LGBTQ + BANKING
THE NEEDS OF LGBTQ + CUSTOMERS
Family and friends Some LGBTQ + customers report losing the ability to rely on their family and friends after they come out . 73 % say they could rely on their family financially before telling them about their sexual orientation , compared with only 62 % afterwards . This disparity is greater for transgender people .
“CLEARLY , FINANCIAL PRODUCTS THAT OFFER BLANKET SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS WILL NO LONGER SUFFICE ”
ANDREW ARWAS DIRECTOR OF TRANSFORMATION , CHETWOOD FINANCIAL
And that ’ s just when it comes to the products and services offered by banks . LGBTQ + customers face administrative hurdles not usually faced by their non- LGBTQ + counterparts – particularly in the trans community , where a person ’ s sense of identity ( including their gender and name ) might be different to that shown on official documents .
What ’ s more , one in 10 LGBTQI + people ( 11 %) say they have experienced discrimination in banking or financial services , according to the same report .
Student debt Over half of LGBTQ + people surveyed have taken out a federal student loan to finance their education , compared to 31 % of non-LGBTQ + respondents . LGBTQ + respondents were also less likely to have paid off their student loans .
Forming a family Over 40 % of LGBTQ + parents report spending in excess of US $ 1,000 on outof-pocket healthcare costs related to the formation of their family ( such as adopting or surrogacy ). In addition , 32 % of LGBTQ + parents say they have spent more than US $ 5,000 .
Gender-affirming care Most people ( 82 %) who received genderaffirming care spent more than US $ 5,000 on their own out-of-pocket expenses , while one-third ( 33 %) of those surveyed had spent at least US $ 10,000 .
SOURCE : Survey by CLEAR and MAP , 2023
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