CDBA Member Provides Financial Services to Unbanked with CashAccess Kiosks

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents are using new CashAccess bank kiosks, provided by Carver Federal Savings Bank, to cash checks and pay bills. The bank operates four of the machines, which look like ATMs. The kiosks charge fees comparable to those found at a check casher for bill payment services, wire transfers and NYCHA rent payments. “You don't have to get on a bus. You don't have to travel places to pay. It's right here,” said Jacqueline Picket, one of eleven NYCHA residents hired by Carver to help neighbors navigate the kiosks. Bank officials say they will be placing two additional machines in housing residences in the South Bronx and Brownsville in the coming year. Carver and their collaborators at NYCHA see the machines as part of a broader conversation about financial inclusion. “Over 40 percent of the folks who are using the machines have already opened a bank account, which is extraordinary,” said Carver CEO Deborah Wright.