Loupie didn’t know much about banking when he turned 18.  His parents never trusted banks, so why should he.  Thanks to a city-wide program and a few bad experiences to learn from, he now has both a checking and savings account and is looking to start building assets!

“Banks were just not part of growing up for me,” says Loupie, now 21, of Seattle.  “I just never remember, you know, as a kid, ever going to a bank.  My father and mother mostly got paid in cash, and now when I think about it, if they got a check, I think he just cashed it at the neighborhood grocery store.” 

Loupie remembers there being something almost dangerous about banks, something nearly nefarious.  “I remember thinking banks were out to get me; they were a big rip-off with all their fees and charges,” he says. 

It wasn’t that he and his family necessarily feared anything from the government—his parents were in the U.S. legally, and he was born here.  It was just a mistrust of the system; perhaps nothing more than a cultural difference handed down from his parents. 

After an accident, the fear of banks and the financial system seemed to be re-enforced by new friends and social workers who were hired to help Loupie. “I started getting SSI and Medi-cal and there were all these rules!  Everyone kept telling me not to put money in an account because then the government may cut off my benefits.”  He needed the income and, more importantly, he needed the medical coverage to deal with his recently acquired disability.  He and his family would not be able to afford the forecasted medical bills—they couldn’t even afford the wheelchair he came home in from the rehab center.

For a while, a few friends would cash his monthly benefits check, but friends drifted away and were less willing to help.  Eventually, he started using a check cashing service in the city.  The check casher cost $40 to cash the check; it was for over $850, so it didn’t seem like that much to him.  A few months later, he received his check on a Friday afternoon.  Loupie got distracted by a few things but headed out to the check cashers a bit after 5pm.  After cashing his check he started home to meet with friends.  On the way home, two men confronted him on a street corner.  They demanded the cash, and before he could reply, a third person hit him from behind and took his cash, phone, and wallet.  Nevertheless, one month later, he was back at the check cashers but this time with friends.  No more untoward events occurred, but two months later, Loupie had an encounter that changed his life.

He and his friends were waiting in line to, yet again, cash his check.  Across the street, there were a few young people with signs in both English and Spanish affiliated with a local credit union.  They were part of a municipal outreach to bank the unbanked.  “I thought one of the girls was very pretty,” he says.  He crossed the street and started talking to the girl and her friends.  “She was really into getting an account,” he says.  Loupie mentioned having been mugged a few months prior.  The girl pointed out that with an account, he would not have to worry about such things, and that the debit card that came with the account had a password so even if the card was stolen, he could have it re-issued and not lose the money.

“I mentioned to her how I heard there were big costs if I went below $0 on my account, and she looked at me and said, ‘well, then don’t go below $0.’”

Suddenly, Loupie was interested in banking.  Though love had not flourished, Loupie’s banking prowess has definitely increased.  He now has two accounts.  The account linked to the debit card and a new savings account.  “There’s not much in there yet, but I manage to save something most of the time.” 

Through the people in the credit union, Loupie has learned about IDA accounts.  He is excited about saving for more education.  “I think more education would be good, especially with a disability.”

He now direct deposits both his benefits check and his check from his part-time job.  "It’s so easy; I don’t have to wait in those long lines.  When I get a computer, I can even do stuff from home.”

“I really didn’t think someone like me—well, didn’t think a bank would want me.  I was afraid they would think I wasn’t good enough or something. But actually,” he says, “the people are really nice.”  Loupie keeps urging his parents to get an account.  “I tell them how easy it is, how safe, but they still haven’t done it yet.  I’ll keep trying, they just need to be educated about accounts.”