Financial Inclusion Map: A tool to access safe, affordable banking

Bank On Greater Milwaukee and Data You Can Use have collaborated to create a NEW live interactive map of the Greater Milwaukee area. The Financial Inclusion Map features the locations of financial institutions in the Greater Milwaukee area, specifying whether or not they offer Bank On certified accounts. It further shows the number of certified accounts that have been opened in Milwaukee County in 2023 by ZIP code.

The map shares local data including population by race and ethnicity, persons with disabilities, household income, household vehicle access, employment, and linguistic isolation.This data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2018-2022 5-Year estimates and 2023 Bank On National Data Hub set.

What is the purpose of the map?

Bank On Greater Milwaukee wanted a tool that could display the gaps in our community when it comes to accessing financial products and services. It also serves as a tool for financial institutions to better understand which populations are being underserved, and how to meet their obligations as partners via the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

Our partner, Data You Can Use, has created and hosts a number of interactive maps that further their mission of advancing community access to data and the skills needed to drive informed and equitable decision-making. We knew they’d be the right partner to help us develop a mapping tool that achieves these goals.

In particular, the Financial Inclusion Map highlights the number of unbanked individuals, where they are, and how low-income individuals are most negatively impacted by a lack of banking access. Individuals who are unbanked are defined as individuals without a banking relationship which includes a checking account or credit card.

The Financial Inclusion Map showcases data such as:

Number of Certified Accounts opened in 2023
Concentration and location of households with low to moderate income
Where bank locations are within the City of Milwaukee
Population demographics
Concentrations of linguistic isolation
Households without vehicle access
Intersectionality between all metrics such as low-moderate income households and a lack of banking options

Implications for this data include demonstrating support for efforts that ensure people have access to safe, affordable financial products and services such as maintaining branch locations in underserved areas and connecting people to certified accounts.

Who is the map for?

This map is for multiple audiences including:

Consumers who are looking for a bank branch nearby
Consumers who are looking for a certified banking account
Consumers who are looking to understand the financial landscape of their community
Community partners who are looking to understand the needs of low-income individuals as it relates to accessing financial services and products
Financial institutions who are looking to address inequity
Financial institutions who are looking to understand community needs
Financial institutions interested in working in collaboration with Bank On Greater Milwaukee
Decision makers and elected officials looking to understand Milwaukee data related to banking access and low-income individuals
Decision makers and elected officials looking to create policies

“This map shows many financial deserts across Milwaukee and is a tool to fight inequity”
Constance Alberts, Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Manager

Future Considerations

As part of our partnership with Data You Can Use, the map will be updated with new data as it becomes available. Bank On Greater Milwaukee will continue working with coalition members and partners to strategically address barriers to banking access.

Some of our next steps will be to support efforts that help vulnerable people access financial products and services that meet their needs and help them become financially healthy.

How was it created?

Bank On Greater Milwaukee’s Advocacy Workgroup began working in 2020 to develop a tool that could show gaps in accessing financial products and services in our community. In 2022, we launched version 1.0 – the “Advocacy Map” with help from workgroup members and volunteers skilled in data mapping.

In 2023 we realized the need to find a long-term home for the map, which could also offer more capability and updated data. Bank On Greater Milwaukee’s host agency, the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin (UEDA) secured resources to bring in Data You Can Use to update the map, which was completed in December 2024.

Now known as the Financial Inclusion Map, this tool was created by Data You Can Use in partnership with Bank On Greater Milwaukee, with funding support from a City of Milwaukee grant of Community Development Block Grant funds. It will help inform our work and commitment to financial inclusion for all in our community.

How You Can Help

Share this resource with your networks!
Link the Bank On Financial Inclusion Map to your website
Join Bank On Greater Milwaukee as a partner and volunteer to help support their work

Questions or interested in getting involved?

Email Constance Alberts, Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Manager at constance@uedawi.org

Celebrating 4+ years of promoting banking access in our community!

Thank you to the 40+ people from the Bank On Greater Milwaukee coalition and Milwaukee Alliance for Economic Alliance (AEI) who joined us to celebrate our 4th anniversary on Tuesday, September 19. Our partner, the AEI, shared an overview of findings from the FDIC’s most recent Unbanked and Underbanked Survey and changes we’ve seen in the consumer landscape as a result of the public health pandemic.

Additionally, Lisa Locke from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis presented on the Bank On National Data (BOND) Hub, an interactive dataset tracking Bank On certified account activity across the country and partnerships that promote economic inclusion.

Our celebration of Bank On Consumer Success included a report from Constance Alberts, Program Director, on the accomplishments of the coalition. We unveiled our new Bank On Greater Milwaukee (BOGM) Impact Report, featuring data from coalition members and partners on our impact in 2022 and shared a preview of the forthcoming update of the BOGM website.

