The technology gap at Black financial institutions is an opportunity for empowering partnerships

Roughly 80% of non-Black credit unions in the US offer online banking services. That number falls to just about half among Black credit unions

The key stat: Roughly 80% of non-Black credit unions in the US offer an informational website and online banking services. That number falls to just about half among Black credit unions, according to an Urban Institute study.

Why the gap? The study offered two hypotheses about why there's such a large tech gap.

• There's less demand for digital services among Black consumers. Black consumers across all generational cohorts are less likely to have internet access than all other groups. But that's changing: Younger, up-and-coming financial service consumers tend to have better access to technology and are driving up demand.
• The cost and talent barriers are too high. Digital transformation has been harder for smaller FIs, which often lack the financial resources, technical expertise, and manpower to build and upkeep digital services. Black depository institutions are among the smallest FIs in the country, per the study.