We present the results of a large field study exploring consumers’ use of the Reserve “set aside” feature on the American Express Serve prepaid card. The study aimed to address two key questions: 1) Can certain strategies encourage consumer saving behavior; and 2) Is saving behavior associated with better outcomes for consumers, particularly for low-income and underserved consumers? Results from the pilot indicate that, in particular, offering customers a $10 incentive for using the savings feature during a 12-week period was highly effective at encouraging enrollment in the savings feature. In addition, results from a survey showed that participants who were sent an incentive offer as part of the messaging reported statistically significantly less payday loan use compared to those in the control group.
