[freebeard]

I've been 'lobbying' (lol) my local post office about banking services for some time, and now I find this:

inthesetimes.com/article/postal-banking-post-office-apwu

This is why a new experiment from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to offer postal banking is so remarkable. In September, the country’s most popular federal agency began offering paycheck-cashing services at several East Coast post offices — in collaboration with the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and after being pushed by numerous community groups. Now, anyone can redeem paychecks in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Md., Falls Church, Va., and the Bronx in New York City in return for Visa gift cards up to $500. The postal agency expects to expand the program to bill-paying services and ATMs in the future.

This approach is not exactly new — USPS actually offered postal banking from 1911 to 1967. During this period, the program provided a stable alternative to private banks, first for immigrants, then for white farmers during the Great Depression, and then the wealthy in the 1940s, as they sought reasonable returns in the era’s low-interest economy. It was ended in an effort by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration to streamline the government.

A new profit center? Banks make out Okay.