Word: cashed
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...what hope does Afghanistan have?" Local entrepreneur Nasrullah Rahmati was assaulted by a kidnapping gang last year while driving with his brother in an affluent part of town. They both managed to escape but his brother was wounded, and the would-be kidnappers made off with $3,000 in cash. Rahmati reported the incident to the police, but nothing came of their investigation. "My every moment is at risk," says Rahmati. "I hate it, to carry weapons, but now I have to, because of my security. To every wedding I go, people hate me because I have bodyguards and guns...
Banuestra is one of the new breed of financial-service providers--which now include Wal-Mart--that aim to marry the convenience of a check casher with the relative security of a bank. By offering lower basic check-cashing fees along with debit cards and reasonably priced consumer loans, these businesses hope to pocket a chunk of the more than $10 billion in fees that check cashers, payday loaners and pawn shops collect each year. Long ignored by traditional financial institutions, the unbanked get their modest earnings shaved even thinner by the high fees they pay simply to cash their...
...have the minimum balance required at many banks to open a regular checking or savings account. Some people also lack the proper identification, like a tax ID or Social Security number, required to open an account, or have bounced too many checks in the past. Without a bank to cash their checks--a service generally free to account holders--the unbanked rely on check cashers, which charge up to 10% for a handwritten check. Despite decades of criticism from consumer advocates about these high fees, only 25 states cap rates...
...parents going to check cashers, and they continue their parents' habits," says Ignacio Valenzuela, who runs Union Bank's alternative financial services. Another problem is perception. "Many people don't trust banks," says Hank Shyne, director of the Financial Service Centers of America, a trade group representing the check-cashing industry. "They have that fear of being overdrawn. They are much more comfortable dealing with cash," he says...
Ironically, banks have long benefited indirectly from the thriving check-cashing industry by supplying the loans and cash that check cashers use to pay these same customers. ACE Cash Express, which has more than 1,700 outlets across the country, works with Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Union Bank and others. Banks have shied away from serving the unbanked population directly because this slice of the market clashes with their business model. Banks get much of their profit from the interest they earn by lending out the money held in long-term deposits, but check cashers depend on a high volume...