Bills to pay? She handled that, too, for $1 per bill.
“Anything else, honey?” she asked one of her regulars. “O.K., have a nice day.”
Many of New York City’s poorest residents do not have bank accounts, so these window transactions, repeated
hundreds of times every day, are their primary contact with the
financial system. Check cashers are as familiar to them as corner
bodegas, and as reliable.
But an industry built on mutual convenience has come under increased
scrutiny over the past decade as its stores have continued to become
full financial centers, improving services like electronic bill payment,
wire transfers and prepaid debit cards.
The expansion has spurred renewed criticism from advocates for poor
residents and from bank officials, who say the check-cashing industry
takes advantage of those who have no other options, and it has prompted
more calls for consumer protections.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/nyregion/as-check-cashers-expand-services-in-poorer-areas-criticism-grows.html
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