EMERGE replaces “underbanked” with a renewed focus on improving consumers' financial health. 
"Underbanked" as a term helped raise awareness of the large and diverse segment of American consumers who are financially underserved. But the term has outlived its usefulness because it positions banking as the sole solution, when the reality is more complex. While banks continue to play a critical role in the financial industry, consumers’ attachments to traditional bank accounts do not carry the significance they once did, due such factors as technological innovations and the rise of alternative financial products. EMERGE advances the industry’s efforts to develop new terms and a richer understanding of these consumers’ complex needs and particular challenges in improving their habits of borrowing, spending, saving, and planning for the future.

The financially underserved market has gone mainstream. "Underbanked" has outlived its usefulness, but that does not mean that most American consumers are financially well served. Despite improvements in the economy, large swaths of demographics, including younger and middle-income consumers are not seeing improvements in their financial situation. The number and needs of financially underserved consumers have grown to the point that their influence on the industry can no longer be ignored.