Shownotes
Join us for an eye-opening conversation with Marquita Robertson, a passionate advocate for financial empowerment and the need for accessible, safe, and affordable banking options. Tiffany and Marquita delve deep into the challenges faced by the unbanked and underbanked communities and provide actionable insights on how to navigate these obstacles.
About Our Guest
Marquita Robertson is a lifelong financial capability advocate. She is the executive director of The Collaborative, an organization focused on closing the racial wealth gap in North Carolina through collaborations with financial institutions, nonprofits, and local government agencies to educate people about building wealth and advocate on behalf of financially vulnerable communities.
Prior to that she was the Financial Education Director for the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer. There she led the Department’s financial education initiatives across the state, working with state agencies, schools, nonprofits and financial institutions.
Marquita started her career in financial capability at the American Bankers Association (ABA) in the mid-2000s. And for nearly 20-years she has managed wealth building programs that impower and educate individuals in all facets of money management.
Appointed twice by Gov. Roy Cooper, Marquita is serving her second term as Board of Trustee for the NC ABLE 529 program. She was also appointed by former Gov. McCrory to Chair the N.C. Financial Literacy Council, which guides statewide financial literacy standards and provide recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly regarding financial education. She also serves as a Board of Director for the United Way of North Carolina, Dix Park Conservancy, and Coastal Credit Union Foundation.
Marquita was born and raised in Moyock, N.C., a small town on the most northeastern point of the state. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Communication from East Carolina University, and a master’s degree in Communication and Journalism from Norfolk State University. She is supported by her loving husband and two amazing children.
Connect with Marquita
Website: https://thecollaborativenc.org
Facebook: The Collaborative of NC
Connect with Tiffany
Website: https://www.moneytalkwitht.com
Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff
Twitter: @moneytalkwitht
Instagram: @moneytalkwitht
LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant
YouTube: Money Talk With Tiff
Pinterest: @moneytalkwitht
TikTok: @moneytalkwitht
Timestamps
[00:00] Consumer credit reporting history for bank accounts.
[05:38] Clarifying banking issues and emphasizing FDIC insurance.
[07:56] Issues with alternative payment solutions, prefer banking.
[11:50] Understanding bank account details is crucial.
[12:45] Switched from bank to credit union to avoid fees.
[17:03] Visit thecollaborativenc.org for bank account options.
Key Topics
- Financial resilience in North Carolina
- Understanding check systems
- Reasons for being unbanked
- Importance of bank account access
- Evaluating bank account features
- Trust in financial institutions
- Resources for banking options
Resources Mentioned
- ChexSystems: A consumer credit reporting agency tracking banking history.
- State Employees Credit Union: Example discussed regarding banking mishaps and their resolution.
- FDIC & NCUA: Insurance organizations for banks and credit unions.
- I was Denied: 6 Alternatives When You Can't Open a Bank Account
Calls to Action
- Switching Accounts: Don’t feel stuck with your current bank account. Explore options that better suit your financial needs.
- Get Informed: Visit our guest’s website for more resources and to find accounts specifically designed to help those excluded from traditional banking systems.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Transcripts
You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money
Speaker:nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings
Speaker:and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff
Speaker:podcast.
Speaker:Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have Markeeda
Speaker:Robertson on the line now. I met Markita at the
Speaker:Institute for Emerging Issues conference this year.
Speaker:It was called weathering financial storms. So we talked about how financial
Speaker:resilience in North Carolina. And I ended up going
Speaker:to one of her sessions about being
Speaker:unbanked to saving. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I got to have you
Speaker:on the podcast. So, hey, Markita, how are you? Hey, girl. Hey.
Speaker:I am excited to be here to hang out with
Speaker:you and your friends and to talk
Speaker:about money, specifically,
Speaker:MySpace in the financial empowerment space, which is
Speaker:expanding access to safe and affordable bank accounts.
Speaker:Yes, yes. And I feel like this is not talked about enough.
Speaker:And I shared with you, you know, prior to hitting record, how
Speaker:I had no idea that, you know, people couldn't get bank
Speaker:accounts. You know, in the personal finance space, we're so
Speaker:quick to say, oh, just open a savings account. Oh, just open a
Speaker:checking account. Everything will be fine. And not realizing that that
Speaker:is not a reality for some people. Absolutely. You know, privilege is
Speaker:a funny thing. Folks that have it don't even realize what they have.
