Yang Calls on Big Banks to Provide Access to Low-Income and Immigrant Communities | The State
Andrew Yang with Congressman Ritchie Torres, near the New York City Hall.
Photo:
A. YANG PRESS OFFICE / Courtesy
NY.– New York City has nearly a million residents who do not have a bank account or do not have access to banking services. This is a disadvantage that the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, Andrew Yang, next to Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres, have been proposed to solve.
Yang and Torres argue that large banks that allow immigrant and low-income communities to open bank accounts using IDNYC, the identification document issued by the city of New York.
According to both political leaders, New Yorkers who do not have access to banking services rely heavily on services such as check cashing, prepaid cards or money transfers. These services are outdated and expensive, often costing New Yorkers without a bank account up to $ 3,000 in fees a year.
Yang promised that, as mayor, he will use the city’s depository power as a lever to hold banks accountable to our immigrant communities, refusing to bank with financial institutions that do not allow undocumented New Yorkers to open a bank account.
He also promised to expand IDNYC to serve as a gateway to a myriad of city services, such as cash aid and access to a New York City ‘People’s Bank’.
“It is outrageous that, in the financial capital of the world, nearly a million immigrants and low-income New Yorkers are excluded from the banking system,” said the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City. “As mayor, I promise to use the tens of billions of dollars the city deposits in big banks each year as leverage to demand that those banks open their doors to immigrants, often undocumented, living in the Big Apple.” .
The candidate who made his nomination official last week said that as the vision of a ‘Popular Bank’ in New York City progresses on his vision, it is convenient to ensure that no New Yorker is left behind.
“We will ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, are reminded that they belong in our neighborhoods, as part of our economy and as the very fabric of what makes our city great,” Yang added,
Meanwhile, the new congressman Ritchie Torres stressed that to achieve the goal of New York being seen as an inclusive and equitable city, it must be ensured that all New Yorkers, regardless of their income or immigration status, have access to financial services that they need to prosper.
“We need to build on the amazing success of the IDNYC program, which has enabled immigrants, especially, to develop a deeper sense of belonging as New Yorkers. However, the largest banks in New York City continue to refuse to accept IDNYC as a valid source of identification, excluding the most vulnerable – the poor and the undocumented – from our financial system. “
Torres, a former councilman for District 15 in the Bronx, one of New York City’s most economically depressed areas, said he has joined Yang in pushing for banks to open their doors to the most vulnerable.
“We need to put money in the pockets of the poor rather than allow predatory financial institutions to take it from them. There is no place for financial discrimination in the financial capital of the world, ”Torres stressed.
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