When you’re too poor to have an account, you have to go to a check cashing place and pay to get paid.
Use that check to open a bank account. Virtually every bank will give you a free account if you deposit your paycheck with them.
Comment on Being poor is expensive
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Being poor is super expensive. When you don’t have enough money in your bank account they’ll charge you a monthly fee. When you’re too poor to have an account, you have to go to a check cashing place and pay to get paid. Too poor to have awesome credit? You have to pay higher interest fees and larger deposits.
RamRabbit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s not true if you have bad enough credit or are a migrant worker. There’s an entire check cashing industry based on taking advantage of people who can’t get bank accounts and charging outrageous fees.
RamRabbit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s not true if you have bad enough credit
Lots of banks specifically cater to people with bad credit and banking histories as well. Here is a Forbes article about them with a list.
coolie4@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’ve never understood check cashing places.
I thought people only went to them because they didn’t want to wait for checks to clear, or they didn’t want a paper trail on a checking account, because it would get automatically garnished for child support.
Are you saying that someone could actually be so poor that a bank will refuse them from opening a checking account? What risk is there to the bank if it goes empty?
DagwoodIII@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
One thing is financial literacy.
A lot of people come from a cycle of poverty where no one around them can explain why it’s a good idea to have a bank account.
Also, there are predatory banks that demand minimum amounts to start any account. If you don’t have $200.00 to start an account it’s hard to start an account.
Back in the day, banks encouraged little kids to start bank accounts with just a few dollars. I had a bank book when I was 12. Those days are long gone. I went to Bank of America with a check from a BOA account and they wanted to charge me. I could wait to get to my own bank, but other folks wouldn’t have that option.
Formfiller@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
We also used to have a 70% wealth tax in those “good ol days” pre Reagan
DagwoodIII@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Reagan was a good family man who believed in small town values and honesty.
He threw away his wife for a bimbo after moving to Hollywood.
HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Credit Unions for example require a share purchase usually so while it’s usually quite small some people can’t afford to loose even $5.
Sometimes it’s also debt, guy owes his normal bank a fuckload of money so uses the cash checking to cash his check, he might lose a bit in fees but it’s probably less than what the bank would of taken. I’ve seen alot of contractors in this situation.
HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Is that what they mean when they say money’s tight?
Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Ive cashed paychecks at one point using these placss. I dont think I had a bank account at the time. I dont remember why. And I used to cash them at Stop n Shop, a grocery store. They would do it for a small fee. Then one day, they said they wouldnt cash my checks anymore, because my credit was bad? It made no sense to me at the time.
So for about a year, I used the local sketch ball check cashing place.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They don’t want to risk people overdrafting and just changing banks.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Then don’t give them overdraft? I bet a lot of them don’t even want it and would rather it just reject any payments that would put it in the negative because they charge extra for using overdraft, too.
Dookieman12@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
You don’t understand. They WANT to de-bank poor people.
isleepinahammock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Banks have a separate system, like the credit rating system, they use just for depositors. Credit scores reflect the risk to lend money to you. But the banks keep other scores and lists of depositors. Too many overdrafts or transactions their AI considers suspicious? You can be blacklisted from opening an account at any bank.
jdr@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
There’s not a high risk of making much money off then, so it’s considered a waste of time and resources
RamRabbit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Most banks only require a nominal initial deposit (something on the order of $20) in order to open a free account.
If you really don’t have any money other than your paycheck, you can open that bank account…with the check you need to deposit.