Bank On Virginia Beach is now offering a choice of daytime, evening or weekend classes. Each series of classes covers topics ranging from basic banking to sophisticated money management skills. Classes meet once a month for 10 months. Participants will be offered the option to join the Mayor’s Action Challenge for 500 Families Financially Fit for the Future.

Enroll in Bank On Classes here or call Lori Irwin, Financial Empowerment Program Coordinator at 757.385.3551.

Bank On Virginia Beach is a partnership of participating banks, credit unions, community organizations, and the City of Virginia Beach. It’s designed to connect unbanked and under-banked families to free or low-cost bank accounts and to help them take steps toward financial freedom. The Department of Human Services has lead responsibility for the Financially Fit Family in Which to Thrive initiative outlined in the Mayor’s Challenge. Click here to learn more about the Mayor’s Action Challenge.

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The St. Louis effort is modeled after Bank On initiatives in other cities and is designed to increase access to mainstream financial products and services among low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals.

The Community Development department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is partnering with campaign organizers by serving as the official data collector and will report its findings quarterly to the St. Louis Regional Unbanked Task Force, which is sponsoring the campaign.

At a press conference to launch the effort on Feb. 28, 2013, St. Louis Fed Community Development Officer Yvonne Sparks spoke about why the Bank-On Save-Up initiative is important for the community, not only regarding economic outcomes, but also for its potential social impact.

“At the Fed, we have worked with Bank On initiatives in other cities and have learned that the empowerment that comes with mainstreamed financial services has a widespread and generational impact on communities,” Sparks said. “Research has documented that those who use bank accounts and learn to save—even small amounts—are more likely to graduate high school, are less likely to be incarcerated, and will more likely pursue higher education than those who do not. This is not just a financial issue; it’s a community one. I’m delighted that this effort is being driven by the community and that so many financial institutions are taking on this role.”

According to Sparks, the St. Louis community was ideal for the Bank-On Save-Up initiative. A 2011 FDIC study revealed that 111,000 metropolitan St. Louis households—9.7 percent—do not have bank accounts. Also, 229,000 households—20.1 percent—are considered underbanked and use costly alternative financial services. St. Louis ranks third-highest in the country for unbanked African-Americans; just two years earlier, St. Louis ranked first in the country in the number of unbanked African-Americans.

To help with Bank-On Save-Up St. Louis’ goal of opening 20,000 bank accounts for currently unbanked residents, 18 financial institutions will offer accounts that require a minimal dollar amount to open, will provide free online banking services, and will have safeguards in place to help customers avoid overdraft and other fees.

Financial institutions will partner with more than 40 community-based organizations to engage in outreach activities and financial education opportunities that campaign coordinators consider critical to the success of the initiative. Classes and training sessions will be available to participants free of charge and will cover a variety of topics, including the benefits of mainstream banking, savings tips and opportunities, and debt-management strategies.

Alex Fennoy, director of community development at Midwest BankCentre and co-chair of the effort, said that enrollment in a participating Bank-On Save-Up account will help LMI families save money by avoiding costly alternative providers, such as check-cashing companies and payday lenders. By using bank accounts instead of these alternative sources, families can save hundreds of dollars annually—as much as $1,200, explained Fennoy.

Jackie Hutchinson, vice president of operations at People’s Community Action Corporation and co-chair of the effort, said, “If people can begin to use mainstream financial services, they can build credit, buy a car and move on to buy a house. We see that as stabilizing in our community.”

For more information on Bank-On Save-Up St. Louis, visit www.getbankednow.org.

2/29/12—Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Treasurer José Cisneros today launched CurrenC SF, a new initiative to reduce the usage of paper paychecks in San Francisco. CurrenC SF empowers San Francisco’s businesses and workers by helping them adopt modern, innovative payroll solutions. The goal of this initiative is to achieve a fully electronic, paperless payday, helping to bring thousands of San Francisco households into the financial mainstream and reducing reliance on high-cost check cashing services.

“Direct deposit is safer, cheaper, and greener than getting paid by paper check,” said Mayor Lee. “San Francisco is a city of innovation and we are committed to increasing direct deposit and paperless pay among our own employees to lead the way to a 100 percent paperless payday that will provide for financial empowerment and greater security for our residents.”

“CurrenC SF is providing a framework for increased financial stability and better access to healthy financial institutions through direct deposit and paperless pay,” said Treasurer Cisneros. “We have created an innovative public-private initiative that brings together business associations, nonprofits, payroll companies, and financial service organizations.”

