#4 Check cashing places

Several years ago, when I was working this job I had, I met this guy.   He was a black man.  He also did not have a bank account.  When I first heard him talking about the fact that he did not have a bank account, I asked why he didn't have one.  He didn't really want to say.  It took some time for him to realise that he really needed to get a bank account.  Other people at work had to stage an intervention with him to get him to realise that nothing was going to happen to his money once he had it directly deposited into his account, which was another thing he was against.

Okay, Black people across America, I am not trying to say that all Black people like check cashing places, that would be impossible, but they are popular among many African-Americans.  Why is this the case?  Some Black people just are not able to open a bank account.  Yes, it happens.  Many of them run into financial problems that are so bad, banks do not even want to open accounts in their name.  Therefore, many black people turn to the only logical alternative they have. 

Just think about it.  If you can't open a bank account, where else are you going to go to get the money from your check?  The only place I can think of is the check cashing place.  If you try to go to a bank to cash your check, the bank will require that you have an account with them or that you create one upon cashing the check.  This creates a problem.  If you don't have an account or you can't even create one to begin with, the bank is not an option at all.  Alas, alas . . . that leaves a person in the clutches of the crowded check cashing place around the corner.

Another reason that many African-Americans like check cashing places is because they want to have the money from their check in their hands immediately.  I have heard many Black people say this.  Even after I tell them that they can still have immediate access to their money with a checking account and a debit card, they still say "no" to checking accounts.  It's just a mentality that many African-American people have.  Go figure.

Also, many Black people, just like many people in general, do not trust banks.  Why is it that they don't trust banks?  Have you seen what has happened to the financial industry in the past couple of years?  Many Black people don't trust banks because banks are a part of the "system" and anything about the "system," which enslaved Black people over a century ago, is not to be trusted.  Why is the "system" not to be trusted?  Because the "system" is controlled by the "Man", meaning the "White man" and, for many Blacks, white people aren't to be trusted because of racism and oppression.  In other words, the "system" is designed to oppress Black people and keep rich people, a.k.a. white people, rich.  It may sound like I am going out on a limb here, but try talking to many Black people.  You will find that a lot of them feel this way about banks and most of them are poor, undereducated people.