The working person’s bank account: A new proposal for universal banking

It is time to update the basic bank account to fit the needs of modern Americans. You can port your cellphone number, but not your bank account. Every child now has a broker-dealer stock account, while millions of Americans don’t have a bank account. And the government sends paper checks to people months after emergency COVID-19 payments are approved, because Uncle Sam doesn’t know how to get money to you.

Brookings Senior Fellow Aaron Klein surveyed more than 1,200 middle- and lower-income Americans about the financial services they want, spoke with bankers about what it takes to make a bank account work, and reviewed the products already on the market. Building on that research, he has sketched out a new proposal for a universal bank account, with features designed to solve the problems that cost Americans tens of billions of dollars a year.

On Tuesday, December 1, Klein will present his proposal and the data behind it at an event hosted by the Brookings Center on Regulation and Markets as a part of their “Series on Financial Markets and Regulation.” A panel of experts with industry, regulatory, and consumer experience will weigh in. Join us for the unveiling.

Online viewers can submit questions in advance via email to [email protected]. Following the program, guests are invited to stay for a reception from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.