Test Return To Banking By USPS

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politic...uthorization

This is new for the USPS, but the USPOD had postal savings for years.

The post office here still offers a range of savings/banking services, essentially as a middleman for third parties

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/savings-accounts

The ones I remember from my childhood are the National Savings stamps

http://www.ibredguy.co.uk/main.php?g2_itemId=20449

Same here in Oz,
Country town, we have only one bank left, after NAB closed last week
Most people now use the Post Office, depositing / withdrawals etc
(Must put a huge load on a very busy office)

A friend uses the prepaid card for all his online purchases
just tops up as need be.

This is not banking. You give the USPS your check and get a one-time use gift card for up to $500 in return. Am I missing something?

They used to do a kind of banking.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite...vings_System

The post office is NOT a place I want to go to do banking.

As Rod says, choice may be limited. In my heavily populated, fairly prosperous area of south-west London, all four bank branches have now closed. Those estate agents and chain coffee shops are really useful.

Big fan of this idea: I think it's a win-win for a lot of people and the USPS.

Offering simple banking services and a basic debit card to better reach the "unbanked" is a big, but not very profitable, market in the US.

American Express offers a product called Bluebird that's basically the same thing - they partner with Walmart for physical distribution and access points.

Makes sense, given the number of Walmart stores nationwide and demographics they serve. A lot of folks just need a reliable, affordable, basic place to park their cash.

It's a low-margin play, which is why most of the banks in this country ignore the unbanked - less able to offer 'sophisticated' (profitable) financial products. Amex had an ulterior motive with Bluebird, which was to increase acceptance of Amex cards at small business (lots of places don't take Amex because of the higher fees). And they probably had some sort of arrangement with Walmart, too.

One of USPS' biggest assets is its physical footprint. I firmly believe USPS shouldn't get into the bells-and-whistles banking game, but it would be great to figure out how to monetize that footprint and give them a sorely-needed ancillary revenue stream.

I am going to buy the AusPost reloadable Mastercard on Monday coming.

I like the idea of having auto debits, NOT coming from my bank account.
Things like Netflix, or KAYO (sports) streaming, History Channel.
Overseas Philatelic purchases.

Purchase price $7.95 $2 per annum fee

I would never use ATM withdrawal or Cash out.