Oakland’s Municipal ID, debit card program to launch February 1

Oakland officials have announced a launch date for the city’s new Municipal ID program, which would allow Oakland residents to apply for a city-issued identification card that can also be used as a debit card. Oakland studied other cities that have implemented similar programs, including New Haven, Connecticut, and San Francisco, said Mayor Jean Quan,…

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As more consumers choose alternatives to banks, Bay Area social enterprises rise to meet their needs

Monet Allen, 20, cashes her paycheck at Community Check Cashing, a nonprofit check cashing store and payday lender in Oakland.

Jose Rivera, 62, needed to cash two checks totaling $176—the fruits of a few days’ work as a gardener in Oakland. Though Rivera has a bank account with a small community bank chain based in San Francisco, he doesn’t deposit these or any other checks into it. Since the company closed its only Oakland location two years ago, Rivera has relied almost exclusively on fringe bankers, such as check cashing stores, to handle his financial affairs.

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