Project Category: Bank On

The updated Bank On National Account Standards, identify critical product features for appropriate bank or credit union accounts. 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 2017-2018 Standards include expanded allowable bill pay functionality: standard-meeting transaction accounts must either offer internal bill pay or instead provide consumers access to at least four free money orders or bank checks per month.

The CFE Fund leads a national movement that supports local Bank On coalition efforts to expand banking access for consumers outside the financial mainstream, including through municipal infrastructure. Based on local efforts and lessons learned, the CFE Fund put together these Bank On Guiding Principles to outline fundamental shared ideals of the Bank On movement and local coalition priorities.

The CFE Fund invites financial institutions with products they believe meet Bank On National Account Standards (2019 – 2020) to apply for validation, and invites local Bank On coalitions to connect financial institutions with whom they are considering partnering in their communities to do so.

Once verified by the CFE Fund’s third party evaluator, the National Consumer Law Center, as meeting Bank On Standards, financial institutions will receive a Bank On seal of approval for marketing and outreach purposes; national recognition highlighting the safety, affordability, and functionality of the account; and opportunities to partner with local Bank On coalitions in their footprint and other national Bank On stakeholders.

Account verification is free — please apply online here. Read Frequently Asked Questions, and their answers, about the process here.

The CFE Fund supports local Bank On coalitions through best practices found in our Bank On Coalition Playbook. Chapters cover a range of topics; newly-released chapters include best practices for Programmatic Banking Access Integration, a handout for financial institutions on the benefits of Bank On National Account Certification, guidelines for Launching or Relaunching a Coalition, local Strategies for Navigating Financial Institution Partnerships and Account Certification, a Bank On Coalition Logic Model,  a guide for using local Bank On data from the Bank On Data Pilot, and an annotated version of the 2019-2020 Bank On National Account Standards.

In addition to offering standardized and robust National Account Standards upon which coalitions and their financial institution partners may rely, the CFE Fund has worked with its National Advisory Board to develop model best practices for defining their successful relationship. The Statement of Financial Institution Partnership Principles provide a template to harmonize goals and guide partnerships with shared expectations.

The Bank On National Account Standards provide guidelines on over 25 product features that local Bank On coalitions should seek in their financial institution partnerships and that financial institutions should consider when developing basic transaction accounts. The guidelines include both core and recommended features, and focus on safety, cost, accessibility, and functionality.