[nopenopenopeno]

All of these things work well for the rich, but the number of unbanked working Americans is astronomical. They cash their checks for fees. Try visiting the customer service counter at a rural Walmart in the U.S. on a Friday and you will see what I mean. The line snakes back to the rear of the store.

[scarface74]

Exactly how does commerce happen without banks at any scale? Banking has been around a lot longer than social media.

[throwaway946513]

The unbanked Americans are people who either are unable to open an account, or have been denied opening accounts. To cash their checks, keep their income, etc..., they have to pay much more in fees.

Historically (in the U.S.) it was rooted in racism post-U.S. civil war. Now, less so. The history is still there, and the inability of poor people to obtain an account still exist. It excludes people from getting mortgages, loans, investing, etc. Cash App has become a digital bank for many of the unbanked. Before Cash App, decades ago, we had the U.S. Postal Service providing some banking services to Americans. (No, the USPS attempting to help Americans in this manner is not new, we've done it before)

[astura]

I know a few "unbanked" people.

Some know don't have a bank account because they simply don't trust banks. They want to have access to 100% of their money 100% of the time.

Some don't have a bank account because they don't have income (adult dependents)

One didn't have a bank account because she was a minor and there was no adult around willing or able to open one for her to use.

When I was a kid I knew of a few adults who had bank accounts closed on them for check kiting, including my parents - I know of this because I overheard people talking about it quite a lot. I don't know what ended up happening after that, if they were able to open a new account or what. I know you probably wouldn't be able to open a new account nowadays with Chexsystem and the like. Of course, check kiting also isn't a thing anymore either.

[zxcvbn4038]

I don’t blame them, places like Citibank and Chase exist to dip into your account as frequently as possible. Do you think it really costs $45 to handle a bounced check? It’s a completely automated process, costs them a fraction of a cent if you agreed to electronic documents, the rest is pure gravy.

However if your in the US and having trouble with the banks I’d recommend looking for “millennial” banking which is usually zero fee, but you can’t write paper checks and they are remote only.

My wife was paying almost a thousand a month in fees at a regular bank, after I moved her to one of the millennial banks she really prospered. She can’t overdraw the account anymore - and it’s not really an issue since the bank is no longer taking half her paycheck.

[throwawayboise]

I call BS. Anyone with proper ID and payroll income can open a bank account. Most big employers (e.g. mine) will even require it -- payroll is made by direct deposit.

There may be minimum balance requirements and/or fees but if you shop around a bit (look especially at local credit unions) they are not onerous and are almost certainly lower than what check-cashing services will charge. They do demand a bit more management and responsibility compared to a wad of cash in one's pocket, but that's the way life is.

[iypx]

By "proper ID" you mean the right kind of country ID, I assume?

Cause I've been denied by two banks, the third bank even had two countries blacklisted.. that's right, on their official website they wrote: "we are currently unable to accept government issued IDs from X and Y" or something along those lines.

[bduerst]

That's the history, but you're missing the context of today. Many "unbanked" americans are immigrants voluntarily trying to avoid reporting and stay off the grid.

The solution lay in busting bias and fixing immigration laws though, not banking.

[withinboredom]

I take it you didn’t go to the rural Walmart on a Friday. Otherwise you’d know that isn’t anywhere near true.

[bduerst]

This is prejudicial. Help me understand - how exactly do you know all the people at WalMart on Fridays are illegal immigrants?

I grew up in rural america and worked part-time alongside illegal immigrants, so yeah, it is true even if we're using anecdotal evidence. Your Walmart anecdote is an example of survivor bias.

[withinboredom]

I’m saying that most unbanked Americans aren’t immigrants. You’re the one who said they were mostly illegal immigrants.