How to Overcome Poverty by Helping the Unbanked?

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Banking is something that many of us take for granted, whether that’s because of our easy-to-use credit cards, our secure and federally insured bank accounts, or it could even be due to the direct deposit into our accounts on a biweekly schedule from our employers. For many, though, the convenience and security of established banking is out of reach, and whether or not they resort to using expensive (and sometimes illegal and dangerous) alternatives like check-cashing offices, hiding their money in a coffee can in the backyard, or by some other means, the problem of poverty and income disparity will remain. Have you ever considered how difficult life is without access to a bank? Even those with filtered options — options that aren’t restricted by any external force but are limited in the scope of their usefulness — can be found in many first world countries. Filtered options like check-cashing centers, prepaid debit cards provided by an employer instead of a check, or relying on pawn shops for “credit” since they have no credit card options. Until we offer fair, affordable, and unfiltered banking options to the masses we will never reach greater financial equality in terms of banking access across the globe.