Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the launch of Bank On Boston in October 2017 as a cross-sector collaboration among the City of Boston, community partners, and financial institutions to help Boston residents achieve economic mobility through better access to reliable and non-predatory financial products and services.
The mission of Bank On Boston is to assist unbanked and underbanked residents of Boston open and maintain zero-to-low cost checking and savings accounts, rather than utilizing high cost alternative services and predatory practices including accessing providers such as check cashers, pawn shops, and/or payday lenders. Additionally, Bank On Boston works towards developing and providing safe, affordable and accessible credit building products for community residents.
Broader goals include ensuring that all Boston residents, primarily focusing on the needs of extremely low to moderate-income residents, have access to safe, appropriate, trusted, affordable financial products and services. Such services will empower Boston residents to build wealth by encouraging economic mobility, and equitable access to the mainstream banking system.
Bank On Boston is part of a nationwide Bank On initiative led by the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund. The design and launch of Bank On Boston was led by the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) and the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM). The Bank On Boston Coalition provides ongoing guidance for the program.
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), such as the Roxbury Center for Financial Empowerment, the Boston Tax Help Coalition, Boston Builds Credit, and Boston Saves.
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