NYC Study Looks at Immigrant Banking Habits

NEW YORK (AP) —

A study of members of some of New York City’s fastest-growing immigrant communities finds that their banking patterns can be very different, with some immigrants opening bank accounts by the time they’ve been here a few years and others still not having them after living here more than a decade.

The survey by the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs looked at the Chinese, Ecuadorian and Mexican communities and also found that barriers to having accounts included having to maintain minimum balances as well as confusion over what documentation would be needed to open an account.

Not being connected to the mainstream financial system can create hardships for people, said DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz. For example, if they don’t have bank accounts, they would have to use check-cashing outlets to turn their paychecks into currency, and have to pay a fee for the transaction. Paying bills becomes more complicated if someone doesn’t have a bank account to draw from.

“For the individual, it’s sort of a poverty trap,” he said. “It’s just going to cost you more” than if you used a bank.

The survey found that the Chinese immigrants, with an average time of being in the United States of just under six years, were almost all likely
to have bank accounts. Ecuadorian immigrants had been in the U.S. an average of 11 ½ years, and about 65 percent had accounts. The Mexican immigrant participants were the least likely to have bank accounts, with 43 percent saying they did. They had been in the U.S. an average of just over 10 years.

When asked about what kept them from using banks, those without accounts gave reasons including not having enough money to meet minimum balances and pay fees. Some also expressed concerns about whether they would be able to open accounts if they didn’t have documentation like Social Security numbers, as well as concerns over language barriers.

But even those without bank accounts said they made a practice of saving money, and had goals like saving for their children’s’ education, buying a home, or sending money back to their native countries.

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