September Bank On Denton County Coalition Meeting

Bank On Denton County is a collaborative partnership between UWDC, local government, and community mainstream financial service providers including, BB&T Bank, Chase Bank, Capital One Bank, Point Bank, Prosperity Bank, Sanger Bank, Synergy Bank, First Convenience Bank, First State Bank, First United Bank, Independent Bank, NORTHSTAR Bank of Texas, Inwood National Bank, Meridian Bank Texas, DATCU Credit Union, Wells Fargo, and AccessBank Texas committed to providing budgeting tools and financial education to unbanked and underbanked households in Denton County and encouraging participation in mainstream financial services. Unbanked households are characterized as having no checking or savings account. Underbanked households are those characterized as having an account, but continuing to rely on alternative financial services, like check-cashing services, payday loans, rent-to-own agreements or pawn shops. According to FDIC data, 1 in 4 low to moderately low income households in Denton are not participating in mainstream financial services resulting in financial leakage from the household. The purpose of Bank On Denton County is to provide critical financial education and access to mainstream financial services for low to moderately low income families and individuals. The primary focuses of our Bank On workshops include the benefits of utilizing checking and saving accounts, assistance with opening checking and savings accounts, proper utilization of credit, ways to improve your credit score, and how to position yourself to buy your first home.  We offer an additional optional workshop with detailed instructions on how to buy a home.  We also offer an additional workshop designed for seniors that teaches participants how to avoid financial abuse such as identity theft, fraud, and deception.