Bank on Indy

How did you first learn about managing money? As a child, you might have had an allowance and a piggy bank, and as you got older, perhaps you had a part time job and a checking account. At some point, you probably learned something about the value of money and keeping it safe. Through economic literacy programs at local Girls Inc. chapters, for example, many central Indiana girls are developing money management skills at an early age.

79,000 Marion County residents do not use bank accounts, according to today’s Indianapolis Star article “Indy to help 79,000 ‘unbanked’ open accounts.” Instead, these residents utilize cash or payday loan companies that charge a fee to cash a paycheck. “Bank on Indy” is a campaign to encourage these residents to obtain bank accounts. Twelve area banks participating in the program will forgive those who have made financial missteps in the past and allow them to establish free or low-cost bank accounts, as well as access support services provided by ten local community centers and five Centers for Working Families (click on the article and program titles to learn more).

"Bank on Indy" allows community members to gain access to a resource many of us take for granted. For a woman living paycheck to paycheck, utilizing a payday loan company that charges a fee of $8-$12 per paycheck she cashes, the ability to establish a bank account charging no more than $15 a year may help her stabilize herself and teach her children about money management. Coupled with support from other community resources, such as Making Connections and Business Ownership Initiative, “Bank on Indy” is an important part of a woman’s path to economic self-sufficiency. Women’s Fund applauds this new initiative!