A recently released American Bankers Association (ABA) report examines various barriers justice system-involved individuals encounter when attempting to access the financial system after completing their sentence.
ABA Foundation officials noted the whitepaper entitled “Strategies to Expand Financial Services Access for Individuals Involved in the Criminal Justice System” breaks down existing bank initiatives while outlining strategies banks can implement to expand financial services access to those individuals and support the reentry process.
“As an industry committed to financial inclusion, we need to understand and address the obstacles preventing justice-involved Americans from accessing the financial services they need,” ABA Foundation Executive Director Corey Carlisle said. “This new white paper examines those barriers and identifies several bank initiatives that could help reduce them. We hope these real-world case studies inspire other financial institutions to consider how they can assist justice-involved individuals within their own communities.”
Per the analysis, obstacles to financial services access for justice system-involved individuals include the lack of valid identification or permanent address, prior problems managing a bank account, misperceptions a conviction record will disqualify someone from opening an account, levies on bank accounts, or court garnishment orders because of past-due debt and high levels of fear or anxiety around banking services.
The white paper cites as potential solutions Bank On-certified accounts offering low costs, no overdraft fees, debit cards, and online bill pay; banks establishing local or state department of corrections partnerships enabling varied justice-involved people to cash certain kinds of checks; and banks considering inclusive design into products and services by modifying restrictions resulting in unintended denials of service for justice-involved individuals.