30 Million Households Without Access to Banking

A recent study released this week by the FDIC states that 30 million households in the United States lack access to basic banking services. Over one quarter of American households rely on check cashing and payday lending services for financial services.

When a household is without basic banking it is more expensive to pay bills, and conduct day to day transactions. Costly fees at check cashing stores and payday lending services are charged to those that can least afford it.

Payroll debit cards help those households considered "unbanked" or "underbanked" by helping them have a low cost alternative to expensive check cashing and payday lending. The paycard is better than a bank account in many ways and is embraced by households that typically earn lesser amounts per payroll.

This study conducted by the Census Bureau found that 1.3 million households closed their bank accounts in 2008 due to: overdraft fees, high min balance requirements, and other services charges.

Next time you run your payroll, count how many paper checks you still produce and you will find that many of your employees may be in this group. Consider using a payroll debit card to help them out and keep them out of the check cashing stores and payday lending services.