The United States Postal Service (USPS) is making a return to financial services, something it hasn't offered for 55 years. This new service will start slowly, with check cashing, bill payment, access to cash machines, expanded and improved money orders, and expanded bank transfers being offered at select postal service locations in Washington, DC. Last month, the USPS quietly launched a pilot program in four U. S.
cities that offer expanded financial services at certain Washington, D. C. post offices. The pilot program marks a worrying first step in allowing USPS to enter the banking business.
The United States Bankers Association has openly opposed postal banking, noting that it could be perceived as a government-backed provider that competes with tax-paying banks and would create risks that the USPS is not prepared to manage. However, contemporary advocates of postal banking include Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as congressional representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Bill Pascrell of New Jersey. The Postal Service has quietly begun to offer a handful of new or expanded financial services in four cities, a possible first step toward a return to postal banking. This could help rescue the agency's finances and help millions of people who have limited or no access to the banking system.
Until now, USPS testing programs are only conducted in urban locations and only at one post office per zip code. A spokesperson for the United States Bankers Association says that the solution to high check cashing fees is a “banking relationship”, not “a government subsidized service through the post office”. Meanwhile, Baychester's largest housing complex, known as Co-op City, already has two post offices serving it. When the USPS launched a trial program in September that allowed people with business or payroll checks to load them onto gift cards at four neighborhood post offices, it was considered a primitive precursor to a postal banking system.
The only indication of the gift card option at participating post offices is a small sign in the window, no larger than an index card. But Baychester Station is located in the Northeast Bronx, and the demographics there are none of the precarious South Bronx. Zlatkin believes that DeJoy, who has been roundly criticized for degrading postal operations and instituting new regulations that weaken service and increase prices, has used the tests as something to give it to the APWU before contract negotiations. Porter McConnell, co-founder of the Save the Post Office Coalition, disagreed with the small size of the pilot program and with the decision to test it only in major urban areas rather than in rural communities that most lack such services.
Rural customers are also supposed to be the main beneficiaries of the expansion of USPS banking services but so far only post offices in densely populated areas are included. Postal banking was not explicitly contemplated in Roy's plan which would help the agency achieve financial sustainability and excellence in services but it is a long-standing desire of progressive politicians and advocates whose attempts to push it through Congress in recent years have had little success. According to a study published in May by the University of Michigan census tracts with post offices representing 60 million people do not have community bank branches. You shouldn't have a reuse of the post office to provide financial services Financial services have never been more complex.
As USPS continues to be plagued by shipping delays and rising prices agency officials are looking for ways to increase revenues and ensure financial stability. Are you wondering if there are any postal banking services available at post offices in Bronx New York? The answer is yes! The USPS has launched a pilot program offering check cashing services at select post offices in Washington D. C., with plans for additional offers such as bill payment services access to cash machines expanded money order and bank transfer capabilities being considered. However this pilot program is only conducted in urban locations and only at one post office per zip code so far.
If you live in Bronx New York you can take advantage of this service by visiting your local post office or checking out their website for more information.
