National Partners Announce New Bank on Website

CFED, the U.S. Department of the Treasury,  the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, the National League of Cities and the New America Foundation,  launched a new-and-improved Bank On website –  JoinBankOn.org. The site will serve asq home for the national community of Bank On initiatives

JoinBankOn.org was originally developed by the Treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco to widely share the lessons learned from the innovative Bank On San Francisco initiative launched in 2006. According to San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, the new site “is the online home of the nationwide movement to ensure everyone has access to the financial mainstream. It provides communities with easy access to information and resources for starting or enhancing local Bank On programs.”

One of the newest features of JoinBankOn.org is Research Your Community, a tool to get estimates and maps of the number of unbanked and underbanked households in your local community. This new tool allows you to:

• Download estimates of unbanked and underbanked households at the state, county, city, MSA and census tract levels.
• Download supplementary demographic data on at-risk populations in your community.
• Print a customized report on the financially underserved members of your community.

Bank On Chicago, which launched in July, is serving 10 Chicago communities, partnering with 10 financial institutions, and engaging over 15 community partners. As a Bank On Chicago Steering Committee Member, IABG has been collaborating with the City Treasurer’s office and the community partners to ensure community members connect with safe banking products. In the City of Chicago, almost 35% of households are unbanked or underbanked. See a full profile of Chicago’s un/underbanked community on  JoinBankOn.org

This new national site can also provides:

• A directory of Bank On programs across the country. Find a Bank On program in your community, learn about their initiative and connect to the program administrators all at JoinBankOn.org.
• Downloadable resources where users can find and share materials useful at every stage in the development of a Bank On program.
• Guides to help users start a program, including step-by-step instructions and recommendations for how to bring Bank On to your area.
• News & Events, highlighting what’s going on around the country in financial access and economic inclusion.
• Discussion forums where members can ask questions, share best practices and learn more about promoting financial access in their communities.