The Bank On Movement is Sweeping the Nation Promising Greater Access to Basic Financial Services

It started with Bank on San Francisco and has proceeded to spread widely across the country. Our New America colleague Anne Stuhldreher got it up and running there along with a whole host of local partners . Then she helped take the initiative statewide. In the mewantime Bank On efforts are popping up everywhere.

Recognizing that many families are unbanked, the Bank On movement seeks to facilitate access to basic financial services. In most cases, the local government and the regional Federal Rerserve Bank work with financial institutions to promote the availability of high-quality, low-cost transaction accounts. San Fransisco has set a goal of bringing 10,000 of the estimated 50,000 unbanked households into the financial mainstream

This week Bank on Houston gets into the act. Here’s the begining of the article heralding the launch. Notice how the elected official does not shy away from the fight against payday lenders and check-cashers. Way to go Annise Parker!

“HOLD on to what you have. That could be the title of a theme song for this economy. Job cuts are happening in nearly every industry, and no one is living without an ax hanging over a livelihood. That’s why it’s good that City Controller Annise Parker has the “Bank on Houston” program up and running.

It’s a public-private partnership designed to help local families keep more of their hard-earned cash in their hands. Parker calls the program something else. She says it’s the beginning of the “war” on “check-cashing and payday loan outlets that are siphoning millions of dollars out of Houston’s poorest neighborhoods.”

Stuhldreher