Lastly, we recognized our volunteers and key projects that have been in progress over the past year, which include:

Banking Flier for Teens
BOGM Advocacy Map 2.0
How to Open a Bank Account Video
“What’s In Your Wallet” educational flier
Banking Access: Prior To Release

All of these efforts emphasize strong, collaborative partnerships with financial institutions, community-based organizations, and local government. We thank our coalition members and volunteers for their support!

View the presentation slides and the BOGM 2022 Impact Report.

Keep an eye out for the updated BOGM website to go live by the end of this year!

Bank On Greater Milwaukee celebrates Financial Literacy Month and is recognized!

Each April we celebrate and promote activities that help people and families learn more about personal finance habits, tools and resources that help them strengthen their financial health. Bank On Greater Milwaukee also releases its annual Your Smart Money Resource Guide and participates in community events, book reads with young people and more.

Check out the Bank On Greater Milwaukee Resources page where you’ll find a number of blog posts on different financial topics and featuring local financial literacy efforts, including 10 Tips to Celebrate Financial Literacy Month and posts about 529 plans, debt relief, retirement planning, and more. This blog post provides a compilation of local and national resources that promote financial literacy throughout the year.

You can also access the resource guide, which is a printed full-color, full-size booklet available in English & Spanish, and offers information and resources on a variety of financial topics. Download it here and contact Constance at constance@uedawi.org if you’d like Guides to distribute!

Also, UEDA worked in collaboration with 6 community partners to sponsor a place-based Financial Health Counselor Certification (FHCC) training last week. We are thrilled that our community will now have 15+ newly certified counselors to serve people and families via the National Association of Credit Counselors! Next steps include putting in place regular network meetings for counselors and a second training cohort in early Fall.

Special thanks to Bader Philanthropies, U.S. Bank, Zilber Family Foundation and the partners listed below for making this first training cohort happen!

African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee (AALAM)
Center for Self-Sufficiency, Inc.
FDIC Milwaukee Alliance for Economic Inclusion (AEI)
Pathways to Financial Empowerment
Riverworks Development Corporation
Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC)
YWCA Southeast Wisconsin

And last but not least, we are proud to share that Bank On Greater Milwaukee was recognized by the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy with a 2022 Financial Literacy Award in the Legacy Category. Recipients are recognized for for providing exceptional financial literacy and capability education in an inclusive and innovative manner.

The legacy award is given to an organization, business, or individual whose purpose and heritage is ingrained in sustained financial literacy and capability efforts. Read more about the this amazing recognition by DFI here>>

We appreciate this recognition of our work and thank our Bank On program funders, who are integral to the success of this collaborative initiative.

Associated Bank
CIBC Bank
Forest County Potawatomi Foundation
Huntington National Bank
Johnson Financial Group
MGIC
Old National Bank
PyraMax Bank
U.S. Bank Foundation
We Energies Foundation
Zilber Family Foundation

Bank On National Account Standards (2023-2024)

Working closely with our Bank On National Advisory Board and other key stakeholders, the CFE Fund released the Bank On National Account Standards. These standards provide local programs with a benchmark for account partnerships with financial institutions, and include both core and recommended features. The Standards were inspired by the 2012 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Model Safe Accounts Template. View the Spanish language version of the Bank On National Account Standards here.

Bank On Announces the 2022 Champions!

Bank On Greater Milwaukee is proud to congratulate the winners of the 2022 Bank On Champion Awards for their accomplishments to support safe and accessible banking.

Bank On Greater Milwaukee honored them on September 29th with an awards ceremony with nearly 50 attendees. We also shared the accomplishments of Bank On Greater Milwaukee over the past 3 years.

Check out slides from the event which include key accomplishments over the past three years (14 certified accounts! 900+ volunteers hours!) and watch a congratulatory message from Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson HERE. Thanks to all that attended and helped us celebrate!

Leadership & Activity Champion: Dan Krohn
Dan is the Manager of Community Partnerships at TMG and has been integral part of the BOGM team for the past three years. He has brought his commitment and expertise to the team as co-chair of the Advocacy Workgroup. Dan is committed to reducing barriers faced by our disability, elderly and reentry communities.

Community Partner Champion: The Wisconsin Bankers Association
WBA staff Rose Oswald Poels and Heather Mackinnon and others at the WBA have worked to increase knowledge of Bank On accounts to lenders throughout the state. The continued support of WBA allows BOGM to increase access to safe and affordable banking products. As a member of the BOGM Leadership Team their contribution is essential to promoting and moving BOGM initiatives.

Innovation Champion: Migdalia Ervin
Migdalia is a Financial Coach at SDC and has been a BOGM partner from the beginning. Her passion for families is evident in her role as a financial coach, where she has integrated banking access into her practice. She has worked directly with families to explain the benefits of certified accounts along with why it is important to open an account and how to maintain that account.

