{"id":2610,"date":"2021-08-20T15:38:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T15:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/?p=2610"},"modified":"2021-08-20T15:38:57","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T15:38:57","slug":"2610","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/?p=2610","title":{"rendered":"Banking On Inclusion: America\u2019s Banks Embrace Bank On Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rob Nichols, American Bankers Association<\/em><\/p>\n

America\u2019s banks have a longstanding commitment to helping reduce the number of unbanked and underbanked individuals and families in the U.S. July marked a major milestone in that endeavor, with an announcement from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund that the number of Bank On-certified deposit accounts now available has surpassed 100. At the time this column was written, it was up to 114.<\/p>\n

As you may recall, nearly a year ago I challenged banks of all sizes to offer Bank On-certified products, which are designed to promote access to financial services to the roughly 5% of U.S. households that remain unbanked. To receive Bank On certification, the account must meet certain standards, including low costs, no overdraft fees, robust transaction capabilities via a debit or prepaid card and free online bill pay. The certification is free and the process is simple.<\/p>\n

When I issued that challenge in October 2020, there were 43 banks offering accounts that were Bank On-certified. Today, there are more than 90, with plenty more in the process of obtaining certification. In particular, we\u2019ve seen a significant uptick in the number of community banks offering Bank On-certified accounts. This is due in part to ABA\u2019s efforts to engage with 20 of the nation\u2019s core technology providers\u2014including Fiserv, FIS, Jack Henry and Associates and Finastra\u2014and encourage them to simplify the process for their bank clients to create and offer these important products.<\/p>\n

Today, Bank On accounts are available in more than 32,500 branches, in 99 out of the 100 largest metropolitan markets and in all 50 states. They have received plaudits from bank regulators and policymakers alike\u2014and for good reason. Research suggests that the initiative is working as intended: according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 75% of consumers opening Bank On certified accounts were new customers for that bank. Additionally, while these accounts have widespread appeal, CFE Fund reports that close to 60% of Bank On certified accounts were opened by customers in communities with 50% or more people of color.<\/p>\n

The importance of having a banking relationship has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic. From obtaining Paycheck Protection Program loans to receiving economic impact payments quickly, there are countless stories that speak to the benefit of having a trusted banking partner\u2014and to the disadvantages of not having one.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, we\u2019d known that we have consumers that don\u2019t have bank accounts in our market. It could be for cost, it could be for convenience, there could be a lot of reasons. The stimulus checks brought the issue to light a little more,\u201d says Gary Kleer, CEO of First Bank Richmond in eastern Indiana, whose bank recently had its Easy Fit Checking Account Bank On-certified. \u201cWhen we saw this initiative being offered, we decided to get on board so that we could offer our consumers a more safe and affordable way to handle their money.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we strive for a more equitable and inclusive society, one of the most constructive ways banks can help move the needle is to ensure that every American has the opportunity to access the banking system. That\u2019s why the Bank On certification is so important\u2014it signals to those who may be hesitant to come in the door and start that banking relationship that the bank offers a product they can trust to meet their needs.<\/p>\n

Many banks are already offering checking account options meet Bank On standards\u2014but it\u2019s time to go the extra step and get them certified \u2013 for free \u2013 with the Bank On seal of approval. If you haven\u2019t yet, I encourage you to visit aba.com\/BankOn<\/a> to learn more about the Bank On movement, how to certify an account product and why other banks were motivated to get involved. ABA staff is available to meet with your bank about the Bank On process and to answer your questions; reach out anytime through our dedicated inbox: bankon@aba.com.<\/p>\n

Together, we can bring more Americans into the banking system\u2014a crucial step toward ensuring economic prosperity for all.<\/p>\n

Email Rob at <\/em>nichols@aba.com<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rob Nichols, American Bankers Association America\u2019s banks have a longstanding commitment to helping reduce the number of unbanked and underbanked individuals and families in the U.S. July marked a major milestone in that endeavor, with an announcement from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund that the number of Bank On-certified deposit accounts now available has surpassed 100. At the time this column was written, it was up to 114. As you may recall, nearly a year ago I challenged banks of all sizes to offer Bank On-certified products, which are designed to promote access to financial services to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19,25,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","category-industry-reports","category-publications","has_thumb"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/albanknews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/bigstock-American-Flag-Background-3010682.jpg?fit=900%2C560&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s4Y3P2-2610","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2610"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2613,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610\/revisions\/2613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}