The data: The economic gulf among households manifests in their ability to save and withstand financial shocks, according to PYMNTS data. Per the survey, consumers saved 22.8% of their income in the last six months, just above the threshold set by a rule of thumb for income-based savings.

Digging into the data: The savings rate in the last six months was lowest for employed consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to pay bills—only 13.5%. It was 20.3% for those with an annual household income of between $50,000 and $100,000 and 19.7% among those earning less than $50,000. Those with more than $100,000 in annual household income saved 30.2% on average.

Furthermore, among consumers who saved less than 10% of their income in the last six months, 15.2% said they are able to save more now than in the prior six months. Among those who saved more than 20%, 50.2% said they can save more. A clear gap has emerged between consumers who can throttle spending and those who cannot.

Implications for banks: Retail banks’ preferred target markets—the emerging affluent and mass affluent—generally save at a healthy rate.

But middle-income consumers are not a segment FIs should write off as low potential or not profitable enough. FIs can play a role in helping customers optimize their cash flow under any circumstances. That starts with digital tools, at a low per-person cost to the FI. That investment in the customer will pay dividends in future loyalty.