Financial education programs serving immigrant populations
Immigrant consumers make up an important and growing share of consumers in this country. To better help financial education practitioners who serve consumers of diverse backgrounds, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) conducted a field scan of financial education programs for immigrant populations and spoke with experts in the field. The CFPB issued this report to raise visibility about the financial education challenges that many immigrants face. The challenges identified in this report vary from person to person, depending on many factors including socioeconomic status, language, and financial experiences from their country and culture of origin.
The results of the CFPB’s research and field scan suggest that financial educators and service providers have many promising strategies to use to help immigrants improve their financial well-being. However, few of the strategies highlighted in the report are widespread and immigrants still face many challenges in navigating the U.S. financial system.
The CFPB, along with policymakers, financial educators, and others concerned with consumer financial well-being, can use these research findings to develop, spread, and scale targeted approaches to help immigrants with financial decision-making.