When evaluating the LGTQB+ friendliness of a financial institution, some features and policies to consider include: Challenges related to legal name changes, transitioning expenses or estate planning for chosen family structures are a few unique needs that staff of LGBTQ+ friendly banks may be trained to understand and help with. There’s also a level of cultural competency needed to understand some of the concerns of LGBTQ+ individuals that differ from the general population. Transgender individuals, meanwhile, may require specific financial support for medical expenses related to gender-affirming healthcare. They may need specialized financial products and resources, such as adoption financing for same-sex couples. LGBTQ+ individuals may face limited access to loans and mortgages due to discrimination or bias.ĭiscrimination isn’t the only concern for LGBTQ+ individuals. Banks, credit card companies and fintech startups are flexing their brainpower and willingness to improve banking services to win over an underserved LGBTQ market with an estimated combined buying power of roughly $1 trillion.įor example, a 2019 study published by the National Academy of Sciences analyzed extensive mortgage lending data and found that same-sex couples were about 73 percent more likely to be denied a mortgage application than heterosexual couples. That stands to change thanks to an emerging area of digital banking that is rethinking the conventional rules. “This is clearly a group with specific needs from financial institutions and those needs are not being fulfilled,” says Tyler Griffin, co-founder and managing partner of Restive Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage fintech companies.
People who fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella often face a number of added complications when it comes to finance, such as having less financial support and therefore taking on more debt, or same-sex couples being denied mortgages at a higher rate than heterosexual couples. There are many banking products trying to make financial services more accessible, but persistent service gaps can still make the experience lousy at best and discriminatory at worst for some - including the at least 20 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning adults in the U.S. “These are painful reminders of their history they really want to avoid.” “These are really emotional things for trans people,” Simmons says. She also received emails from her bank that used her former name. “Every time I logged into my banking platform, I had to deadname myself, which is to use the name that I used before I transitioned,” Simmons says. Banks are known for running on dated technology platforms that make even small requests often impossible to resolve in a timely manner.
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Simmons secured a new card with her name, but was unable to update her username to access her digital account. Nor did the name change end all her banking headaches. But for Simmons, it effectively meant outing herself as a trans woman to a bank employee. For some, it would have been merely an inconvenience, as the banking industry is legally bound to prove people are who they say they are. When Billie Simmons needed to change her name on her bank card, she visited the financial institution to make the request.
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