“CurrenC SF is an initiative to make businesses more efficient while providing added benefits to workers,” said U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Elizabeth Echols. “We are looking forward to working with San Francisco to promote this exciting initiative.”

CurrenC SF is a partnership between the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way of the Bay Area, with generous support from Citi Community Development, Visa and the Levi Strauss Foundation.

“By helping San Francisco employers offer direct deposit to their employees, the CurrenC SF initiative is making payroll services more efficient and convenient in the Bay Area,” said Citi Global Director for Community Development Bob Annibale. “At the same time, the initiative is connecting San Francisco workers with the banking community, introducing some of them to mainstream banking services for the first time.”

For employers, moving to direct deposit and paperless pay can lower payroll processing costs by up to 90 percent, and eliminates the headache of lost and stolen checks. “Paper paychecks are expensive for employers to print, distribute and administer,” said San Francisco Chamber of Commerce President Steve Falk. “Providing the benefits of direct deposit to employees will improve the bottom line for countless San Francisco businesses.”

CurrenC SF is an extension of the City’s pioneering program Bank on San Francisco, which has provided over 72,000 bank accounts to low-income San Franciscans and spread to more than 100 cities across the country. Through direct deposit and paperless pay, CurrenC SF provides an effective framework for increased financial stability and better access to healthy financial institutions. By engaging businesses and nonprofits as stakeholders in the financial wellbeing of their employees, this innovative initiative will help to bring thousands of San Francisco households into the financial mainstream.

More than 67,000 households in San Francisco are paid with paper checks, including 68 percent of low-income workers. Employees who receive paper checks often turn to check cashers and other fringe financial services, costing the average worker $1,000 per year in fees. In addition, workers who cash an entire paycheck are vulnerable to theft or loss. Direct deposit delivers pay safely, immediately, and without hefty fees.

“The safest way to get paid is direct deposit instead of paper checks,” said United Way of the Bay Area CEO Anne Wilson. “We applaud the City and County of San Francisco for leading this effort and are proud to be their partner in this endeavor.”

Several CurrenC SF Employer Champions including Recology, Blue Shield of California, William Watlington Foods, Walgreens, Rickshaw Bagworks, Bi-Rite Market and Goodwill Industries were recognized for their leadership in financial empowerment efforts and participated in the launch. “This initiative respects labor, helps protect the environment, and saves us money – and that’s good business sense,” said Recology Community and Government Affairs Manager Paul Giusti.

The CurrenC SF website provides resources to help employers initiate or expand direct deposit in their organizations. The CurrenC SF website offers how-to guides, marketing materials, best practices, and expert advice to employers, and connects employees to low-cost checking accounts and other healthy financial products. In addition, the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment has worked with payroll companies, payroll card providers, banks, and other financial institutions to develop a list of healthy alternatives for businesses to consider when moving to direct deposit. For more information, go to www.currencsf.org.

Hartford, CT (December 1, 2011) — The Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) and Citi Community Development (CCD) today announced the launch of Bank On Connecticut, a statewide, private-public partnership to increase access to affordable banking products for people who do not currently use traditional financial institutions. The Bank On Connecticut pilot will provide an education in basic banking and the opportunity to open a bank account as an alternative to high-cost alternative financial service providers.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an estimated 73,000 households in Connecticut — 5.3% of the state’s households — do not have bank accounts. As a result, these families pay more to cash checks and pay bills; cannot establish credit, which limits their ability to build assets or start businesses and raises the costs of daily living; and have no safe place to keep their money. Individuals without bank accounts spend about 5% of their income at check cashing facilities each year. In other words, those who can least afford it are paying the most for banking services and are unable to build assets that lead to financial stability.

Bank On Connecticut participants will have access to safe accounts and the opportunity to attend a Basic Banking Orientation class that the program will offer in communities with high numbers of unbanked residents.

The new program was applauded by Denise Nappier, Connecticut State Treasurer. “We must embrace financial education not only as a critical component of consumer protection, but also as an important element of economic growth,” she said. “The Bank On Connecticut initiative is designed to do just that by providing our citizens with the necessary tools to manage their personal finances, avail themselves of the low-cost banking products and services, and build economic security that is so vitally important for the well-being of our state’s economy."

