Our Mission
Our local Bank On Washington coalitions offer services and educational resources that help empower people and families to improve their financial capability, health and independence.
It is important that residents have access to resources that help lay a solid foundation for banking and financial empowerment. Our coalition is particularly focused on assisting youth, immigrants and refugees, veterans, and families with disabilities to access financial services.
Bank On Washington Financial Institution Partnerships: Statement of Principles. Download here>
Our History
Started in 2012, Bank On Washington helps connect consumers to safe and affordable banking products certified as meeting the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s Bank On National Account Standards.
With assistance from the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Washington State Treasurer’s Office, Financial Empowerment Network (Bank On Seattle-King County), and local Bank On and Asset Building coalitions a working group identified strategies to increase collaborative efforts that could connect consumers to mainstream financial services and products in Washington state.
Today local Bank On coalitions represents community-based organizations, financial institutions, and local government agencies that today provide services and resources such as financial education, credit counseling, savings programs, banking series, credit repair, employment assistance, youth engagement, and other financial empowerment programming.
The Financial Empowerment Network serves as the convening agency for Bank On Washington. Like dozens of other Bank On coalitions across the country, local Bank On Washington coalitions works together to connect community members to Bank On National Account Standard certified products that meet their needs.
Bank On Washington coalitions also help residents with information about how to use these products effectively and how to successfully navigate the consumer finance marketplace. These local coalitions provide outreach and programming to connect residents to safe financial products, partner with local financial institutions to facilitate account access and work to integrate banking access strategies into nonprofit and government social services.
Members represent financial institutions, community-based organizations and local government that provide products, services and resources including financial and entrepreneurial education, personal and business coaching and counseling, credit building and savings programs, employment assistance, and a variety of additional financial empowerment programming.
The National Bank On Movement
Bank On Washington is proud to be part of the national Bank On movement, made up of dozens of similar local coalitions across the country.
The nonprofit Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) is the national partner for local Bank On coalitions, supporting local efforts through resources like the Bank On National Account Standards and accompanying certification, grant support to build local coalition capacity, and a robust learning community. The CFE Fund also works to give voice to local coalition experiences by informing both federal regulatory policy and financial institution practices.