Chopra, Yakshup and Prabhala, Nagpurnanand and Tantri, Prasanna L., Bank Accounts for the Unbanked: Evidence from a Big Bang Experiment (February 12, 2017).  Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2919091

“Over 2.5 billion individuals around the world are unbanked. How they can be brought into the formal financial system is a question of policy and academic interest. We provide evidence on this question from India’s PMJDY program, a“big bang” shock that supplied bank accounts to virtually all of its 260 million unbanked. We analyze activity in the new PMJDY accounts using actual transaction data in the accounts. While the newly included individuals are typically poor, unfamiliar with banking, and do not undergo literacy or other training, transaction levels nevertheless increase as accounts age and converge or exceed levels in non-PMJDY accounts of similar vintage. Usage is led by active transactions and is aided but not entirely explained by benefit transfer programs. The results suggest that the unbanked have unmet (possibly latent) demand for banking, or that the supply of banking perhaps stimulates its own demand.”