People who do not have access to the mainstream financial system are subject to a variety of fees for services that the rest of us either get for free or at negligible prices. According to Jonathan Mintz, founding President and CEO of Cities for Financial Empowerment (often called the CFE Fund) and the former Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs for New York says, “Using a traditional low-cost bank account could potentially save a full-time worker $40,000 over the course of his or her career.”
Mintz, who was recently featured in the documentary film Spent: Looking for Change, has attracted $16.2 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to provide free one-on-one financial counseling. Additionally, the CFE Fund has received grants from JP Morgan Chase and the Citi Foundation to help cities provide resources to residents to access the mainstream banking system.
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