Community Connector Champion: Jaime De Jesus, Sr.
Jaime is an IES instructor and artist, and works to break down barriers for returning citizens. He is also a part of the BOGM Leadership Team and an advisor in the Advocacy workgroup. His insight has has helped to frame steps that can reduce stumbling blocks faced by our citizens as they return to the community. He works with IES students to get them banked and connects them to financial resources.

Community Connector Champion: Pastor Raymond Monk
Pastor Monk is a Northwest Side CDC Community Organizer and has worked with BOGM to distribute over 500+ BOGM “Your Smart Money” Guides annually and connected BOGM with companies interested in provided families with access to certified accounts and financial empowerment. He has also worked with BOGM community partners to set up multiple VITA mobile events and is instrumental and working to develop initiatives to empower our youth with financial education around business and banking.

Community Connector Champion: Adam Procell
Adam is an author and Re-Entry Strategist with Partners in Hope and has worked with BOGM to help strengthen our understanding of ways to better help our returning citizens. His transparency has been valuable to our entire team. Adam works daily to advocate for our returning citizens in the community and through the legislative.

Community Connector Champion: Conor Williams
Conor is a member of the Milwaukee ReEntry Council and is an Economic Policy Analyst at Community Advocates. He has provided insight on how to assist returning individuals and has been involved in BOGM for over 3 years and has assisted individuals and groups in creating partnerships.

BOGM Celebrates 2-Years & 2021 Coalition Champions

MILWAUKEE, WI – Bank On Greater Milwaukee (BOGM) celebrated their two-year anniversary with a virtual awards ceremony that recognized six local entities for their efforts to improve the overall financial health of the Milwaukee community. A program of the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin (UEDA), Bank On Greater Milwaukee belongs to a nation-wide network of Bank On coalitions who aim to strengthen the financial stability of communities by increasing access to safe and affordable deposit accounts.

“A basic transaction account is an important first step to participating in the financial mainstream”, says Constance Alberts, Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Manager. “We are extremely fortunate to engage a coalition of community organizations, banks, credit unions, and governmental entities who are dedicated to ensuring more households belong to the financial mainstream by developing low-barrier accounts and providing supportive financial education services.”

At their two-year anniversary event last week, Bank On Greater Milwaukee recognized coalition members who have made a significant contribution to the mission of Bank On Greater Milwaukee over the past year through innovative product development, programming, and community engagement efforts with their 2021 BOGM Champion Awards.

2021 BOGM Champions:

Milwaukee Public Library: Community Partner Champion
Each year, MPL assists Bank On Greater Milwaukee with the updating and distribution of 10,000+ Money Smart Resource Guides, and has served as a financial education partner for many years.
Summit Credit Union: Product Development Champion
Summit Credit Union’s development of the Balance Account and a non-custodial Bank On account will help expand banking access to youth.
REAL Bank Program: Innovation Champion
Developed by Lad Lake, Summit Credit Union, St. Charles Youth & Family Services, Inc., and the Economic Awareness Council, the REAL Bank Program works to ensure youth aging out of foster care will have access to financial education and bank accounts that are safe and affordable.
Carol Maria, FDIC: Leadership & Activity Champion
Carol played an integral role in bringing Bank On to the Milwaukee community and continues to engage local, regional, and national partners in efforts that move the needle on expanding mainstream financial inclusion.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from Bank On Greater Milwaukee,” said Sarah Campagna, Managing Vice President of Financial Empowerment for Summit Credit Union. “Summit Credit Union is committed to providing holistic financial experiences by pairing our safe and affordable products with our award-winning financial education. In joining the Bank On Greater Milwaukee coalition this past year, we have been able to reach even more families and communities with these resources.”

Since launching in 2019, Bank On Greater Milwaukee has more than doubled the number of Bank On certified accounts available in the Milwaukee area, from six to fourteen, with two more accounts near certification. Accounts at Bank Five Nine, BMO Harris, Chase, CIBC, Equitable, First Federal, First Midwest, Old National, PNC, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, Summit Credit Union, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo all have at least one account that has been certified by the national Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) as meeting the 2021-2022 Bank On National Account Standards (NAS).

Key features of NAS certified accounts include low or no monthly maintenance costs, no overdraft or non-sufficient fund fees, online pay bills and money online, and federal deposit insurance. A full list of certified accounts can be found here.

