You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff podcast. Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have Markeeda Robertson on the line now. I met Markita at the Institute for Emerging Issues conference this year. It was called weathering financial storms. So we talked about how financial
resilience in North Carolina. And I ended up going to one of her sessions about being unbanked to saving. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I got to have you on the podcast. So, hey, Markita, how are you? Hey, girl. Hey. I am excited to be here to hang out with you and your friends and to talk about money, specifically, MySpace in the financial empowerment space, which is expanding access to safe and affordable bank accounts. Yes, yes. And I feel like this is not talked about enough.
And I shared with you, you know, prior to hitting record, how I had no idea that, you know, people couldn't get bank accounts. You know, in the personal finance space, we're so quick to say, oh, just open a savings account. Oh, just open a checking account. Everything will be fine. And not realizing that that is not a reality for some people. Absolutely. You know, privilege is a funny thing. Folks that have it don't even realize what they have.
And, you know, having access to a bank account is one of those privileges that we often take for granted and don't really realize. There are. There's a group of people that don't have access to this and for many, many reasons. And so you mentioned check systems. And that is check systems is a consumer credit reporting agency that tracks activity related to closed checking savings accounts with banks and credit unions. So, simply put, it is the consumer
credit reporting of your bank account history. You have a credit reporting of your credit history. You have credit reporting of your rental history. You also have one of your banking history. And so if you are in check systems because you have had an account at one point or another last year, 20 years, 30 years ago, and it was closed and you still owe fees, that is going to prohibit you from opening a
bank account anywhere else. And so when you run into people that say that they are in check systems, this is exactly what they mean. They have had a bank account. Something has happened, it was closed. They owe fees, and they are essentially not able to open a bank account anywhere else. And so, like I said, these are one. This is one of the many reasons why folks don't have safe and affordable bank accounts, and they're leaning on financial alternatives, like the money centers in Walmart, the
pay cards, cash app demo, all those things. Yeah. So let's dive into that a little bit deeper, because I came across a sex check system situation by accident, just dealing with a client where, you know, they were in that situation. But what are some other ways or reasons why people couldn't open a bank account? So it's not always that they can. It could just be they don't want to. There are some cultural reasons why black and brown people
do not open bank accounts. And it could be just distrust. They don't trust the financial systems with good reasons. It could be because they don't understand how it works, or they also don't feel like I don't have enough money to have a bank account. Like, I'm good with handling my money at my home, I'm good with handling it in cash app, sending some here and there. So I don't need a bank account. So that's one reason. Another reason could be issues with identity.
To open a bank account, you have to. The bank has to have a clear understanding of who you are, and that is in the form of identification. So there's that, and there's also proof of residence. To open a bank account, you have to have a physical address. So if you are a person with homeless insecurity, you may not have that. So these are just some of the reasons why folks don't have bank accounts. And there
is probably, there's a common denominator with all these things. And that is really what we see in low income families, you know, not having enough money, not having a clear understanding of the merit or value in holding a bank account. Those are really some issues that hold folks back from building financial wealth, from financial mobility. Gotcha. Gotcha. And also, I just wanna add, too, I know recently, like a few days ago, and we're recording this in April, y'all, so bear
with us. But a few days ago, I got an alert from my bank account with state employees credit union, and they had an error where they, I guess, reprocessed the file. And so, you know, there were extra debits in people's accounts. And so when I went to social media, people were like, pull your money out. You know, pull it out now. You know, that type of thing. And I can see how that can also contribute to how people are unbanked or underbanked. Well, let's be clear.
If I made a purchase and my purchase was for $50 and $100, came out, we got a problem. So let's be clear about that. So, but in the other, in the same spirit, I'm a bank with state employees credit union and I receive the same alert that you received. And, you know, those things are frustrating and do impact the trust relationship that you have with your financial institution.
