5 ms·

Can you give me an example of one community in the entire US with a postal service but not a bank? Not to mention neobanks. All you need is a $100 smartphone f

Can you give me an example of one community in the entire US with a postal service but not a bank? Not to mention neobanks. All you need is a $100 smartphone for that.

toomuchtodo 5y ago
https://www.fastcompany.com/90683033/the-post-office-is-finally-going-to-try-out-being-a-bank https://www.fastcompany.com/90683033/the-post-office-is-fina... “According to a 2019 report by the Federal Reserve, 22% of American adults, or 63 million, are either “unbanked” or “underbanked,” meaning they don’t have easy access to a financial institution to do things like cash checks or save money.” “At the same time, millions of people who live in “bank deserts” are in need of banking access. Post offices seem like an apt solution: 59% of them are in zip codes that have no banks at all.” And smartphones as a requirement for neobanks or online only banks is an equity issue. Not everyone can afford a smartphone, even one as inexpensive as $100. A debit card can be issued for a few dollars, and postal workers are already working the retail counter.
- orwin 5y ago
  And in some places in WV, not even talking about edge, even getting phone signal is hard (i'm not complaining, great place to take some vacations). I'd be surprised if even 1/5 of people in those remote communities have internet with their phone.
- pyuser583 5y ago
  And these are places that have Post Offices?
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    Correct. There are 31k US post offices across the US, so roughly 18,300 post offices where there are no banks. Makes sense to extend some operating procedures and point of sale systems to offer banking services at that scale.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  "A banking deserts are geographic areas where no banks exist within a 10 miles radius". I don't think that means dont have access so banks. I live in an area 10 miles away from the nearest bank or office and I'm in a suburb.
  - Jcowell 5y ago
    10 mile away sounds terrible when you don’t have a car and public transportation is inadequate.
derekjdanserl 5y ago
There are certainly at least a thousand, and that’s probably a laughably low estimate. I can think of 10 right off the top of my head but you’ve never heard of them. I currently live in McDaniels, KY and it’s one. My bank is a 1 hour drive one way. I would bet money that there are over 200 in Kentucky alone.
lukewrites 5y ago
Startup, WA Gold Bar, WA Skykomish, WA At least from Apple Maps, they’ve all got a USPS but no bank.
- adenadel 5y ago
  Someone who knows the Sunday traffic on Highway 2, I assume.
tablespoon 5y ago
> Not to mention neobanks. All you need is a $100 smartphone for that. ...and the time and sophistication to know about "neobanks," choose one, and sign up.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  Chime has 13.1 million accounts.
  - tablespoon 5y ago
    >> ...and the time and sophistication to know about "neobanks," choose one, and sign up. > Chime has 13.1 million accounts. That kind of proves my point. There are more than 300 million people in the US, and they've only reached 4%. Hardly the kind of thing that will solve the problem for less sophisticated people. Also, the problem of unbanked/underbanked people exists despite them, so that's another clue that they're not the solution.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    Chime, like (Bank)Simple, could disappear at any time, hence the enormous value in durable public goods sponsored by the government (USPS, postal banking, etc).
gremloni 5y ago
What if you need to pull out more than a few hundred bucks at a time? ATMs have serious limits.
thesagan 5y ago
Dansville, Michigan
Turing_Machine 5y ago
Many villages in Bush Alaska. Often the local store (in places that are large enough to have a store) will be sort of "deputized" as a post office, but there's rarely a bank.

Can you give me an example of one community in the entire US with a postal service but not a bank? Not to mention neobanks. All you need is a $100 smartphone for that.

toomuchtodo 5y ago

https://www.fastcompany.com/90683033/the-post-office-is-finally-going-to-try-out-being-a-bank https://www.fastcompany.com/90683033/the-post-office-is-fina... “According to a 2019 report by the Federal Reserve, 22% of American adults, or 63 million, are either “unbanked” or “underbanked,” meaning they don’t have easy access to a financial institution to do things like cash checks or save money.” “At the same time, millions of people who live in “bank deserts” are in need of banking access. Post offices seem like an apt solution: 59% of them are in zip codes that have no banks at all.” And smartphones as a requirement for neobanks or online only banks is an equity issue. Not everyone can afford a smartphone, even one as inexpensive as $100. A debit card can be issued for a few dollars, and postal workers are already working the retail counter.

orwin 5y ago
And in some places in WV, not even talking about edge, even getting phone signal is hard (i'm not complaining, great place to take some vacations). I'd be surprised if even 1/5 of people in those remote communities have internet with their phone.
pyuser583 5y ago
And these are places that have Post Offices?
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Correct. There are 31k US post offices across the US, so roughly 18,300 post offices where there are no banks. Makes sense to extend some operating procedures and point of sale systems to offer banking services at that scale.
missedthecue 5y ago
"A banking deserts are geographic areas where no banks exist within a 10 miles radius". I don't think that means dont have access so banks. I live in an area 10 miles away from the nearest bank or office and I'm in a suburb.
- Jcowell 5y ago
  10 mile away sounds terrible when you don’t have a car and public transportation is inadequate.

derekjdanserl 5y ago

There are certainly at least a thousand, and that’s probably a laughably low estimate. I can think of 10 right off the top of my head but you’ve never heard of them. I currently live in McDaniels, KY and it’s one. My bank is a 1 hour drive one way. I would bet money that there are over 200 in Kentucky alone.

lukewrites 5y ago

Startup, WA Gold Bar, WA Skykomish, WA At least from Apple Maps, they’ve all got a USPS but no bank.

adenadel 5y ago
Someone who knows the Sunday traffic on Highway 2, I assume.

tablespoon 5y ago

> Not to mention neobanks. All you need is a $100 smartphone for that. ...and the time and sophistication to know about "neobanks," choose one, and sign up.

missedthecue 5y ago
Chime has 13.1 million accounts.
- tablespoon 5y ago
  >> ...and the time and sophistication to know about "neobanks," choose one, and sign up. > Chime has 13.1 million accounts. That kind of proves my point. There are more than 300 million people in the US, and they've only reached 4%. Hardly the kind of thing that will solve the problem for less sophisticated people. Also, the problem of unbanked/underbanked people exists despite them, so that's another clue that they're not the solution.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Chime, like (Bank)Simple, could disappear at any time, hence the enormous value in durable public goods sponsored by the government (USPS, postal banking, etc).

gremloni 5y ago

What if you need to pull out more than a few hundred bucks at a time? ATMs have serious limits.

thesagan 5y ago

Dansville, Michigan

Turing_Machine 5y ago

Many villages in Bush Alaska. Often the local store (in places that are large enough to have a store) will be sort of "deputized" as a post office, but there's rarely a bank.