CFE Fund Announces More Than 100 Bank On Certified Accounts

More than 100 Bank On certified accounts, at institutions comprising 52% of national deposit market share, can help residents receive Child Tax Credit and other emergency payments

In this press release, the CFE Fund announced that there are now more than 100 bank and credit union accounts nationally certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Banks and credit unions offering certified accounts comprise over 50% of the U.S. deposit market share, and 40% of all US bank branches offer a certified account; nearly two million Bank On certified accounts were opened in 2019. With the certification of BMO Harris’ Smart Money™ Account, BOM Bank’s EZ Checking account, Rio Grande Credit Union’s Fresh Start Checking, US Eagle FCU’s Flex Checking account, and Wintrust Community Banks’ Money Smart Checking account, there are now 108 accounts certified as meeting Bank On National Account Standards. These accounts can expand access to safe and appropriate transactional accounts to the almost 36 million people outside of the mainstream financial system, and can be used to receive and manage the federal Child Tax Credit and other emergency payments.

To learn more about Bank On, visit www.cfefund.org/bankon.

Bank On Greater Milwaukee Joins Jill Economo on “Milwaukee’s Philanthropic Community”

Presented by Ellenbecker Investment Group, this unique show highlights non-profit organizations and helps listeners understand how they can have a personal impact in our community.

On March 22, 2020 Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Manager, Constance Alberts sat for an interview with Jill Economo, host of the radio show Milwaukee’s Philanthropic Community to discuss financial capacity and equity in the city of Milwaukee, ways that financial institutions support communities, and how Bank On Greater Milwaukee coalition members provide a holistic approach to financial education, empowerment and banking access.

LISTEN HERE

(Starts at about 21:30)

Bank On Greater Milwaukee on “That’s So Money”

Hosted by Jeff McCarthy and Becky Miller from Bank Five Nine (First Bank Financial Centre), ‘That’s So Money’ takes an innovative and entertaining approach to financial education, providing listeners with content that can help attain financial freedom. Each show features a local partner in the community, like a small business customer or non-profit organization, showcasing how they make lives better in the communities we serve.

On February 2, 2020 Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Manager, Constance Alberts sat for an interview to discuss the efforts of the BOGM Coalition, the rate of unbanked and underbanked households in Milwaukee and why it matters, the benefits of owning a bank account, and how Bank On Certified accounts meet the needs of the community.

LISTEN HERE

The Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin launches Bank On Greater Milwaukee coalition to ensure all Milwaukee-area households have access to safe and affordable banking products and services

MILWAUKEE – On Thursday, September 19 the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin (UEDA) launched the state’s first Bank On coalition. Bank On Greater Milwaukee joins a nationwide network of more than 90 coalitions working to help improve the financial stability of unbanked and underbanked individuals and families by connecting them to safe and affordable financial products and services.

At least 44,000 households in Milwaukee are unbanked, causing individuals to rely on costly alternative financial services like check cashers, payday lenders, and pawnshops for routine financial transactions. Fees associated with using alternative services can cost an unbanked person around $40,000 over a lifetime. A basic transaction account is an important first step in participating in the financial mainstream, where account holders can deposit earnings securely, pay bills efficiently, save money and access affordable credit.

“We formed Bank On Greater Milwaukee to make it easier to connect people to accounts that help them save money, securely deposit what they earn, and build credit. Our coalition members are committed to offering education and services that help them become financially healthy,” says Constance Alberts, Bank On Greater Milwaukee Program Manager.

Through support from Wells Fargo and the national nonprofit the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, UEDA began convening the coalition in early 2018. Since then, Bank On Greater Milwaukee’s network of banks, credit unions, nonprofit organizations and public officials has helped seven financial institutions establish accounts that meet Bank On national account standards. Accounts certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards are:

Safe: No overdraft, non-sufficient funds, or dormancy fees
Affordable: Monthly fees of $5 or less with a low minimum opening deposit
Functional: Pay bills, make deposits and withdrawals, and transfer money

For more information on the program and a list of certified accounts visit www.BankOnMilwaukee.org.

Current Bank On Greater Milwaukee Partners: ArtWorks for Milwaukee, Associated Bank, CIBC, City of Milwaukee, Educators Credit Union, Extension Milwaukee County, Fund My Future Milwaukee, Innovative Educational Solutions Institute, The Joseph Project, Journey House, Metro Milwaukee Fair Housing Council, Milwaukee JobsWork, Milwaukee Urban League, Mitchell Bank, National Disability Institute, Riverworks Financial Clinic, SecureFutures, Self Help Credit Union, Social Development Commission, Sojourner Family Peace Center, UEDA, US Bank, UW Credit Union, Wells Fargo.

About the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin: UEDA is a 501(c)(3) membership association dedicated to facilitating effective, cross-sector collaboration, meaningful connections, and strengthening individual and organizational capacity in Wisconsin’s community and economic development sector. Incorporated in 1997, we focus on and advocate for community investment, sustainable homeownership and housing, regional transportation, small business growth, financial empowerment and the local food economy. www.uedawi.org