Category: Newsletter

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.

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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. Read the full issue here. 

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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. Read the full issue here.

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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. Read the full issue here.

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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. Previously, these payments were disbursed through paper checks or prepaid cards. Both states have ceased payments through prepaid cards, and focused instead onthe availability of safe banking accounts that meet the CFE Fund’s Bank On National Account Standards. These programs, and other similar efforts to connect large-scale public payments to safe banking access, have seen tremendous success—the FDIC found that 2021 saw the lowest national rate of unbanked people ever recorded, with over a third of those recently banked citing a government payment as the reason they opened an account. Read the full issue here and subscribe to the Skyline here. 

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. In the past, direct cash transfers have often been disbursed via prepaid cards, preventing recipients from connecting to the financial mainstream. This Skyline piece highlights programs in Allegheny County, PA and Milwaukee, WI that pair direct cash payments with financial education and other financially stabilizing opportunities – including incentivizing safe banking access for program participants. These programs have seen powerful results, with the majority of youth participants opening accounts and working towards financial independence. Read the full issue here and subscribe to the Skyline here. 

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. Additionally, the issue describes the launch of a “Legacy Planning” pilot integrating estate planning services into Financial Empowerment Centers; shares updates from the CityStart initiative; and over 300 accounts are now certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Finally, this issue features a guest column from ChexSystems President Ron Whyte, highlighting how the ChexSystems Bank On bundle works to reduce the traditional barriers of negative banking history for under- and un-banked people. 

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. Additionally, the issue announces the second cohort of FEC Academy; shares updates from the Financial Navigators initiative; and details the latest updates for a new expansion of the CityStart initiative to incorporate a racial equity lens. Finally, this issue features a guest column from Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum, highlighting Tulsa’s commitment to Financial Empowerment work, and the success of its Financial Navigators and Financial Empowerment Center programs.