Impact

To ensure strong financial futures for residents, local governments increasingly are using their unique powers to protect consumers from scams, fraud, and financial abuse. Two municipalities offering notable consumer protection models are Cuyahoga County, OH—who launched a “Scam Squad” to combat financial scams—and Denver, CO, who passed an innovative wage theft ordinance and launched an accompanying complaint hotline to support enforcement.

By connecting riders to Bank On certified accounts, two local transit agencies used the shift to contactless payment to help bring riders into the financial mainstream.

By connecting financial empowerment to rental assistance programs, two cities supercharged social service success and brought together a range of partners to build a cohesive ecosystem around longer-term financial stability.

Regulatory requirements to verify a customer’s identity have posed notable barriers to banking for those who may not have traditional government-issued IDs. But local government leaders and community organizations around the country are partnering with financial institutions to flexibly connect consumers to safe banking.

This issue of the Skyline spotlights efforts in Illinois and Maryland to expand banking access by promoting and incentivizing direct deposits into safe bank and credit union accounts for unemployment payments.

This issue of the Skyline spotlights innovative ways that programs are using direct cash assistance as an opportunity to provide system-involved young people with banking access.

This issue, Issue 27, provides updates on the CFE Fund’s and partner cities’ financial empowerment efforts, including a focus on our in-person convenings enhancing our work.

In this issue, Issue 26, the CFE Fund celebrates its 10-year anniversary and provides updates on the CFE Fund’s and partner cities’ financial empowerment efforts, including an announcement that the Bank On movement has certified over 250 bank and credit union accounts, helping newly bank 3.1 million residents.