AFSA Opposes Postal Banking Bill
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bill last week that would provide the United States Postal Service (USPS) with the ability to perform certain banking services, including issuing small dollar loans.
AFSA, as well as at least one other Senator, is strongly opposed to giving the Postal Service the authority to offer small-dollar loan products to consumers. The USPS is not equipped to provide consumers the high-quality financial products or the consumer protections that consumer finance companies offer. Instead, AFSA’s members continue to improve the lives of millions by providing one of the safest and most affordable forms of consumer credit in America for over a century. Today, installment lenders continue to serve consumers of all economic backgrounds, including under-banked consumers – particularly those in small towns – by offering personal loans through branches in their communities.
Access to financial services is a cornerstone of the American way of life. In the United States, a competitive and robust consumer marketplace, not the USPS, is the place that allows families and individuals to access financial services and credit products to meet their household needs.
This bill is not expected to pass in the current Congress, but AFSA will remain vigilant on this and other issues that would threaten the ability of our members to offer credit products to consumers.
April 1st, 2022