“The educational component of Bank On Connecticut will enable participants to make best use of the program’s access to financial services,” said Jim Horan, Executive Director of CAHS. “Our Basic Banking Orientation class is an easy to understand comprehensive overview on the basics of banking, what it means to have an account, the benefits of account ownership, and how to avoid unnecessary fees.”

“Expanding financial inclusion is the core of our community development mission,” said Lily Lopez, Connecticut State Director for Citi Community Development. “We are proud to play a leadership role in this private-nonprofit collaborative initiative.” The Bank On Connecticut pilot is made possible through a grant from Citi Community Development.

Bank on Connecticut will be piloted in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford and Derby. CAHS is partnering the following community organizations to deliver the program in those cities: CTE, Inc., FSW, Inc., Junta for Progressive Action, NEON, Inc., TEAM, Inc., Co-opportunity and Our Piece of the Pie. In each city, the local nonprofit will work closely with a partner bank to facilitate account openings for Bank On Connecticut participants and to enable them to feel more comfortable with traditional financial services.

The "Bank On" concept was first piloted in San Francisco in 2006. Bank On San Francisco has helped open an estimated 78,000 accounts for previously unbanked individuals. Now, Bank On is a national movement — approximately 32 cities, 4 states, and 2 regions have fully implemented Bank On initiatives.

For more information, visit www.bankonct.org or call CAHS at 860-951-2212.

About CAHS

The Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) is a statewide nonprofit organization that uniquely combines outreach into working poor communities at the neighborhood level with broad-based policy work at the state and federal level. Founded 100 years ago, CAHS is focused on helping families and children build the skills and assets they need for lasting economic success, strengthening Connecticut’s economy, and improving its workforce. In addition to advocacy and outreach, CAHS publishes consumer guides, policy briefs, and KIDS COUNT, a highly regarded data and policy book supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Contact CAHS

Nonprofits, policy makers, press, and state budget analysts who wish to learn more about CAHS may contact Lois Taylor at (860) 951-2212 ext. 229 or visit our Web site at www.cahs.org. You can follow CAHS on Twitter or become a friend on Facebook.

About Citi Community Development

Citi Community Development (CCD) is leading Citi’s commitment to achieve economic empowerment and growth for underserved individuals, families and communities by expanding access to financial products and services, and building sustainable business solutions and innovative partnerships. Our focus areas include: commercial and philanthropic funding; innovative financial products and services; and collaborations with institutions that expand access to financial products and services for low-income and underserved communities. For more information, visit www.citicommunitydevelopment.com.

The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), with support from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and in partnership with the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, the National League of Cities and the New America Foundation, has launched a new-and-improved Bank On website. JoinBankOn.org uses PolicyMap as its platform to offer a look into communities to see if banking resources are available.

JoinBankOn.org is the online home for the national community of Bank On initiatives, which are locally-led coalitions of government agencies, financial institutions and community organizations working to promote financial access for low- and moderate-income Americans.

Among the features offered on the site is Research Your Community, a tool that offers estimates and maps of the number of unbanked and underbanked households in your local community. This new tool allows users to:

The interactive maps that are part of the website are powered by PolicyMap, an online data analysis and mapping tool. PolicyMap allows users to generate maps, tables and reports based on over 15,000 data indicators. Using Geographic Information Systems technology, PolicyMap offers key social and economic statistics for U.S. communities down to a neighborhood level. PolicyMap also offers custom widgets – embeddable versions of the site – to organizations like Bank On interested in tracking a particular issue.

“PolicyMap made it simple for us to share the extensive data we have on the unbanked and underbanked populations in America,” explained Kasey Wiedrich, Senior Program Manager at CFED. “PolicyMap not only offered us a quick and easy platform to map our own data, but its embeddable interactive maps, allows us to share these maps with any user across the country. Access to this data is particularly important to anyone working to develop effective strategies aimed at increasing financial access for those who may be living outside of the financial mainstream.”

Press Release by Kavita Vijayan, PolicyMap (published November 15, 2011)

This digital resource, redesigned based on intensive input from users across the country, is the new online home for the national community of Bank On initiatives and individuals and organizations working to promote financial access for low- and moderate-income Americans.

JoinBankOn.org was originally developed by the Treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco to widely share the lessons learned from the innovative Bank On San Francisco initiative launched in 2006. According to San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, the new site “is the online home of the nationwide movement to ensure everyone has access to the financial mainstream. It provides communities with easy access to information and resources for starting or enhancing local Bank On programs.”

