Seattle-King County Asset-Building Collaborative

Bank on Seattle-King County

Launched in late September 2008, Bank on Seattle-King County is an initiative to help "unbanked" and "underbanked" people access affordable financial services including checking, savings, credit, and financial education. According to estimates from FDIC, approximately 7% of households in Seattle and King County are "unbanked". As of the end of the second quarter of 2010, over 37,000 new checking and savings accounts were opened under the Bank on Seattle-King County program.

Seven sponsors–ABC, City of Seattle, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the FDIC, King County, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, and The Seattle Foundation–are working with over 20 banks and credit unions to remove barriers to access and help people open checking and savings accounts. Over sixty community partners are assisting in the outreach effort and twenty agencies are offering financial education classes through this initiative.

The participating financial institutions and the sponsors developed and reached consensus on clear criteria for the products, services, and practices that the participating financial institutions would have to offer at a minimum. They also agreed to report data on a quarterly basis that will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative. For a list of the participating financial institutions, visit www.everyoneiswelcome.org.

Financial education is a key component of Bank on Seattle-King County. Our Seattle-King County Financial Education Providers Network was created to:

  • Improve the effectiveness and quality of financial education.
  • Increase access to financial education.
  • Develop effective financial education models.
  • Share best practices, streamline, coordinate, and promote financial education.

The twenty Network partners have agreed on a core set of standards that constitute a high quality financial education curriculum. Nine of these partners offer an eight-hour class series that allow customers to qualify for a financial incentive from four of the Bank on Seattle-King County's participating financial institutions. For more information about the incentive, see Financial Education Providers .

 A calendar of free financial education classes is available at Financial Education Calendar .

For more information, visit www.EveryoneIsWelcome.org. The website includes:

  • List of all participating financial institution branches
  • Descriptions and comparison of products/features offered by all financial institutions under this program
  • Tool to help people locate the appropriate bank or credit union branch for their needs
  • Tool to identify the appropriate financial education provider based on topic, location, and language
  • Calendar of free financial education classes
  • Outreach materials and financial education brochures (in 13 languages)
  • Helpful links and resources on financial education
  • How to Avoid Overdraft Fees
  • Video reports and press about the program

To open a savings or checking account, visit a participating financial institution. For help in choosing an appropriate financial institution, call 2-1-1. If you have any questions or complaints regarding Bank on Seattle-King County, please contact Diana Stone at dstone@skcabc.org.

To help us with outreach, please contact the Community Outreach Coordinator, Jennifer Meissner, jmeissner@skcabc.org.