TOLEDO, Ohio – Four credit unions and seven banks are working together in this hard-hit Rustbelt city’s Bank on Toledo program, aimed at getting the unbanked into mainstream financial services.
“There are 43,000 households in Toledo that do not use the banking system,” Mayor Mike Bell said Tuesday as he introduced the program.
Bell said many people still hide their money inside their homes, rather than use a bank.
The institutions involved are Directions CU, Great Lakes CU, Nueva Esparanza CU, Toledo Urban FCU, Charter One Bank, Fifth Third Bank, FirstMerit Bank, Huntington, KeyBank, PNC Bank and State Bank and Trust Co.
The credit unions and banks are investing money to help advertise the program and educate people, who would in turn become new members and customers.
The program includes the ability to open a free or low-cost checking account, keep an account open without a minimum balance, open an account even if a person has had banking trouble in the past, and open an account without a Social Security number.
The program is modeled after similar initiatives in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio and more than two dozen other U.S. cities.
