www.cfefund.org

Bank On 2.0

 José Cisneros, Treasurer, City and County of San Francisco and Board Member, CFE Fund

Jonathan Mintz, President and CEO, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund

FDIC Committee on Financial Inclusion

October 29, 2014
www.cfefund.org

The scope of the problem

• Approximately 68 million adults in the United States live 

outside the financial mainstream.

• Over $320 billion is spent nationally on alternative financial 

services.

• Full-time workers can lose up to $40,000 over the course of 

their working lives by using check cashers.

• Traditional income supports, housing subsidies, and workforce 

programs are undermined by financial instability, causing 

former recipients of programs to return repeatedly.
www.cfefund.org

The Bank On solution

• From early programs launched in 2005 and 2006, grew to 100 

programs with over 500,000 transactional accounts opened

• Multiple national nonprofit organizations engaged in program 

growth

• Several federal regulator partners investing in banking access
www.cfefund.org

Bank On 1.0 – nationwide program 

leadership survey results

• Satisfaction with Bank On in current incarnation is split:

• 37% satisfied or very satisfied

• 38% neutral

• 25% dissatisfied

• 55% serve a county/regional area

• 53% have budget less than $10,000

• 72% receive funding from financial institutions

• 52% of financial institutions provide data

• 4% require no overdraft on Bank On products
www.cfefund.org

Challenges identified by Bank On 

programs and partners

• Variability of programs and products

• Data collection and reliability

• Ongoing policy issues prevent scale

• Know Your Customer

• Consumer Reporting Agencies and account screening

• CRA credit

• Repetitive account negotiation difficult for national financial 

institutions
www.cfefund.org

Exploring a vision for the future

• Momentum and ongoing interest in Bank On

• Identifying and implementing best practices, program 

standards, and municipal integrations

• Increasing number of the right types of safe, affordable 

products by financial institutions

• Opportunities to address regulatory and private sector policy 

barriers

• Designing a national infrastructure to assist and improve local 

efforts
www.cfefund.org

The Bank On 2.0 opportunity

• Research and pilots

• National program survey

• Consumer reporting agencies and account screening 

research

• Multicity pilot

• Additional pilots

• Planning and development

• Policy work

• Advisory Board

• Conference
www.cfefund.org

Implemented multicity banking access 

pilot: Summer Jobs Connect

• Developing an infrastructure of banking access

• Summer Youth Employment Program

• Summer One pilot cohort cities: 

• Chicago

• Los Angeles 

• Miami

• New York City 

• San Francisco
www.cfefund.org

Commissioned study of consumer reporting 

agencies and account screening

• Identified ongoing barrier to banking access

• Engaged National Consumer Law Center to prepare study

• Working with CFPB on solutions
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Upcoming pilots

• Rural engagement

• Technology solutions

• Direct deposit for municipal employees and/or vendors
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Bank On 2.0 National Advisory Board

• Gathering of relevant players for shared vision and advice

• Evaluation and issue key recommendations on:

• Appropriate financial product guidelines

• Service delivery best practices

• Program practices and services

• Guidance on a go-forward national platform for program 

support
www.cfefund.org

Bank On 2.0 Conference

• Conference bringing the field together to address how to:

• Find and structure the right financial products and 

services

• Connect those financial products and services to target 

populations

• Build strong coalitions to ensure sustained delivery of good 

products and services
www.cfefund.org

Vision for the future: 

what a national platform could accomplish

• The promise of scaled solutions

• Energize key partners

• Upgrade program and partnership standards

• Connect people to good products at scale

• Growing the field

• Program improvement

• Informing policy through practice

• Engaging federal agency partners
www.cfefund.org

Vision for the future:

ongoing national technical assistance and 

leadership

• Product endorsement & national platform for access

• Municipal integration best practices

• Financial institution customer engagement practices

• Ongoing research and pilots
www.cfefund.org

Vision for the future:

resolving policy issues

• Identification and “Know Your Customer”

• Data collection

• Community Reinvestment Act

• Consumer Reporting Agencies
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