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Just in case you're in the market for a "real problem", I have one for you. Especially those of you in San Francisco. Homeless people get absolutely shafted wh

Just in case you're in the market for a "real problem", I have one for you. Especially those of you in San Francisco. Homeless people get absolutely shafted when they go to cash their SSDI and GA benefits checks. Most of them don't have the requisite documentation to get a regular bank account, so most end up going to payday lenders, where they pay crazy fees to get a lump sum of cash that is at severe risk of getting lost or stolen. Moreover, because of the feast and famine problem of getting a significant amount of money every month, but not enough to actually pay for stable housing, a lot of that money gets totally wasted well before the next check comes. If somebody could come up with a way for homeless people to deposit benefits checks without getting huge fees taken out, and then create some kind of software to help them manage the money coming in, that person would be a hero to tens of thousands of poor people. And it sure beats the hell out of calling the SF DPW complaint line and having homeless people forcibly removed from the sidewalk in front of your office.

x0x0 12y ago
The unbanked in general get screwed. Nonetheless, this isn't a job for a startup. If you care about the unbanked, support postal banking -- they have the offices and the staff, and are in a position to offer dirt cheap basic financial services. This is also commonly done in other countries. The usual suspects (republicans) are of course against it because it cuts into the most lucrative customers for banks: people they can charge tons of fees. http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/08/13/what-happens-if-the-post-office-is-your-bank http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014...
- beatpanda 12y ago
  I feel like problems with known solutions that are blocked by political intransigence are perfect for startups.
  - x0x0 12y ago
    startups are designed to make money the last thing these people need is another person looking to take a cut out of them; half the point of the postal service doing it is to provide services at cost
lostcolony 12y ago
This, unfortunately, is largely due to legislative policies you likely can't get around. Due to the "omg, terrorists and money laundering and things!" scare, banks are required to get massive amounts of documentation now to open an account. While it might be possible to circumvent those laws, by creating a business that holds money in trust, working solely in cash (if you attempt to offer debit cards you likely are going to be treated as a bank by the feds), you have to not only get the poor to trust you (and they have no reason to, especially once there starts being -any- sort of consumer complaint, regardless of its being your fault or not), but you also have an insurance nightmare; you're working in cash, without FDIC protection. And the margins would be thin; you'd be providing a service greater than those payday lenders you're trying to replace, while charging less, and from the poorest, most transient of clientele. Seems like a lot of risk, both as a business and from the government, for very little chance of reward. It's a good idea, but your best shot at success would be to try and run it as a charity so as to at least have a chance at getting lawmaker support.
superuser2 12y ago
> create some kind of software To run on what device?
- jestar_jokin 12y ago
  A lot of homeless people survive by their phones. In Australia, 95% of homes people surveyed[1] had a mobile phone, 77% have smartphones. [1] http://apo.org.au/research/homeless-and-connected-mobile-phones-and-internet-lives-homeless-australians http://apo.org.au/research/homeless-and-connected-mobile-pho...
  - beatpanda 12y ago
    Yep. Phones would be the interface, through either smartphone app, SMS or voice.
MaysonL 12y ago
In LA the GR and food stamp money is auto-deposited to a debit card: at least one bank I've heard of allows you to use their ATM without fee.

x0x0 12y ago

The unbanked in general get screwed. Nonetheless, this isn't a job for a startup. If you care about the unbanked, support postal banking -- they have the offices and the staff, and are in a position to offer dirt cheap basic financial services. This is also commonly done in other countries. The usual suspects (republicans) are of course against it because it cuts into the most lucrative customers for banks: people they can charge tons of fees. http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/08/13/what-happens-if-the-post-office-is-your-bank http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014...

beatpanda 12y ago
I feel like problems with known solutions that are blocked by political intransigence are perfect for startups.
- x0x0 12y ago
  startups are designed to make money the last thing these people need is another person looking to take a cut out of them; half the point of the postal service doing it is to provide services at cost

lostcolony 12y ago

This, unfortunately, is largely due to legislative policies you likely can't get around. Due to the "omg, terrorists and money laundering and things!" scare, banks are required to get massive amounts of documentation now to open an account. While it might be possible to circumvent those laws, by creating a business that holds money in trust, working solely in cash (if you attempt to offer debit cards you likely are going to be treated as a bank by the feds), you have to not only get the poor to trust you (and they have no reason to, especially once there starts being -any- sort of consumer complaint, regardless of its being your fault or not), but you also have an insurance nightmare; you're working in cash, without FDIC protection. And the margins would be thin; you'd be providing a service greater than those payday lenders you're trying to replace, while charging less, and from the poorest, most transient of clientele. Seems like a lot of risk, both as a business and from the government, for very little chance of reward. It's a good idea, but your best shot at success would be to try and run it as a charity so as to at least have a chance at getting lawmaker support.

superuser2 12y ago

> create some kind of software To run on what device?

jestar_jokin 12y ago
A lot of homeless people survive by their phones. In Australia, 95% of homes people surveyed[1] had a mobile phone, 77% have smartphones. [1] http://apo.org.au/research/homeless-and-connected-mobile-phones-and-internet-lives-homeless-australians http://apo.org.au/research/homeless-and-connected-mobile-pho...
- beatpanda 12y ago
  Yep. Phones would be the interface, through either smartphone app, SMS or voice.

MaysonL 12y ago

In LA the GR and food stamp money is auto-deposited to a debit card: at least one bank I've heard of allows you to use their ATM without fee.