Understanding banking experiences of autistic adults: an inquiry into inclusive banking

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Cai, R. Y., Love, A., Haas, K., Gallagher, E., & Gibbs, V. (2024). Understanding banking experiences of autistic adults: an inquiry into inclusive banking. Advances in Autism, 10(4), 244-258. https://doi.org/10.1108/aia-08-2023-0052

Publication date: 10 Jul 2024 Added to AutiHub: 10 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Ru Ying Cai
  2. Abigail Love
  3. Kaaren Haas
  4. Emma Gallagher *
  5. Vicki Gibbs

Abstract

Purpose Navigating the banking world may be overwhelming and intimidating for autistic people due to the generally poor accessibility of banks. Banks around the world are starting to improve the accessibility of their services and products to meet the needs of autistic customers better. However, no empirical research has explored autistic adults’ banking experiences and needs. This study aims to determine what banks can do to make banking more inclusive and accessible for autistic people through understanding the banking experiences of autistic adults living in Australia and identifying the factors that shape these experiences. Design/methodology/approach In total, 57 autistic adults aged 18–67 years (M age = 33.00, SD age = 11.03) and 29 caregivers of autistic adults aged 32–70 years (M age = 52.24, SD age = 7.88) completed an online survey about the banking experiences of the autistic adults. In addition, 14 of the 57 autistic adults were interviewed. Findings Almost all autistic participants had a bank account, and online banking was the preferred way of banking for most autistic adults. The factor most often raised by participants that influenced the banking experiences of autistic adults was supportive and helpful bank staff. Other identified factors included autistic adults’ lack of financial and banking knowledge and banks’ poor understanding of autism. The majority of autistic adults felt that banks could become more autism-friendly and provided suggestions. Practical implications Given that most autistic adults are likely to access financial products and services, banks must become more autism-friendly to cater to the diverse needs of autistic customers. Recommendations for how financial institutions can become more inclusive were provided. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first detailed examination of the banking experiences of autistic adults. Practical implications of the research were also provided.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 18:19.

Cited references
34
With a DOI
28
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
6
6 / 34 (17.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
6 / 34 (17.6%)
References with detected author names
28 / 34 (82.4%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
6
References with raw author names still to review
4
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
108
From DOI or external metadata
108
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
8
41 / 108 (38.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 67 / 108 (62.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
6 / 108 (5.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 6 / 41 (14.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 4 / 91 (4.4%).
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