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“Eliminate the unbanked in NYC” is a lot harder to achieve than “require businesses to accept cash.”
by fipple 8y ago
“Eliminate the unbanked in NYC” is a lot harder to achieve than “require businesses to accept cash.”
- hakfoo 8y agoI always imagined the solution was some sort of universal bank account. Every SSN/ITIN/EIN has a bank account with some basic defined features attached. The account might technically be operated by a state entity to solve some of the cost problems of many accounts with near-zero balances. Might fit well with the "turn post offices into banks" proposal that was big a year or two ago--let them be the point of service for the universal account. If this seems too Bolshevik, it could be a state-run "API only" product-- consumers have to associate the account with a private-enterprise bank to get typical consumer features (cash deposits and withdrawls, a debit card). Let consumers migrate the account to the "servicer bank" of choice the way you can port your phone number from T-mobile to Sprint, and it would spur a competitive market. You'd also get some huge knock-on benefits. Everyone has a bank account for direct deposit, so those predatory prepaid-debit cards for wages become obsolete. Distributing welfare and social security is a lot simpler. It provides a huge and uniform target for anyone wanting to do something new in the payment space-- talk to their API and you can reach every potential customer in the nation, rather than going bank by bank.