The updated Bank On National Account Standards identify critical product features for bank or credit union accounts appropriate to those currently outside of the mainstream banking system. Core account features include low costs, no overdraft fees, robust transaction capabilities such as a debit or prepaid card, and online bill pay. Notable changes in the 2021-2022 Standards include disallowing activation and early closure fees while promoting greater access to out-of-network ATMs.
Project Category: Bank On
The Supervitamin Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 21
This issue, Issue 21, details how the CFE Fund and our city partners continued to respond to COVID-19. Financial Empowerment Center initiative partners received CFE Fund support to meet increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the CFE Fund continued building out its newest program, the Financial Navigator initiative, to help cities provide remote financial triage and referrals; and the CFE Fund released the 2021-2022 Bank On National Account Standards. In addition, the CFE Fund announced the new cohort of Consumer Financial Protection Initiative grantees, who will focus first on a COVID-19 consumer awareness campaign and then plan for broader consumer financial protection capabilities within the city. This issue also features a guest column from the American Bankers Association (ABA) CEO and President, Rob Nichols, highlighting a recent partnership encouraging ABA partner banks across the country to offer Bank On certified accounts.
The Supervitamin Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 20
This issue, Issue 20, details the CFE Fund’s and city partners’ response to COVID-19. Financial Empowerment Center initiative partners pivoted to remote counseling; the CFE Fund announced a new program, the Financial Navigator initiative, to help cities provide remote financial triage and referrals; and Bank On coalition partners shared information about safe bank and credit union accounts that could be used to receive stimulus and other emergency payments. In addition, the CFE Fund announced the new cohort of Consumer Financial Protection Initiative grantees, who will focus first on a COVID-19 consumer awareness campaign and then plan for broader consumer financial protection capabilities within the city. This issue also features a guest column from the City of Newark, New Jersey’s Mayor Ras Baraka on the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program plans as part of the Summer Jobs Connect initiative.
National Banking Access Movement Convenes Stakeholders in Washington, DC
The CFE Fund’s 2019 Bank On National Conference in Washington, DC brought together key stakeholders from multiple sectors across the country: local Bank On coalition program leads and their community partners, Mayors, city administrators, tribal governments, financial institutions large and small, federal banking regulators, national nonprofit organizations, philanthropic partners, consumer advocates, and more.
The conference included a lunchtime conversation on exploring the municipal connection to Bank On with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of the City of Atlanta, GA; Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba of the City of Jackson, MS; and Mayor Frank Scott Jr. of the City of Little Rock, AR. Conference topics also included early findings from a national research study on effective communication strategies for unbanked consumers; perspectives from high-level federal banking regulators on banking access; insights from financial institutions of all sizes on investing in Bank On certified products; and best practices on banking access connectivity and integration into community programs.
Bank On National Account Standards (2019-2020)
The updated Bank On National Account Standards identify critical product features for bank or credit union accounts appropriate to those currently outside of the mainstream banking system. Core account features include low costs, no overdraft fees, robust transaction capabilities such as a debit or prepaid card, and online bill pay. Notable changes in the 2019-2020 Standards include allowing paper statement fees that cannot exceed $2 per month, reflecting both costs experienced by financial institution partners and the strong online functionality of certified accounts.
Supervitamin Quarterly, Issue 15
This issue, Issue 15, highlights the findings from the CFE Fund and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ 2017 Bank On Data Pilot; along with new Bank On resources; updates on the scaling of the Financial Empowerment Center initiative under the FEC Public platform; early successes seen from CFE Fund’s CityStart initiative; updates on Consumer Financial Protection efforts; and highlights from the fifth year of the Summer Jobs Connect initiative. It also includes local updates from the CFE Coalition, and a guest column from Daniel Davis, Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The Present and Future of Bank On Account Data: Pilot Results and Prospective Data Collection
This report, The Present and Future of Bank On Account Data: Pilot Results and Prospective Data Collection, details the Bank On Data Pilot, which collected and measured quantitative data on 2017 Bank On account usage at four pilot financial institutions with certified accounts: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. The CFE Fund partnered with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRBSTL) for this pilot, which reveals the kinds of relevant account data that can be collected, how it might be collected, and what it might show; as well, this pilot highlights the benefits of a central reporting system for financial institutions with Bank On certified accounts and for their coalition partners across the country.
The anonymized dataset at the zip code level is available for download here. Want to play with the data yourself? A newly published Bank On Coalition Playbook Chapter,2017 Bank On Data Pilot: Accessing the Data, details how Bank On coalitions can use the Local Bank On Data Tool to produce reports of this data locally to support their work to expand banking access and the availability of Bank On accounts locally.
The CFE Fund and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis hosted a webinar on this report and the Data pilot. Click here to watch the webinar.
Programmatic Banking Access Integration Best Practices
Chapter 10 of the Bank On Coalition Playbook, Programmatic Banking Access Integration Best Practices, outlines the role that Bank On coalitions play in helping develop banking access program integrations.
The CFE Fund’s Bank On Coalition Playbook provides tools and resources that local coalitions can use to do their work more effectively. To learn more, read the full Bank On Coalition Playbook here.
Benefits of Bank On National Account Standard Certification: Handout
Chapter 9 of the Bank On Coalition Playbook, Financial Institution Benefits of Bank On National Account Certification, is a handout to be shared with financial institution partners that highlights the key benefits of offering an account certified as meeting Bank On National Account Standards.
Read the full Bank On Coalition Playbook here, and download the print version of this handout here.
Launching or Relaunching a Bank On Coalition
Chapter 8 of the Bank On Coalition Playbook, Launching or Relaunching a Coalition, provides guidance and a checklist of critical components for new or newly invigorated coalitions as they look to launch or relaunch their Bank On efforts.
This chapter looks at key moments Bank On coalitions experience during a launch or relaunch and includes detailed guidance for each step –laying the groundwork and planning for coalition success, developing communications and marketing efforts, building relationships with financial institutions, and sustaining momentum after the launch. View the full Playbook here.