PaymentsJournal
No Result
View All Result
SIGN UP
  • Commercial
  • Credit
  • Debit
  • Digital Assets & Crypto
  • Digital Banking
  • Emerging Payments
  • Fraud & Security
  • Merchant
  • Prepaid
PaymentsJournal
  • Commercial
  • Credit
  • Debit
  • Digital Assets & Crypto
  • Digital Banking
  • Emerging Payments
  • Fraud & Security
  • Merchant
  • Prepaid
No Result
View All Result
PaymentsJournal
No Result
View All Result

California Considers Getting into Retail Banking

By Sarah Grotta
April 2, 2021
in Analysts Coverage, Banking, Commercial Payments, Compliance and Regulation, Debit, Digital Assets & Crypto, Digital Banking, Digitalization, Emerging Payments, Prepaid
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn
The Pandemic Will Change Retail Banking

State legislators in California have proposed offering banking accounts with low or no fees with the objective of supporting the needs of low-income individuals, although anyone would be eligible for the state-sponsored account. They aren’t planning on creating a state bank per se, but partnering with the private sector to make these accounts available. 

Government Technology summarized the initiate:

Nearly 20 Democratic legislators on Tuesday introduced a bill to establish a statewide public banking program, which would partner with private sector financial institutions to provide low-income workers with access to no-fee money transactions and debit cards.

Labor advocates said the program could save hundreds of dollars annually for households who do not have bank accounts or rely on alternative services such as money orders and payday loans.

“For an equitable recovery, we cannot look to the same institutions, the Wall Street banks that have long seeded the problems laid bare at this time,” said Jyotswaroop Bawa, organizing and campaigns director for the California Reinvestment Coalition.

I am not sure what the State of California believes that they will achieve that isn’t already available in the market.

  • Many financial institutions already offer low-cost banking options with no overdraft and no or limited check writing that might cause individuals to overdraw their account.  I’ll point out that Bank of America, with a lot of branches in California has just such an account.
  • Green Dot Corporation, a California headquartered company, and other firms that offer general purpose reloadable prepaid cards offer robust banking services at a low cost, available on-line and in retail locations.
  • Neo banks and challenger banks like Chime, Dave, N26 and many, many others offer free accounts particularly sought after by the digital-first population. 

So the good news for California legislators is that the solution already exists; there is no need to reinvent the wheel.  Perhaps they could turn their attention to promoting these options or work on expanding access to the internet so more consumers can take full advantage of the value of these accounts.

Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group

0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn
Tags: BankingDigitalLoansPayday LendersPrepaid cardsRetail Banking

    Get the Latest News and Insights Delivered Daily

    Subscribe to the PaymentsJournal Newsletter for exclusive insight and data from Javelin Strategy & Research analysts and industry professionals.

    Must Reads

    commercial card, Allpay ClearBank Prepaid Payments, wealth transfer

    How Banks Can Capture the Wealth Transfer from Boomers to Gen Z

    June 20, 2025
    embedded lending

    Embedded Lending as a Growth Strategy for ISVs—How to Maximize Revenue Potential

    June 18, 2025
    merchant ai

    Merchants Find More Use Cases for AI Amid Risks

    June 17, 2025
    prepaid payroll

    Taking the Check Out of Paycheck: The Role of Prepaid in Payroll

    June 16, 2025
    Banking-as-a-service BaaS

    Remodeling Main Street: How Community Banks Can Leverage the Banking-as-a-Service Paradigm

    June 12, 2025
    How Employee Performance Enhances the Customer Experience

    Three Strategies to Maximize Loyalty in the AI-Driven World 

    June 11, 2025
    PFM tools

    How FIs Are Cutting Through Subscription Clutter with PFM Tools

    June 10, 2025
    child identity theft

    Stranger Danger: Protecting Your Children from Identity Theft

    June 9, 2025

    Linkedin-in X-twitter
    • Commercial
    • Credit
    • Debit
    • Digital Assets & Crypto
    • Digital Banking
    • Commercial
    • Credit
    • Debit
    • Digital Assets & Crypto
    • Digital Banking
    • Emerging Payments
    • Fraud & Security
    • Merchant
    • Prepaid
    • Emerging Payments
    • Fraud & Security
    • Merchant
    • Prepaid
    • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Sign Up for Our Newsletter
    • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Sign Up for Our Newsletter

    ©2024 PaymentsJournal.com |  Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

    • Commercial Payments
    • Credit
    • Debit
    • Digital Assets & Crypto
    • Emerging Payments
    • Fraud & Security
    • Merchant
    • Prepaid
    No Result
    View All Result