FDIC Pilots Under-Banked Program Posted by AVCU on 11:47 AM

To encourage banks to offer un-banked and under-banked households affordable basic banking services, the FDIC will launch a pilot program to test offering safe, low-cost transactional and savings accounts to low- and moderate-income consumers.

At its open board meeting yesterday, the FDIC approved a one-year plan for the "Model Safe Accounts Pilot" and encouraged banks to submit applications to become one of nine institutions the agency will choose to be in the test program. Under the pilot, according to an FDIC announcement, participating institutions will offer electronic deposit accounts with product features identified in the FDIC Model Safe Accounts Template.

Accounts offered by pilot institutions will be FDIC-insured, have "reasonable" rates and fees that are "proportional to their cost," and be subject to applicable consumer protection laws, regulations and guidance. Participating institutions may not charge fees for non-sufficient funds or overdrafts for these accounts. Many credit unions provide a wide range of financial products and services to low-wealth consumers through REAL Solutions, the signature program of the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF).

Information on the FDIC pilot program is available at: http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/template

Information on the NCUF’s Real Solutions program is available by at http://realsolutions.coop/solutions/savings-products