Chicago Appleseed Fund For Justice

Financial Access and Education

Chicago Appleseed's financial access and education program works with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and the Appleseed Network on a multi-faceted approach to improving disadvantaged populations' access to financial education and services. By studying how disadvantaged groups use financial services, and how services can be made more readily available to them, we can recommend and advocate for smart solutions, giving minority and low-income populations a better chance to achieve financial success.

Read more about our efforts here.

News & Editorials

Appleseed and Chicago Appleseed Release Report Detailing the “Fair Exchange” Pilot Program
Appleseed, along with industry leaders GroupEx, Mitchell Bank, Viamericas, Wells Fargo, and other partners announced an important new initiative that provides immigrants who send money to their native countries with clear, up-front information on remittance fees and exchange rates. The project is part of Appleseed's effort to establish a "Fair Exchange" brand, similar to Fair Trade (TM) branded coffee that would make it easier for consumers to shop for the best remittance deals and reward transparent market players with greater market share.

The pilot launch follows up on Appleseed's December 2005 report, Creating a Fair Playing Field for Consumers: The Need for Transparency in the US-Mexico Remittance Market, which revealed that remittance pricing structures of many firms, particularly in regard to exchange rates, often made effective comparison shopping cumbersome for consumers. Receipts for remittance transactions after they are made currently include some pricing disclosures, but there are no consistent standards for disclosures prior to initiating a transaction.

Executive Summary
Full Report
Chicago Appleseed and Appleseed Foundation Release Report Calling for Transparency in the United States—Mexico Remittance Market
19 Dec 2005 - Remittances, the billions of dollars that immigrants in the United States send home to family members living in their native countries, are accompanied by sometimes unfair and widely fluctuating service fees. The report, "Creating a Fair Playing Field for Consumers: The Need for Transparency in the U.S.—Mexico Remittance Market," provides remitters and policymakers with vital information on how the remittance market functions, and sets forth recommendations to create greater protection for this vulnerable consumer group while allowing the industry to maintain market control.
Press Release
Executive Summary
Full Report (2MB)
Comments on the Proposed Changes to the Regulation of the Community Reinvestment Act
Sent on April 26, 2005 to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C. As part of our Financial Education Project, Chicago Appleseed regularly comments on proposed changes regarding the Community Reinvestment Act.
Read more...

Resources & Studies

Financial Services for Immigrant and Low-Income Populations: A Survey of Chicago-Area Banks
This survey of twenty Chicago-area banks located in immigrant and low-income communities details what services and products they provide to those communities, what approaches to marketing those products are working, and what local banks can be doing better or differently to improve immigrants and low-income persons’ access to financial institutions.
Access to Mainstream Financial Services for Immigrant Communities: Positive Practices and Emerging Opportunities from the Latin American Immigrant Experience
This new study from Chicago Appleseed and the Appleseed network aims to stimulate a discussion on how best to overcome challenges and build on successes to realize the important social and economic benefits of bringing immigrant communities into the financial mainstream. It outlines positive market practices targeting Latin American immigrants and sets the groundwork for exploring their application to other immigrant communities.
Banking Immigrant Communities: A tool kit for banks and Credit Unions - March 2006
Financial Education Resources - March 2006
Creating a Fair Playing Field for Consumers: The Need for Transparency in the U.S.—Mexico Remittance Market
Chicago Appleseed / Appleseed Foundation report calling for transparency in the United States—Mexico remittance market
Executive Summary
Full Report (2MB)
Financial Access Brochures
The Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice has joined with the Appleseed Foundation and Appleseed affiliates in Nebraska and Texas to develop and distribute a series of brochures aimed at increasing awareness and access to financial institutions.
Download and print the brochures here.
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