New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is proposing new legislation that would put banks into every post office location in the United States.
"Right now all across the country including right here in Western New York, there are millions of families that are deprived of their hard earned money basically because they don't have access to banking," Senator Gillibrand said.
That's why she wants to put financial service centers in all 30,000 post offices across the country. It's more than just convenience sake, though.
"After the recession, most banks have left low-income neighborhoods," Senator Gillibrand said.
According to the Senator, poor families are subject to predatory loans with high interest rates. She said that these new banks would stop such lenders.
"It would end predatory practices."
The main goal is to offer fair and affordable financial services to anyone who walks in. She said that many places are too expensive or too far away for some people to get to.
"It would give low-income Americans safe and inexpensive place to hold and use their money or take out a small loan. It would cap fees at a extremely low rates, and it would allow people to earn interest on their savings," she said.
Maxine Murphy, a Buffalo resident, uses a credit union. She said she would like to go to a bank but some are just too far away. If this legislation went through, it would make using a bank a reality.
"It would be closer to my neighborhood. I could walk to it. I have a post office right down the street," Murphy said.
In just Buffalo alone, there are about 20 post offices. That means there would be about 20 new banks coming to the area.
Gillibrand said that the banks in the post office would be not-for-profit. However, she did allude that commercial banks could also partner with certain locations.