But unlike other alternative financial institutions, state employees credit union and other financial institutions are FDIC insured and your money is saved. So while it may, and this has all since been sorted out, like, your bank account is fine. Right, Tiffany? Yeah. So I'm not worried about it. Right, right. No, no, no, no. I'm just. I'm just trying to get to the point that this did happen on Saturday, today is Monday, and things have since been
corrected. But that likely caused some overdraft fees and some other things in folks accounts, which I can appreciate, which is awful, but state employees credit union and other financial institutions will correct that. How fast is going to be corrected? I don't know. I think it depends on the severity of the situation, but it can be corrected. You can recoup your funds if you don't have a bank account, if you have cash app, if something like this happens, your money is
gone. And we talked to people that have this, that they've had an issue with cash app, they send it to the wrong person, or there was some glitch and money was deposited or money was, money was drafted that wasn't supposed to be. And there is no recourse. There is no customer service, there is no FDIC that is regulating these organizations that is going to hold them accountable for this. So that is, I'm trying to
compare the situations. If one were to happen with FDIC, insured financial institution or something that happens with the unregulated financial institution. And so that's important to understand. Exactly. And that's why I wanted to bring it up, because, you know, when I got the notice, I'm like, okay, a little bit of money's missing, but I'm not going to touch it because I know that they'll correct it.
And to your point, like, I've known people with cash app, PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, all of these alternative, and I don't even like saying banking solutions, but like, all of these alternative payment solutions where they've had issues and, you know, even personally with stripe, for instance, they just shut down my account out of nowhere and said that I was violating some term and I had to fight. I had to go to Twitter in order to
get my account back. Right. And so these things can happen with all of these alternative situations. And so for me, that's why I love banking and preferably credit unions, I'll be honest. But I love banking because if anything goes haywire, like what just happened, because stuff happened, y'all, I know it will be corrected. And I know that I have great customer service I can get in contact with, so on and so forth. And so I'm not really worried about situations like that happening. Right, right.
Because I know I get my money back. So with all of that being said, if someone's listening and they're like, okay, I want to open a bank account, what are some things that they should look for when they're looking at potential bank accounts? Good question. Before I move on, I want to correct myself. The FDIC insured Sue banks. The NCUA insures credit unions. So they both do the same thing. One for banks, one for credit unions. But when we were
talking about state employees, I kept saying FDIC. And I just wanted to clear that up. Yes. Thank you for that. So if you are interested in opening a bank account for one, all bank accounts are not created equal. And just like a shoe, one size does not fit all. And so you need to find a bank account that makes sense for you. What works for me may not make. May not make sense or work for you. So, bank account product is. Bank accounts
are products and they vary. They have different features. Some features to look for are the how much you need to put in that account to open it. Some have low minimum deposits, which as low as $5, and then some have $250. Some have $500. What's going to work for you? So that's one thing to look at. Also the fees associated with the account. Some accounts have fees. If you don't keep a minimum daily balance, that could work for
someone, that may not work for others. Some charge fees based off of overdraft. And actually, let me back up, some accounts have overdraft protection features and some do not. Overdraft is a great tool for the right person, but overdraft can be predatory for someone, for a person that it doesn't work for. So, you know, individually, you need to decide, do you want to be declined at the point of purchase if you don't have enough funds in that account, or
would you rather see overdraft later? So that depends on whether or not you want an account that offers
overdraft. Some other features to look for is the ability to write checks, to have cards, to have a debit card access, and all those things so when you're going into a bank account, into a financial institution, or if you're looking online, those are things that, features that you want to look for, and you want to make sure you select the feature that absolutely works best for you, the feature that will
cost you less money to bank and go from there. I love that you mentioned so many things that people usually don't pay attention to when they're looking at bank accounts. It's just like, oh, well, my family member uses this bank. Okay, I'll use this one, too.
But not going into the depth that you just mentioned with all the fees or, you know, if there's a minimum balance needed or if you have access to a debit card or atm access, you know, all those different things are super important when evaluating. So for me to just give the audience an example, when I first opened a bank account, this was back when I was like, 1516, I had just got a job, and so I was like, oh, I'm a direct deposit into my account. You know, things are going to be good.
Cause they said that's how I can get my money faster. Well, fast forward, I was not responsible with my money, and so I would overspend by maybe, like ten cent or something, and they would hit me with $30. And it got to a point where my little checks were pretty much being eaten up by overdraft fees. And so that was one of the reasons why I moved from one of the major banks. I won't say who it was, but one of the major banks to a credit union,
because with the credit union, they climb me on the spot. Like, there's no overdraft fees that I have encountered thus far. And so I just wanted to bring that example up as well. When you said, you know, if it's good for you, it's good for you. If it's not, it's not. Those are some things that you need to consider. Right, right. I mean, and we, you know, we have all heard awful overdraft stories. We've, most of us have all experienced an overdraft a time or
two. And so, you know, a ten cent overdraft that costs you $30. I mean, that is. That is very taxing. And so understanding that and making a decision based on that is very wise and, you know, financially responsible. So. For sure. For sure. Now, if someone's like, okay, I get what you're saying, y'all, and I understand all these things I need to look for. What are some things? I know we briefly went over this, but what are
some things that they need to make sure they bring with them in order. Order to open that account. So you're going to need identification. So driver's license for students, your student id should be able to work. It depends on the financial institution. You also need to bring proof of residence. You'd also need to bring the amount, I mean, the appropriate amount needed to deposit into the account to get it open and also some time to ask questions and to get
a good understanding of it also. And when you do go, be sure to ask for your access to manage your account online and keep that someplace safe so that you can get that set up as soon as you get home. Yes, yes. And I'm glad you mentioned asking questions because I have found that a lot of people are, I don't know, they don't want it to talk to the bankers or ask many questions or whatever the case may be, but these people are there to serve you. That's what I always
tell people that come to me with those concerns. I'm like, they're there for you, not the other way around. So make sure, like Markita said, you're using them to your full advantage. Access many questions as you need. So you have an understanding. Cause, mind you, this is your money, right? It's your money. And so you need to be absolutely sure how everything works. I know they probably get tired of me and my questions when I'm opening an account and stuff, but I will not do it unless I have a
full understanding of how everything works. And I'm like, okay, what was this fee? Okay, and how much is this and what is this for and what transactions? You know, that type of thing. So don't be afraid to do that. Right, right. And it's, you know, we have, it's. It's very interesting, but Americans have this very weird relationship with professional service providers. You see that with doctors in the medical space, folks are intimidated or uncomfortable asking questions about their health. And
the same holds true with banking. Folks are just very intimidated by bankers. But, you know, you are the client or the customer in the bank, and they have a responsibility to provide you with that information and that insight. And if you don't feel comfortable, it's not going to work. You have to find a bank or a banker that you're comfortable with advocating for yourself to work with them and to get what you need to be to make the
best financial decisions for you and your family. So it's important, and I'm encouraging you all to feel empowered to do that. Amen. Amen. Now, we could go on and on forever about banking because there's so many nuances and things we can get into. But if people were interested in finding out more about you because we can't give it all the way here, finding out more about you, what you do, your organization, how could they find you? So they can visit us [email protected].
and specifically on bank on, you can look, go to the what we do tab and click on bank on North Carolina. We have a list of certified accounts across the city state that are what we call our bank on certified accounts. And these are accounts that work with people that may have been shut out of the banking system. We talked about this earlier on the podcast about folks in check system, folks that have identity with issues with identity and other things that keep them from
opening a safe and affordable bank account. Well, I'm encouraging you to look at this list, to reach out to these financial institutions on this list and to move forward in opening your bank account and reestablishing your relationship with the financial institution. I love that. Come on, resources. So I will make sure that I have all of that information in the show notes for you. Also, if you didn't catch any of that, make sure you
check out the show notes. It'll be there for you because I know you all like listening while you're doing other things. It's okay. I got your back. Thank you so much, Markita, for coming on the show and talking about this important topic that honestly doesn't get enough play, in my opinion. Right. You know, and you talk all things money, Tiffany. But if you want to be financially empowered in the United States, you need to have a bank account and
you need credit. So those are two things, and these two go hand in hand. So I'm encouraging everyone to, you know, if you don't have one, get one. And if you have one, look at your account and does it work for you? Does it charge too many fees? Could you be in an account better suited for your financial institution, I mean, for your financial situation? And if so, get you that account. Go get the account that works for you to help you manage your money, because you need all of
your coins. All of them? All of them. No coins left behind. Right? And it's not hard to switch accounts. We might have to do another one to talk about how to switch bank accounts and things like that, but it's not hard. Y'all don't feel like you are stuck in a situation that's not beneficial to you. There's plenty of options out there, and that's what we here to talk about. So thank you so much, Markeeda, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Thank you. Bye.
Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this week. You can check Tiff out every Thursday for a new Money talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast [email protected] or follow TIff on all social media platforms at moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise by spending less than you make. A word to the money wise is always sufficient.