The Center for Financial Services Innovation organized a scavenger hunt earlier this month intended to give several dozen participants from the financial industry, non-profits and advocacy organizations first-hand experience of alternative financial services. Each group of four participants received two checks: a payroll check for $105 and a personal check for $15. Using only the proceeds, the groups completed a series of financial transactions including executing a money transfer, buying a money order to pay a bill, obtaining a prepaid debit card and inquiring into payday loans. "The question I found myself asking... [was] whether it was the best we could do for families who are already operating with so little margin for error," journalist Ronald Brownstein reflects.