Speaker:And, you know, having access to a
Speaker:bank account is one of those privileges that
Speaker:we often take for granted and don't really
Speaker:realize. There are. There's a group of people
Speaker:that don't have access to this and for many, many
Speaker:reasons. And so you mentioned check
Speaker:systems. And that is check systems is
Speaker:a consumer credit reporting agency that tracks activity related
Speaker:to closed checking savings accounts with banks
Speaker:and credit unions. So, simply put, it is the consumer
Speaker:credit reporting of your bank account history. You have a credit
Speaker:reporting of your credit history.
Speaker:You have credit reporting of your rental history. You also have
Speaker:one of your banking history. And so if you are in check
Speaker:systems because you have had an account at one
Speaker:point or another last year, 20 years, 30 years
Speaker:ago, and it was closed and you still owe fees, that
Speaker:is going to prohibit you from opening a
Speaker:bank account anywhere else. And so when
Speaker:you run into people that say that they are in check systems, this is exactly
Speaker:what they mean. They have had a bank account. Something
Speaker:has happened, it was closed. They owe fees, and they are
Speaker:essentially not able to open a bank account
Speaker:anywhere else. And so, like I said, these are one. This is one of
Speaker:the many reasons why folks don't have safe and affordable bank
Speaker:accounts, and they're leaning on financial alternatives,
Speaker:like the money centers in Walmart, the
Speaker:pay cards, cash app demo, all those things. Yeah. So let's dive
Speaker:into that a little bit deeper, because I
Speaker:came across a sex check system situation by accident,
Speaker:just dealing with a client where, you know, they were in that
Speaker:situation. But what are some other ways or reasons why
Speaker:people couldn't open a bank account? So it's not
Speaker:always that they can. It could just be they don't want to. There
Speaker:are some cultural reasons why black and brown people
Speaker:do not open bank accounts. And it could be just distrust. They
Speaker:don't trust the financial systems with good reasons.
Speaker:It could be because they don't understand how it works, or
Speaker:they also don't feel like I don't have enough money to have a bank account.
Speaker:Like, I'm good with handling my money at my
Speaker:home, I'm good with handling it in cash app,
Speaker:sending some here and there. So I don't need a bank account. So that's
Speaker:one reason. Another reason could be issues with identity.
Speaker:To open a bank account, you have to. The
Speaker:bank has to have a clear understanding of who you are, and
Speaker:that is in the form of identification. So there's that,
Speaker:and there's also proof of residence. To open a bank account, you have to
Speaker:have a physical address. So if you are a person with
Speaker:homeless insecurity, you may not have that. So these are
Speaker:just some of the reasons why folks don't have bank accounts. And there
Speaker:is probably, there's a common denominator with all these things. And that
Speaker:is really what we see in low income families, you
Speaker:know, not having enough money, not having a clear understanding
Speaker:of the merit or value in holding a bank account.
Speaker:Those are really some issues that hold folks back from
Speaker:building financial wealth, from financial mobility. Gotcha.
Speaker:Gotcha. And also, I just wanna add, too, I know recently,
Speaker:like a few days ago, and we're recording this in April, y'all, so bear
Speaker:with us. But a few days ago, I got an alert from my bank
Speaker:account with state employees credit union, and they had an error where
Speaker:they, I guess, reprocessed the file. And
Speaker:so, you know, there were extra debits in people's
Speaker:accounts. And so when I went to social media, people were like, pull your
Speaker:money out. You know, pull it out now. You know, that type of thing. And
Speaker:I can see how that can also contribute to how
Speaker:people are unbanked or underbanked. Well, let's be clear.
Speaker:If I made a purchase and
Speaker:my purchase was for $50 and $100, came out, we got a
Speaker:problem. So let's be clear about that. So,
Speaker:but in the other, in the same spirit, I'm a
Speaker:bank with state employees credit union and I receive the same alert
Speaker:that you received. And, you know, those things are
Speaker:frustrating and do impact
Speaker:the trust relationship that you have with your financial institution.
