An assuring legend is printed on U.S. bills: “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” I have always been glad to know that Uncle Sam is there for me.
But for 14.1 million American adults, that statement is a lie because bills are being pushed aside by bank cards, credit cards and online payment systems like PayPal. The stranded are the unbanked, the unplasticized.
The unbanked aren’t axiomatically the homeless, the undocumented immigrants or those who have fallen through the cracks. They are also people with jobs who pay their taxes, and many of whom live exemplary lives but don’t have bank accounts.
That may be because they don’t trust banks or — and this is a big factor for the working poor who are unbanked — they feel having a bank account is too expensive. They have been charged disproportionate fees for bouncing a check, for late payments or for any of the other ways banks go after fees to enhance their earnings, like the high ones for using an ATM.
However, if you choose to keep your money under the mattress, you elect to be the financial equivalent of undocumented. Essentially, you are immobilized.
All this came to mind while I was checking in online for a recent United Airlines flight. I learned that I would need to save a form of payment for boxed meals and snacks before I boarded because I wouldn’t be able to use credit cards while in flight. United maintains, “We are working to make your trip more enjoyable while maintaining a safer and more touchless travel experience.” In the time of COVID-19, that’s fine with me. But the corollary is they don’t take cash — no credit card, no snack.
Most airport eateries are going to ordering by computer — again, no credit card, no food. I went to one of those wired restaurants at Newark Liberty International and wondered about the unbanked: How would they feed a child if they didn’t know cash wasn’t accepted?
For the unbanked, travel is nearly impossible….