Get Refugees Started with a Checking Account
One of the things that refugees must face on their journey to self-sufficiency is that of understanding finances. In a short time they will have to handle housing, food, utilities, transportation, repayment of their refugee travel grant, and other expenses.
In our current refugee resettlement project we took a step forward today with the establishment of a checking account. As soon as refugees have some money they can call their own it is time to get started with a banking relationship.
Our family just received their first matching grant funds. We took these checks along with social security cards, I-94 cards, and a member of the family to sign the paperwork. Fortunately the process was smooth today because the banker who helped us had worked with other refugees in the past. Therefore she knew what she was doing. We’ve had tougher situations when the banking employees have no idea what to do with an I-94 card.
We deposited most of the money but held back a little so the family would have some cash on hand. We also tried to explain that $25 had to go to pay for checks so the amount remaining in the account did not match the original value of the checks. We’ll have to explain in greater detail when we have access to an interpreter.
We had a couple options available to us today. The first was whether we wanted basic checks or duplicate checks. While duplicate checks costs more, they are worthwhile. You will be teaching the family to write the checks on their own. With a duplicate of the written check remaining you have a reference to make sure they are issuing them correctly and recording them accurately.
We second option was a choice as to whether or not we would get ATM cards right away. Sometimes in the past we declined them, only to discover that the family learned about them from someone else and started requesting them from us. This time we agreed to get them right away. A powerful advantage is that the family can go grocery shopping without taking cash. The can use their food card and their ATM card to cover all expenses. The process to using each one is the same – swipe card, punch in pin number. Therefore training is easy.
Next we’ll have to explain finances in greater detail and show how to keep a check register up to date.
