Expansion of the Bank On initiatives for the unbanked has really picked up recently! San Francisco was the first to launch a program back in 2006 to work with financial institutions to make it easier for the unbanked to get into mainstream banking; providing consumers with financial education and starter accounts. And it has been very successful at bringing a large part of the 50,000 unbanked residents into the financial mainstream.
Other cities around the country are looking to San Francisco’s success. Recently Bank On initiatives have been announced in DC, Memphis and Dallas. Programs also exist in six other California cities, Seattle, Boston, Indianapolis and New York City.
These programs are a great means for consumers to get a better understanding of the banking system and establish a relationship with a bank; but its not an answer for everyone. Not all unbanked individuals are going to go to a bank; for a variety of reasons outlined in my previous Check Cashing 101 post.
While the SF program has been successful; there are still check cashing establishments and other retailers that do a lot of check cashing in the city. Just Google ‘check cashing san francisco’. I’m sure these businesses have seen some drop in volume, but is that the economy, or Bank On.
Are you a check casher in a city with a Bank On program? Tell us in the comments, how you are being affected by these initiatives in your city.
Photo by Daniel Y. Go
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I can’t find a thing on a ‘bank on Boston’ program. It must have been a stealth roll out that I missed. All my searches come back with references to Bank of Boston, if I use the exact term I get almost no results and none referring to a program.
Is there a link to this program in Boston? Thanks
The National League of cities has a list of Bank On programs; they include Boston on their list; although I can’t find a link directly to the Boston program. See the National League of Cities program overview or visit their site.
Bank On DC formerly launched yesterday, 4/28/10 – D.C. is now one of more than 70 cities and states offering Bank On accounts, see more at http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/04/26/daily37.html