Local Unbanked and Underbanked Data

One of the newest features of JoinBankOn.org is Research Your Community, a tool to get estimates and maps of the number of unbanked and underbanked households in your local community. This new tool allows you to:

Additional Features of JoinBankOn.org

Sign Up to Stay Informed or Become a JoinBankOn.org Member

To stay informed on the latest news in the Bank On community and the larger financial access field, sign up to recieve email updates. Or become a JoinBankOn.org member to participate in discussion forums and upload resources and news and events. Registration for JoinBankOn.org is free and simple. Click here to become a JoinBankOn.org member.

We cannot express how thrilled we are to be able to provide this new-and-improved online resource and we hope you will find it to be an attractive, helpful, easy-to-use space to share and find information in your efforts to promote financial access. Should you encounter any questions or wish to provide feedback, please do not hesitate to send an email to info@joinbankon.org.

Courtesy: CFED

PHILADELPHIA – In addition to the City Controller’s Bank On Philadelphia initiative that provides financial access and resources to Philadelphians, Controller Alan Butkovitz created an online Youth Education Portal for students, teachers and parents to have access to free financial resources.

The Youth Education Portal is a resource center that contains a listing of non-profit organizations, financial institutions and other government entities that provide free services and resources throughout Philadelphia. Many of these services are provided directly in the classroom and others are during after-school hours.

“While severe cuts are looming to our already financially-strapped education system, educators need to take advantage of the free resources that financial and community organizations are willing to provide our youth,” said Butkovitz. “These education partners provide resources for students of all ages.”

Butkovitz continued, “It’s never too early, or too late, to teach children the importance of banking and to start learning about money management.”

With April being Financial Literacy Month, Controller Butkovitz used the month as an opportunity to distribute youth education materials encouraging educators at the Philadelphia School District, charter schools and parochial schools to access the Youth Education Portal.

“Every child, in every learning establishment, should receive financial education by the time they graduate high school,” said Butkovitz. “Receiving financial literacy can be one of greatest educational assets children can receive in helping them establish a healthy financial future.”

Courtesy: Bank On Philadelphia

In October 2009, City of Indianapolis First Lady Winnie Ballard spearheaded the program with 19 financial institutions to bring the area’s 80,000 unbanked residents into the financial mainstream by offering low-cost and no-cost checking accounts, savings accounts and free financial consulting services.

The stated goal was to open 8,000 net accounts in the first year. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, as of Sept. 30, 2010, Bank On Indy exceeded that goal by more than 32 percent. The 19 participating Bank On Indy financial institutions and their branches within Marion County opened a net total of 10,570 bank accounts, bringing mainstream banking services to nearly 13 percent of the city’s previously unbanked population.

“Within one year, the team of public and private partners that comprise Bank On Indy have made a positive impact on more than 10,000 Indianapolis residents who were previously unbanked and disconnected from mainstream financial services,” said Mayor Ballard. “Exceeding the program’s first year goal by 32 percent exemplifies the good things that happen when shared resources and talent are focused on improving our community. I thank all of the Bank On Indy partners for their commitment to this program and to improving the quality of life for so many Indianapolis residents.”

Bank On Indy is one pillar of Indy’s Campaign for Financial Fitness (ICFF), a massive collaboration of resources from local, state and federal government agencies; nonprofit organizations; corporations and financial institutions. The other two ICFF pillars are free tax-preparation services through an IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant and financial education classes through financial institutions, community centers, nonprofits and other community organizations.

Bank On Indy financial institution partners include: Centra Credit Union, Chase Bank, Clarian Federal Credit Union, Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union, Fifth Third Bank, Finance Center Federal Credit Union, Flagstar Bank, FORUM Credit Union, Harris Bank, Huntington National Bank, KEMBA Credit Union, Key Bank, M & I Bank, PNC Bank, Old National Bank, Salin Bank and Trust Company, STAR Financial Bank, Teachers Credit Union and Warren MSD Federal Credit Union.

“Connecting people with traditional financial services is a critical first step toward financial stability for thousands of hard-working individuals and families in our city,” said Winnie Ballard. “I am extremely pleased with the progress of Bank On Indy in its first year, and I am looking forward to entering the program’s second year with so much positive momentum.”

To learn more about Bank On Indy, visit www.bankonindy.org. To learn more about ICFF, visit www.indyscampaign.org.

Courtesy: Bank On Indianapolis