Speaker:But unlike other alternative financial
Speaker:institutions, state employees credit union and other financial
Speaker:institutions are FDIC insured and your money is saved.
Speaker:So while it may, and this has all
Speaker:since been sorted out, like, your bank account is fine. Right,
Speaker:Tiffany? Yeah. So I'm not worried about it. Right,
Speaker:right. No, no, no, no. I'm just. I'm just trying
Speaker:to get to the point that this did happen on Saturday,
Speaker:today is Monday, and things have since been
Speaker:corrected. But that likely
Speaker:caused some overdraft fees and some other things
Speaker:in folks accounts, which I can appreciate, which is awful,
Speaker:but state employees credit union and other financial institutions
Speaker:will correct that. How fast is going to be corrected?
Speaker:I don't know. I think it depends on the severity
Speaker:of the situation, but it can be corrected. You can
Speaker:recoup your funds if you don't have a bank account, if
Speaker:you have cash app, if something like this happens, your money is
Speaker:gone. And we talked to people that have this, that they've had an
Speaker:issue with cash app, they send it to the wrong person, or there was some
Speaker:glitch and money was deposited or money was,
Speaker:money was drafted that wasn't supposed to be. And there is no recourse.
Speaker:There is no customer service, there is no FDIC that is
Speaker:regulating these organizations that is going to hold them accountable for
Speaker:this. So that is, I'm trying to
Speaker:compare the situations. If one were to happen with
Speaker:FDIC, insured financial institution
Speaker:or something that happens with the unregulated financial
Speaker:institution. And so that's important to
Speaker:understand. Exactly. And that's why I wanted to bring it up, because, you know,
Speaker:when I got the notice, I'm like, okay, a little bit of money's missing,
Speaker:but I'm not going to touch it because I know that they'll correct it.
Speaker:And to your point, like, I've known people with cash app,
Speaker:PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, all of these alternative,
Speaker:and I don't even like saying banking solutions, but like, all of these
Speaker:alternative payment solutions where they've had issues
Speaker:and, you know, even personally with stripe, for instance, they
Speaker:just shut down my account out of nowhere and said that I was violating some
Speaker:term and I had to fight. I had to go to Twitter in order to
Speaker:get my account back. Right. And so
Speaker:these things can happen with all of these alternative
Speaker:situations. And so for me, that's why I love banking
Speaker:and preferably credit unions, I'll be honest. But I love banking
Speaker:because if anything goes haywire, like what just happened, because
Speaker:stuff happened, y'all, I know it will be
Speaker:corrected. And I know that I have great
Speaker:customer service I can get in contact with, so on and so forth. And
Speaker:so I'm not really worried about situations like that happening. Right, right.
Speaker:Because I know I get my money back. So with all of that being said,
Speaker:if someone's listening and they're like, okay, I want to open a bank account,
Speaker:what are some things that they should look for when they're looking
Speaker:at potential bank accounts? Good question. Before I move on, I
Speaker:want to correct myself. The FDIC insured Sue banks.
Speaker:The NCUA insures credit unions. So they both
Speaker:do the same thing. One for banks, one for credit unions. But when we were
Speaker:talking about state employees, I kept saying FDIC. And I just wanted to clear that
Speaker:up. Yes. Thank you for that. So
Speaker:if you are interested in opening a bank account
Speaker:for one, all bank accounts are not created equal.
Speaker:And just like a shoe, one size does
Speaker:not fit all. And so you need to find a bank account that makes sense
Speaker:for you. What works for me may not make. May not make
Speaker:sense or work for you. So, bank account product is. Bank accounts
Speaker:are products and they vary. They have different features. Some features to
Speaker:look for are the how much
Speaker:you need to put in that account to open it. Some have
Speaker:low minimum deposits, which as low as
Speaker:$5, and then some have $250. Some have
Speaker:$500. What's going to work for you? So
Speaker:that's one thing to look at. Also
Speaker:the fees associated with the account. Some accounts have fees. If
Speaker:you don't keep a minimum daily balance, that could work for
Speaker:someone, that may not work for others. Some charge
Speaker:fees based off of overdraft.
