CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After only 18 months, Fifth Third Bank has enrolled nearly 125,000 households in its Express Banking product, which is designed to serve the unbanked and underbanked. More than half of Fifth Third’s Express households are categorized as underbanked, meaning that instead of utilizing traditional bank services such as debit cards and checks, they rely on alternative services such as check cashing and payday lending.
“Express Banking has been tremendously successful,” said Mike Butera, executive vice president and head of the retail bank for Fifth Third. “We are helping to improve the financial health of our customers, getting them into the traditional banking system and helping them build savings. This creates stronger communities.”
Express Banking accounts provide a solution for individuals to manage their money with no monthly service charge or balance requirement. Furthermore, the accounts do not allow overdrafts. The more consumers use qualifying Express Banking services, the more discounts they earn on these services. Express Banking features a lifetime tier system, so once consumers earn discounts, they keep them for the life of the account. The highest level gives customers a 50 percent discount on money orders and check cashing fees.
“Express Banking customers also have access to money management tools and financial literacy resources,” said Chad Borton, executive vice president and head of the Consumer Bank for Fifth Third. “Delivering financial education to people of all ages and stages of life is another way Fifth Third is committed to improving lives in its communities.”
The number of households opening Express accounts continues to grow: the number of new Express Banking households in January and February 2017 exceeded the number of new Express households in January and February 2016.
For more information, visit 53.com/express.
About Fifth Third
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of Dec. 31, 2016, the Company had $142 billion in assets and operated 1,191 full-service Banking Centers, including 94 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,495 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. As of Dec. 31, 2016, Fifth Third also had a 17.9 percent interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of Dec. 31, 2016, had $315 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $31 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender
