By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
NEWARK — Yvonne Jacobs dashes into Express Check Cashing, a combination liquor store and financial services establishment on Mount Pleasant Avenue. A sign spells out the rates: To cash your paycheck, Express takes 2%.
Down the block at Wachovia Bank, Jacobs could cash her check for free if she were an account holder — or deposit it and not risk carrying cash. But like an estimated 15,000 households here, Jacobs doesn't have a bank account.
It is one of almost 60 Bank On programs created in the past three years, as cities persuade banks to offer special accounts for low-income residents — including those who have had problems banking in the past. The programs focus on financial education to move participants away from alternative financial services such as check cashers and toward bank accounts without running into overdraft trouble.