Speaker:And actually, let me back up, some accounts have overdraft protection
Speaker:features and some do not. Overdraft is a
Speaker:great tool for the right person, but overdraft
Speaker:can be predatory for someone, for a person that it
Speaker:doesn't work for. So, you know, individually, you need to decide,
Speaker:do you want to be declined at the point of
Speaker:purchase if you don't have enough funds in that account, or
Speaker:would you rather see overdraft later? So that depends on
Speaker:whether or not you want an account that offers
Speaker:overdraft. Some other features to look
Speaker:for is the ability to write checks, to have cards,
Speaker:to have a debit card access, and all those things so when you're
Speaker:going into a bank account, into a
Speaker:financial institution, or if you're looking online, those are things
Speaker:that, features that you want to look for, and you want to make sure
Speaker:you select the feature that absolutely works
Speaker:best for you, the feature that will
Speaker:cost you less money to bank and go from there. I love that
Speaker:you mentioned so many things that people usually don't pay
Speaker:attention to when they're looking at bank accounts. It's just like, oh,
Speaker:well, my family member uses this bank. Okay, I'll use this one, too.
Speaker:But not going into the depth that you just mentioned with all the
Speaker:fees or, you know, if there's a minimum balance needed
Speaker:or if you have access to a debit card or atm access, you
Speaker:know, all those different things are super important when evaluating.
Speaker:So for me to just give the audience an example, when I
Speaker:first opened a bank account, this was back when I was like,
Speaker:1516, I had just got a job, and so I was like, oh, I'm a
Speaker:direct deposit into my account. You know, things are going to be good.
Speaker:Cause they said that's how I can get my money faster. Well, fast
Speaker:forward, I was not responsible with my money, and so
Speaker:I would overspend by maybe, like ten cent or something,
Speaker:and they would hit me with $30. And it got to a point where
Speaker:my little checks were pretty much being eaten up by overdraft
Speaker:fees. And so that was one of the reasons why
Speaker:I moved from one of the major banks. I won't say who it
Speaker:was, but one of the major banks to a credit union,
Speaker:because with the credit union, they climb me on the spot. Like, there's
Speaker:no overdraft fees that I have encountered thus far.
Speaker:And so I just wanted to bring that example up as well. When
Speaker:you said, you know, if it's good for you, it's good for you. If it's
Speaker:not, it's not. Those are some things that you need to consider. Right,
Speaker:right. I mean, and we, you know, we have all
Speaker:heard awful overdraft stories.
Speaker:We've, most of us have all experienced an overdraft a time or
Speaker:two. And so, you know, a ten cent overdraft that
Speaker:costs you $30. I mean, that is. That is very
Speaker:taxing. And so understanding that and making a decision
Speaker:based on that is very wise
Speaker:and, you know, financially responsible. So. For sure.
Speaker:For sure. Now, if someone's like, okay, I
Speaker:get what you're saying, y'all, and I understand all these things I need to look
Speaker:for. What are some things? I know we briefly went over this, but what are
Speaker:some things that they need to make sure they bring with them in order. Order
Speaker:to open that account. So you're going to need
Speaker:identification. So driver's license for
Speaker:students, your student id should be able to work. It depends on the
Speaker:financial institution. You also need to bring proof of
Speaker:residence. You'd also need to bring the amount,
Speaker:I mean, the appropriate amount needed to deposit into the
Speaker:account to get it open and
Speaker:also some time to ask questions and to get
Speaker:a good understanding of it also. And when you do
Speaker:go, be sure to ask for your access to
Speaker:manage your account online and keep that someplace safe
Speaker:so that you can get that set up as soon as you get
Speaker:home. Yes, yes. And I'm glad you mentioned asking questions
Speaker:because I have found that a lot of people are, I
Speaker:don't know, they don't want it to talk to the bankers or
Speaker:ask many questions or whatever the case may be,
Speaker:but these people are there to serve you. That's what I always
Speaker:tell people that come to me with those concerns. I'm like, they're
Speaker:there for you, not the other way around. So make sure, like Markita
Speaker:said, you're using them to your full advantage. Access many
Speaker:questions as you need. So you have an understanding. Cause, mind you, this is
Speaker:your money, right? It's your money. And
Speaker:so you need to be absolutely sure how everything works. I
