• Home
  • Education
  • News and Resources
  • Advocacy
  • Associate Members
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
News
Community, Member News, News

Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Aims To Bring Unbanked People Into the Mainstream Financial System

There are a lot of reasons people give for not having a bank account. 

“Everything from not having enough money, to a mistrust of financial institutions, high fees, lack of identification, credit history problems,” said Kathy Blumenfeld, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. 

The trouble is, not being part of the mainstream financial system then leaves many who can least afford it paying check-cashing outlets to get their own money, and often doing transactions in cash or buying money orders. For some, it becomes tougher and tougher to ever get ahead. 

But a growing program in metro Milwaukee is making it easier for people who are unbanked and underbanked to join the system. The Bank On Greater Milwaukee initiative is addressing the concerns of people who don’t have a banking relationship and taking away barriers to opening a transaction account with a bank or credit union. 

Blumenfeld said having such a program operating in Wisconsin’s biggest metro area is a way to help more people improve their personal financial situation. 

“Really, having a bank account is the first step in establishing a pathway to financial wellness,” Blumenfeld said. “And so when we look at the numbers of unbanked and underbanked people, especially in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County right now, this is just a terrific program with open arms and gives them the opportunity to have that stability and have that access to basic financial accounts.” 

Constance Alberts, program manager for Bank On Greater Milwaukee, said the effort is part of a national coalition, called Bank On, that connects consumers to safe and affordable banking products.  The program certifies bank and credit union accounts that comply with its standards for product offerings. 

“One of the most important things is that there’s no overdrafts. You can’t opt out or opt in. The accounts that are available, you cannot overdraw these accounts at all,” Alberts said. “If you don’t have the money in the account, you’re not going to get charged for trying nor are you going to get a fee.” 

The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE) set up the standards used to certify checking accounts for the Bank On program. Among other requirements: 

  • Minimum deposit of $25 to open an account 

  • No non-sufficient fund fees or inactive account fees 

  • Monthly maintenance fee of no more than $5 if not waivable 

  • Free use of in-network ATMs and maximum $2.50 for use of out-of-network ATM 

  • Debit card/pre-paid card for point-of-sale capability. 

Jeff Langkamp, chief compliance officer for Bank Five Nine, said the key feature is no overdraft fees. 

“Most of the stories that you hear — and stats back it up — people don’t have trust in the banking system, and usually it’s because they’ve been burned by fees, in particular overdraft fees,” said Langkamp, whose bank offers its Achieve Checking program as a Bank On-approved product. 

With Achieve Checking, a debit card purchase will be declined at the point of sale if the balance is inadequate. 

“They don’t have check-writing capability. They have online banking so they can use bill pay and all that other stuff,” Langkamp said. “There isn’t an overdraft fee that can be charged. We return everything.” 

Langkamp said Bank Five Nine began offering the account aimed at unbanked and underbanked people in 2020 because it fit into the bank’s stated mission to “make lives better.” It has about 30 such accounts now. 

“I know a lot of banks will freak out, that, ‘Oh, we’re going to lose income — that’s one of our drivers.’ We really, in a year and a half, have had limited customers that have even overdrawn their account,” Langkamp said. 

The Federal Reserve’s “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2020 – May 2021” report showed that about 5% of the adult population did not have a bank account. Another 13% had bank accounts but still used alternative financial services such as check cashing, money orders, payday loans, pawn shop loans, and tax refund advances. 

Eighty-four percent of all unbanked adults had income below $25,000, and 94% had income below $50,000. 

Alberts said metro Milwaukee has “a large number of people who are not accessing or don’t have access to safe and affordable banking products.” 

Bringing them into the system through Bank On Greater Milwaukee can give them a fundamental building block for financial wellness, she said. 

The program is intended for people of all ages, not just heads of households. 

“When you look at youth, getting that first job, it’s really crucial to have that bank account,” she said. “It starts you off with a solid foundation.” 

Alberts said Bank On Greater Milwaukee works with a network of community organizations, local governments, businesses, and others to help get the word out to people who would benefit from an account with one of its participating banks. 

The Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin formed Milwaukee’s Bank On working group in late 2017 with help from the CFE Fund, Milwaukee’s Alliance from Economic Inclusion, local funders, and more than 30 partners from the private, public and nonprofit sectors. 

When Bank On Greater Milwaukee started in 2018, there were six certified accounts available from financial institutions in the area. Now there are 14. They are: Bank Five Nine, Achieve Checking; BMO Harris Bank, Smart Money; Chase, Secure Banking; CIBC, Easy Path Access; The Equitable Bank, EZ Checking; First Federal Bank, Fresh Start Checking; First Midwest Bank, Foundation Checking; Old National, EZ Access Checking; PNC Bank, Foundational Checking, and Smart Access Prepaid VISA Card; Self Help Credit Union, EZ Access Checking; Summit Credit Union, Balance Account; US Bank, Safe Debit; and Wells Fargo, Clear Access Banking. 

There will be more, Blumenfeld said. 

“Even organizations — banks and credit unions — that aren’t certified yet are really making strides to get there and to meet the requirements to become a certified Bank On program,” she said. 

It will take commitment and persistence, though, to persuade some of the unbanked population that a new account will benefit them. 

“It’s hard,” Langkamp said. “It’s a population that would prefer not to have a bank. To try to change that mindset to that a bank is a friend and a partner and can help you out, it takes a little while.”

Paul Gores is a journalist who covered business news for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 20 years. Have a story idea? Contact him at paul.gores57@gmail.com.

By, Cassie Krause

Print 🖨
August 17, 2021/by Jose De La Rosa
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg 0 0 Jose De La Rosa https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Jose De La Rosa2021-08-17 13:36:522021-10-13 15:07:05Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Aims To Bring Unbanked People Into the Mainstream Financial System

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Community
  • Compliance
  • Credit Unions
  • Education
  • Member News
  • News
  • Products
  • Resources
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Association Update: Engaging with Your Association
  • Martin Joins One Community Bank Advisory Board
  • Ritchay Promoted to Vice President
  • Embracing a Culture of Cybersecurity
  • Mesura Retires From Waukesha State Bank

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
WBA logo
  • About
  • Community
  • Subsidiaries
  • Staff

questions@wisbank.com

608-441-1200

4721 S Biltmore Ln.
Madison, WI 53718

Get our Newsletter!
Subscribe

© 2023 Wisconsin Bankers Association. All rights reserved. | Website Design by Bizzy Bizzy
Creating Innovation – A Post-Pandemic ImperativeThe Fed’s FraudClassifier Model — A Powerful Tool for Countering...
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more×

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Terms of Use
Accept settingsHide notification only

Subscribe

* indicates required








Membership