So this woman spends some time in a cash checking place and now knows why "poor" people don't use banks?
Poor people don't use banks because you don't need a bank when you live check-to-check. One doesn't need to make a deposit when the check they just got doesn't cover their expenses from last month. So her concluding statement of "the banking industry needs to develop different fee and service structures designed to accommodate lower income depositors "makes no sense.
It's not a choice, it's not like people are like "Hmm, well I could deposit my money and make 0.5% back next month", it's more like "shit, I'm behind on my gas bill and can't have my family freezing again this winter."
The fact that the teller at the check cashing place is like "family" and they speak spanish isn't really a reason why the poors go there, it's because they don't have a choice.
As an former academic who made it out of the poverty system with some serious work and lots of scars to prove it, this article really pisses me off. Not only due to it's lack of perspective, but due to it's lack of due diligence to actually answer the question they claim to answer in the title.
Poor people don't use banks because you don't need a bank when you live check-to-check. One doesn't need to make a deposit when the check they just got doesn't cover their expenses from last month. So her concluding statement of "the banking industry needs to develop different fee and service structures designed to accommodate lower income depositors "makes no sense.
It's not a choice, it's not like people are like "Hmm, well I could deposit my money and make 0.5% back next month", it's more like "shit, I'm behind on my gas bill and can't have my family freezing again this winter."
The fact that the teller at the check cashing place is like "family" and they speak spanish isn't really a reason why the poors go there, it's because they don't have a choice.
As an former academic who made it out of the poverty system with some serious work and lots of scars to prove it, this article really pisses me off. Not only due to it's lack of perspective, but due to it's lack of due diligence to actually answer the question they claim to answer in the title.