. regulators have not allowed.

House and Senate bills contain a provision that would let financial firms in all states use digital scans of photo IDs to verify identities of prospective customers. That could ease the account-opening process for consumers in areas where branches are few and far between.

Carver Bancorp, which has spent 70 years serving minorities in Harlem and surrounding neighborhoods, is struggling to turn a profit. As black-run banks nationwide struggle to stay afloat, Carver's CEO insists the institution is on the right track.