Going Postal? Proposals for Post ‐​Office Banking in 2020

Conclusion: The Strange Persistence of Postal BankingTo paraphrase the USPS ' s unofficial motto, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night —nor the evidence from unbanked surveys—have yet managed to dissuade contemporary proponents of postal banking. But there is no reason to believe that postal banking would significantly lower the number of Americans without bank accounts. That does not mean there are no suitable remedies, but th ese are more likely to come from innovative tech firms and retailers in the private sector, and from the removal of regulations that have raised the cost of keeping a bank account. Congress was right to end the postal savings system, and it should not reverse this decision more than 50 years later.********[1] The limit was $2,500 at the time of the passage of deposit insurance legislation. Itthen rose to $5,000 in 1935, $10,000 in 1950, and $15,000 in 1966 when Congress discontinued the postal savings system. During that period, the maximum balance in a postal savings account was $2,500.[2] That number does not include undocumented immigrant households, whose members, lacking a Social Security Number, could not open a bank account even if they wished to do so.
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs