The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a research program that would assess the effectiveness of certain habits designed to foster positive saving habits. The focus will be on savings habits among low- and moderate-income prepaid card users.
“Developing saving habits can help people reach their short-term and long-term financial goals,†said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a statement. “This project can help us better understand how to promote saving among consumers, especially those who may be low-income and economically vulnerable.â€
American Express has agreed to share insights with the CFPB from its trial program, which will be focused on encouraging saving among certain prepaid card users. Through their program, American Express is taking a look at the effectiveness of a product feature that enables prepaid card users to place money in a savings “wallet†set aside for funds used for regular transactions. The information provided by American Express will be not be revealed, and steps will be taken to ensure that individual consumers cannot be identified through the data.
The CFPB says its Project Catalyst initiative is meant to encourage consumer-friendly advancements in markets for consumer financial products and services. Furthermore, the Bureau says this initiative is their way of carrying out its mandate under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to make fair, transparent, competitive, and innovative markets available to all consumers.
Go here for more information about Project Catalyst.