Speaker:know they probably get tired of me and my questions when I'm opening an
Speaker:account and stuff, but I will not do it unless I have a
Speaker:full understanding of how everything works. And I'm like, okay, what
Speaker:was this fee? Okay, and how much is this and what is this for and
Speaker:what transactions? You know, that type of thing. So don't be
Speaker:afraid to do that. Right, right. And it's, you know,
Speaker:we have, it's. It's very interesting, but Americans have this very
Speaker:weird relationship with professional service providers. You see that
Speaker:with doctors in the medical space, folks
Speaker:are intimidated or uncomfortable asking questions about their health. And
Speaker:the same holds true with banking. Folks are just very
Speaker:intimidated by bankers. But, you know, you are the
Speaker:client or the customer in the bank, and they have a
Speaker:responsibility to provide you with that information and
Speaker:that insight. And if you don't feel comfortable,
Speaker:it's not going to work. You have to find a bank or a banker that
Speaker:you're comfortable with advocating for yourself to work with
Speaker:them and to get what you need to be to make the
Speaker:best financial decisions for you and your family. So it's important,
Speaker:and I'm encouraging you all to feel empowered to do
Speaker:that. Amen. Amen. Now, we could go on and on
Speaker:forever about banking because there's so many nuances and
Speaker:things we can get into. But if people were
Speaker:interested in finding out more about you because we can't give it all the way
Speaker:here, finding out more about you, what you do, your
Speaker:organization, how could they find you? So they can visit
Speaker:us
Speaker:online@thecollaborativenc.org.
Speaker:and specifically on bank on, you can look, go to the
Speaker:what we do tab and click on bank on North Carolina. We have
Speaker:a list of certified accounts across the city state
Speaker:that are what we call our bank on certified
Speaker:accounts. And these are accounts that
Speaker:work with people that may have been shut out of the banking
Speaker:system. We talked about this earlier on the
Speaker:podcast about folks in check system, folks that have identity
Speaker:with issues with identity and other things that keep them from
Speaker:opening a safe and affordable bank account. Well, I'm encouraging you to look
Speaker:at this list, to reach out to these financial institutions on this
Speaker:list and to move forward in
Speaker:opening your bank account and reestablishing your relationship with the financial
Speaker:institution. I love that. Come on, resources.
Speaker:So I will make sure that I have all of that information in the
Speaker:show notes for you. Also, if you didn't catch any of that, make sure you
Speaker:check out the show notes. It'll be there for you because I know you all
Speaker:like listening while you're doing other things. It's okay. I got your back.
Speaker:Thank you so much, Markita, for coming on the show and talking about this
Speaker:important topic that honestly doesn't get enough play, in my opinion.
Speaker:Right. You know, and you talk all things money, Tiffany. But
Speaker:if you want to be financially empowered
Speaker:in the United States, you need to have a bank account and
Speaker:you need credit. So those are two things, and these two go hand in
Speaker:hand. So I'm encouraging everyone
Speaker:to, you know, if you don't have one, get one. And if you
Speaker:have one, look at your account and does it work for you? Does it charge
Speaker:too many fees? Could you be in an account better suited
Speaker:for your financial institution, I mean, for your financial situation?
Speaker:And if so, get you that account. Go get the account
Speaker:that works for you to help you manage your money, because you need all of
Speaker:your coins. All of them? All of them. No coins left
Speaker:behind. Right? And
Speaker:it's not hard to switch accounts. We might have to do another one to talk
Speaker:about how to switch bank accounts and things like that, but it's not
Speaker:hard. Y'all don't feel like you are stuck in a situation that's
Speaker:not beneficial to you. There's plenty of options out there, and that's what
Speaker:we here to talk about. So thank you so much, Markeeda, and I hope you
Speaker:have a wonderful rest of your day. Thank you. Bye.
Speaker:Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF
Speaker:podcast this week. You can check Tiff out every Thursday for a
Speaker:new Money talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week,
Speaker:you can listen to previous podcast
Speaker:episodes@moneytalkwitht.com or
Speaker:follow TIff on all social media platforms at
Speaker:moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise
Speaker:by spending less than you make. A word to the money wise is
Speaker:always sufficient.
