Did you know?
Close to 4.5% of U.S. households are “unbanked”.
Almost 14.1% of U.S. households are underbanked, meaning they still use some fringe financial services.
Nearly 29.2% of unbanked households earn less than $30,000 per year.
Nationally, 36% of Black households and 33.4% of Hispanic households are unbanked or underbanked , compared to less than 12% of White households.
Solution:
One key challenge facing unbanked and underbanked individuals has been a lack of safe and appropriate accounts offered by mainstream financial institutions, particularly those without overdraft.
The CFE Fund has worked closely with the Bank On National Advisory Board and other key stakeholders to develop the Bank On National Account Standards. Inspired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Model Safe Accounts Template, these standards provide local programs with a benchmark for account partnerships with financial institutions, including their local partners. Financial institutions with accounts that meet these Standards can apply free for national certification.
Bankon at alive
As of February of 2023, Alive’s Fresh Start Checking is officially accredited as a Bank On Certified account by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. Fresh Start accounts give an opportunity to the member to turn over a new leaf and start rebuilding a positive banking history. Members with poor credit or banking history can start in the Fresh Start Checking account and be converted into a Free Checking after a year of positive history upon review by management. They can then begin rebuilding credit with our Credit Builder Loan. As with all members, from the time they open their Fresh Start account, they are eligible to access our Free Financial Coaching Team who can guide them through the rebuilding process. This is another example of the products and services Alive has created to cater to the underserved and underbanked members of our community. #Bankingforall
Read more about our various credit and checking solutions in the Alive Credit Union Product Knowledge Manual.