A Staggering Number of New Yorkers Don’t Have Bank Accounts or Proper Access to Banks
An estimated 825,000 New Yorkers don’t currently have open checking accounts, while low-income, heavily minority neighborhoods like Mott Haven in the Bronx continue to be among the most bank-deprived and underserved communities in the nation, according to a new report issued by the New York City Comptroller’s Office.
The report, which is called “Take It to the Bank,” doubles as a financial-literacy initiative, as it combines research concerning things like neighborhood bank-concentration with handy facts about checking accounts, interest, and how to read the garbled fine print of various account disclosure statements.
“Take It to the Bank” concludes that the nearly one million NYC residents who have no bank account make the city one of the worst places in terms of financial stability and literacy, even though New York is one of the foremost financial hubs worldwide.
New York’s un-banked population “amounts to 13 percent of all City households, well above the national rate of 7.7 percent,” the report states. “In some neighborhoods like Mott Haven and Melrose in the Bronx, over half of all residents are classified as ‘unbanked.'”
But the report stops short of a damning proclamation of the city’s unequal banking distribution, by issuing very handy insights into how financial shortfalls can be averted. Some of these tips, which are buffeted by further statistics, intend to show just how easy it is to open a banking account, and where the best banks are for doing so:
Furthermore, the report ranks banks on a scale of their respective levels of affordability. Seventy-four New York banking institutions are listed, so the reader can asses things like the “amount of cash required to open and use each bank account for one year,” in addition to tips on avoiding pesky banking fees and the like.
As free checking accounts are a less typical bonus of banking these days, establishing a solid line of credit and a savings account worthy of retirement is not an easy endeavor. But “Take It to the Bank” provides transparency into the elusive process for New Yorkers of all stripes, as it supplies information on banks that accept the city’s new IDNYC card, which is a huge perk for tons of people, including undocumented immigrants across the five boroughs.