The number of unbanked households in Oregon dropped from 3.8 percent in 2019 to just 1.8 percent in 2021, according to a study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This is significant for many Oregonians because it means they can avoid paying for expensive alternative financial services such as money orders, check cashing, and pre-paid cards.

Those costs can add up to thousands of dollars over a consumer’s lifetime.

Nationally, over 95 percent of U.S. households had some sort of banking account in 2021. If a household is banked it means at least one member has a savings or checking account at a bank or credit union.

The Oregon Legislature passed SB 1565 in 2022 that makes it an unlawful practice -- with a few exceptions -- for a place of public accommodation offering goods or services, or any person acting on behalf of such place, to refuse to accept from a customer or patron, as payment for goods and services, United States currency.

According to Anthony Smith with the National Federation of Independent Business, "Cash is a labor-intensive process – and under SB 1565, as more and more customers pay electronically, employees would still have to make bank deposits and count out cash registers, before and after each shift, accounting for every transaction down to the last penny, even if the business makes very few – or no cash sales in an average day. Having cash on hand can also prove to be a security risk, exposing employees to the risk of robbery and employers to theft."

"As customer behaviors change," Smith continued, businesses respond by meeting those changing expectations in ways that will keep customers coming back again and again. Customers expect quick check-out lines and fast transactions. SB 1565 limits the ability of a business to safely operate at peak efficiency with customer experiences in mind.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

“One of the challenges facing the unbanked is all of the fees you have to pay to access your money,” said TK Keen, administrator of the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation at the Department of Business and Consumer Services. “While the individual cost may seem minor, having to buy several different financial products to pay rent, utilities, and other monthly expenses starts to add up and eats into your monthly budget. I am pleased to see that our financial institutions continue to help us make headway in getting consumers accounts, and in turn, reducing fees that consumers pay in their daily lives.”

Despite this improvement, Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities, as well as people experiencing a disability, are much more likely to be unbanked. Only 2.1 percent of White households are unbanked in the U.S. In contrast, 9.3 percent of Latino households and 11.3 percent of Black households are unbanked.

“It is important to get as many people as possible banked,” Keen said. “Relationships with our financial institutions come in handy for other financial services people need, such as a loan to buy a car, a mortgage to buy a home, and emergency loans for unexpected expenses that come up.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-11-12 06:18:46

Last Update: 2022-11-11 11:58:53