CFE Fund Announces More Than 100 Bank On Certified Accounts
The CFE Fund announced that there are now more than 100 bank and credit union accounts nationally certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Banks and credit unions offering certified accounts comprise over 50% of the U.S. deposit market share, and 40% of all US bank branches offer a certified account; nearly two million Bank On certified accounts were opened in 2019. With the certification of BMO Harris’ Smart Money™ Account, BOM Bank’s EZ Checking account, Rio Grande Credit Union’s Fresh Start Checking, US Eagle FCU’s Flex Checking account, and Wintrust Community Banks’ Money Smart Checking account, there are now 108 accounts certified as meeting Bank On National Account Standards. These accounts can expand access to safe and appropriate transactional accounts to the almost 36 million people outside of the mainstream financial system, and can be used to receive and manage the federal Child Tax Credit and other emergency payments.
The CFE Fund Submits CRA Modernization Comment Letter
The CFE Fund recently submitted a comment letter to the Federal Reserve Board on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) modernization. Citing experiences from the Bank On movement, as well as the FECPublic initiative, the CFE Fund recommended that the CRA examination process should credit financial institutions’ provision of safe and affordable banking accounts and support for meaningful financial inclusion efforts.
Bank On Certified Accounts Help Hundreds of Thousands of Residents Receive Stimulus and Other Emergency Payments Safely and with Social Distance
The CFE Fund announced today that 60 financial institutions with over 28,000 branches across the entire country now offer accounts certified as meeting newly updated Bank On National Account Standards (2021-2022). These low cost, no-overdraft, no-surprise-fee bank and credit union accounts have been highlighted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and other federal agencies in connecting people to claiming or depositing their Economic Impact (stimulus) and other emergency payments, and were recently embraced by the American Bankers Association. Products certified as meeting these national Standards are already available in 99 of the largest 100 metro markets, and in 50 states and Washington, DC, at banks and credit unions that range in size from 2 branches to 5,500 branches; financial institutions with Bank On certified accounts already comprise over 45% of the national deposit market share.
