Have you heard of the Young Americans Bank?
Author(s): Terri Friedline
Article provided by The New America Foundation
Published: August 5, 2011
Issues:
The research on young people’s savings points to early access to basic
financial services to improve young people’s life outcomes, including things
like improved financial and educational outcomes. Just to give a few examples,
research by William Elliott and
colleagues finds that young people who have their own savings accounts are
significantly more likely to attend and graduate from college. Some of my
own research finds that young people are significantly more likely to
continue saving later in life when they have access to savings accounts early in
life. Given the apparent importance of young people’s savings for improving
their life outcomes, financial institutions have a role to play in including
young people in basic financial services.
Yet financial institutions that actively pursue and cater their products to
young customers are rare. Young people are not always seen as savvy money
managers or capable of saving apart from their parents. These beliefs about
young people play out in major economic theories of saving, which tend to leave
out young people entirely because they assume young people are acquiring debt as
opposed to saving. Although rare, financial institutions that cater to young
people do exist. Perhaps one of the best U.S. examples is the Young Americans Center for Financial Education located in
Denver, Colorado.
The Young Americans Center for Financial Education has accomplished what
researchers and policy makers dream about. They operate the Young Americans Bank – an FDIC-insured bank designed
specifically for young people. Just for clarification: this is not a bank
designed for adults and whose products and services have been adapted for or
made available to young people. This is a bank designed completely with young
people in mind. In fact, you have to be age 21 or younger to open an
account at the Young Americans Bank.
Here are some examples of the types of
products and services they offer: basic or traditional savings accounts with a
minimum initial deposit of $10, certificates of deposit (CD), basic or
traditional checking accounts with debit cards, online banking via the internet,
and small loans to pay for things from school books to bikes and cars.
History of the Young Americans Bank
The Young Americans Bank opened in 1987 and is pleased to
celebrate its 24th birthday tomorrow – August 6th. (That's
right – they've been around for 24 years! Just to provide some context, that’s
about three or four years before asset-based social policies were introduced by
Michael Sherraden and about 15 years before the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment [SEED]
Initiative tested the idea of Children’s’ Development Accounts [CDA's]). In the first month
of operation, over 2,000 savings accounts were opened. Since that time, the
Young Americans Bank has served over 471,000 young people nationwide and has
expanded to three locations. They also have a Youth Advisory Board comprised of young people who provide
their insights to the Board of Directors while learning about philanthropy and
leadership.
There is a good deal we are able to learn from the Young Americans Bank that
can inform both research and policy. The America
Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education (ASPIRE) Act , for
instance, proposes to create savings accounts and encourage financial education
for every young person in the U.S.; however, this proposed legislation is
sometimes met with questions. What will these accounts look like? Where will
young people get the money to save? How will young people access their accounts
to make deposits? How will they receive financial education? A notable feature
of the Young Americans Bank is that it falls under the larger umbrella of the
Young Americans Center for Financial Education. The Young Americans Center
operates the bank, works with teachers to provide financial education
curriculum, offers financial education classes, and educates young people about
business and entrepreneurship. This means that the Young Americans Bank is
embedded into an infrastructure
that provides young people with the support to save, earn money, and learn about
financial decision making. The following provides information on how the Young
Americans Bank has responded to some of these questions, and the answers may be
informative for future research and policy on young people’s savings.
What types of Savings Accounts are Available to Young People?
There are currently over 15,000 savings accounts at the Young Americans Bank
with an average balance of $550. As mentioned, these accounts can be opened with
a minimum deposit of $10 and no monthly service charges (as long as a deposit or
withdrawal is made once every three years). Young people can make up to four
withdrawals per month without restrictions and their savings earns interest on a
quarterly basis.
Where do Young People get the Money to Save?
The Young Americans Center for Financial Education sponsors activities, such
as financial education classes, business competitions, summer camps, and an
entrepreneurs’ marketplace in which young people can buy and sell their products
or services. Young people can earn money through most of these activities, which
can then be deposited into their savings accounts. The Young Americans Center
also sponsors a business competition, where young people ages six to 21
submit entrepreneurial ideas for a chance to win a top prize of $1,000 and be
mentored by a prominent business professional from the local community.
How do Young People Access their Accounts?
Just like a typical bank, young people can access their accounts at the Young
Americans Bank in person, by mail, or online. These different points of access
mean that young people can have some control over their accounts. In other
words, they do not always need to wait until their parents make errands to the
bank. They can send their deposits in the mail or check their account balances
online.
How do Young People Receive Financial Education?
There are a variety of ways young people can receive financial education at
the Young Americans Center for Financial Education. They offer free Saturday
classes, summer camps to learn about the free enterprise system and global
economics, tool kits with accompanying workshops that teach how to start a
business, and an active marketplace to test out some of their ideas. Not to
mention that they can open a savings account at the Young Americans Bank, which
allows them to put into practice the things they are learning about saving.
___________________________________________________________________________________
For additional information:
or visit their websites:
Recent NAF Papers on Young People's Savings:
Suggested Reading
ASPIRE
Act Introduced in the House
Questions
and Answers about ASPIRE
A
Nudge to Financial Stability and Literacy
Banking
on the Future: Building an Infrastructure around Children’s
Savings
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