NEW ORLEANS – ASI FCU is planning to open the region’s first bilingual branch here this summer and will offer the region’s immigrants a "safe" account that will provide access to their funds by family in their home countries.
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The accounts will provide a second ATM card that the accountholders can send to relatives back home to tap into the account, saving on expensive wire transfer fees. The safe accounts will not earn interest because they will not require a Social Security or federal tax ID number.
To open a safe account a non-U.S. citizen could use a passport, ID card or driver’s license issued by a foreign government.
The bilingual branch will have employees who speak Spanish, as well as English and offer documents in both languages.
