Bank On Boston
Bank On Boston connects Boston residents with safe, affordable, reliable financial products and services that can help them save, grow, and access their money.
Many households in Boston do not have a checking or savings account. Instead, they rely on costly check-cashing and other alternative financial services. Opening a safe, affordable, non-predatory, and FDIC insured checking or savings account is an important step toward improving financial wellness. Bank On Boston helps make that step easier. The Bank On national account standards helps point residents to vetted accounts.
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Why Bank On Boston
Bank On Boston launched in 2017. The program helps Boston residents achieve economic mobility with better access to financial services.
In addition to connecting residents with non-predatory financial services, Bank On Boston also:
- raises public awareness of mainstream banking
- expands access to financial education, and
- connects residents to other programs of the Mayor’s Office for Financial Empowerment (OFE).
Approximately 10% of Boston households are unbanked. This means they do not have a checking or savings account. 20% of households are underbanked. Underbanked households may have a checking or savings account but continue to use costly alternative financial services.
These financial challenges disproportionately affect low-income families in Boston and nationwide.
Boston’s Roxbury, Dorchester, and East Boston neighborhoods are in need of mainstream banking options. These neighborhoods have 57% of the City’s check-cashing locations, but only 12% of the City’s commercial bank branches.
A household with an income of $32,000 per year can spend up to $2,400 annually cashing paychecks at check-cashing locations. These are funds that could instead go to savings accounts, college savings plans, or other important financial goals.
Explore the Banking Access Map
Explore Bank On Boston's interactive Banking Access Map to see where financial services are located in the City of Boston.
Bank On Boston Coalition
Coalition MembersThe Bank On Boston Coalition brings together government agencies (City, State, and Federal), financial institutions, community organizations, and direct service providers, like coaches to guide Bank On Boston. Together, the Coalition analyzes the landscape of financial services offered throughout the City and gathers resident input. It also establishes program processes and policies.
* Financial Institutions who offer Bank On National Account Standards Products.
- Action for Boston Community Development
- American Consumer Credit Counseling
- Asian American Civic Association
- Bank of America*
- Berkshire Bank*
- Boston Builds Credit
- Boston Housing Authority
- Brookline Bank
- Center for Working Families
- Change Machine
- Charlestown Adult Education & Charlestown Works
- Citizens Bank
- City of Boston Age Strong Commission
- City of Boston Credit Union
- City of Boston Disabilities Commission
- City of Boston Mayor's Office of Financial Empowerment
- City of Boston Economic Mobility Lab
- Compass Working Capital
- Cooperative Credit Union Association, Inc.
- Credit Builders Alliance
- Dedham Savings*
- Division of Banks
- Dora powered by USALLIANCE Financial
- Eastern Bank
- FDIC Boston Alliance for Economic Inclusion
- Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
- Greater Boston Legal Services
- HarborOne Bank
- Hingham institution for Savings
- Jewish Vocational Services
- JPMorgan Chase*
- Justice 4 Housing
- LendingClub*
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation
- M&T Bank*
- Massachusetts Bankers Association
- Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority
- Metro Credit Union*
- Metro Housing Boston
- Midas Collaborative
- NAMI Greater Boston Peer Support and Advocacy Network
- National Collaborative for Digital Equity
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- One Percent for America
- Partners for Youth with Disabilities
- Partnership for Financial Equity
- Project Citizenship
- PNC Bank
- Project Citizenship
- Rockland Trust Company
- Santander Bank
- TCB The Cooperative Bank*
- TD Bank*
- United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
- Urban Edge
- USAlliance Federal Credit Union
- Webster Bank
