As the number of digital finance platforms grow, the pool of consumers underserved by the financial system is cause for concern, industry practitioners said at a financial services conference in New York this week.

“There’s a whole host of reasons why we have 50 million Americans who still remain underserved or underbanked,” said Dara Tarkowski, managing partner at Actuate Law, speaking at the Benzinga fintech conference on Thursday. “When [a community is] ‘credit invisible,’ they don’t have the opportunity to acquire those assets or to engage with those applications that may improve their overall financial wellness.” 

Some recommended that platforms should specifically reach out to a range of different customer categories to assess their needs. Eric Jamison, vice president of solutions consulting at Envestnet Yodlee, suggested that individuals from low-income communities may not be aware of products that may improve their financial situations.

“It might be intimidating for some people — they haven’t been introduced to financial tools,” he said. “[We should] have the apps themselves reach out and grab [onto] the person’s idea of how to get to a better financial position.” 

Jamison argued that individuals from underserved communities require additional resources and assistance to navigate a saturated market of products and services.

“Maybe they’re getting their first job, maybe that’s the first account they’ve ever set up,” Jamison explained.

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Others argued that credit scoring models need to evolve. Jean Donnelly, executive director of Boston-based nonprofit Fintech Sandbox, pointed out that the traditional credit-scoring system excludes certain populations, and often doesn’t take into account customers who have irregular cash flows.

“[Banks] have to understand where people are, what their [income] distribution methods are, and how you reach them,” she said.

Despite these obstacles, Donnelly said she was confident that startups would innovate to solve unique problems faced by consumers who remain outside of the financial system. Indeed, given the proliferation of new platforms for low-income customers, the industry is making progress, albeit incrementally.

“We have customers on platforms that might have $50 and they’re trying to figure out how to pay their next bill — we’re really trying to help that whole spectrum of customer understanding,” said Jamison.