Carver Bank Let’s You Cash and Load Your Tax Return

For Bed-Stuy residents preparing to file their income tax returns this year, Carver Federal Savings Bank is offering a way for non-checking account holders to get their money faster, through a direct deposit onto one of Carver’s Cash Access VISA debit cards.

It may sound like an odd notion in 2012, but the fact is, not everyone chooses to open a checking account.

Many choose the convenience of a local check-cashing center. Some find the minimum monthly balances too difficult to maintain. Others may feel intimidated by the process and the paperwork, while for others, it is a privacy issue.

Through Carver’s Cash Access Program, you don’t have to be a bank depositor (checking account holder) to receive a Cash Access card. In fact, Carver has launched an entire suite of services that caters to residents who choose not to open a checking account, including free bill payment and money orders for 50 cents. Also, if you live in a NYCHA establishment, you can pay your bills directly through the bank.

“We took a look at the communities we served and asked ourselves, ‘What are the needs?’” said Andrea Thorpe, branch manager for Carver Bank, located at 1368 Fulton Street in Restoration Plaza.

“Not everyone can or chooses to do traditional banking. Some may feel a little intimidated by it, or for whatever reason, just choose not to. So we figure, this is a way we can we service our clients, both our depositors and non-depositors, while introducing traditional banking to our neighborhood residents.”

Although the card has been available at all of Carver’s nine branches – Four in Brooklyn, two in Queens and three in Harlem -- since July 2011, branch managers are making their biggest push to educate residents about the card’s “access” now, during tax season when clients often receive their biggest cash advance of the year.

Additionally, Carver, in conjunction with Food Bank of New York and the , is offering free tax preparation at the Plaza, for those who qualify (residents who earn less than $18,000 with no dependents, or less than $50,000 with dependents).

Following the free tax preparation, if residents are interested, a bank manager will walk them around to customer service and get them set up to receive the card. A minimum of $25 must be deposited in order to activate the card, a $3.50 starter fee to load, and $2 to re-load.

According to Thorpe, if you activate a card to use for your income tax return, she will waive the initial $3.50 fee.

“Sometimes you have that one creditor or bill person you don’t want to give your credit information to, because they may go in and make unauthorized debits. We have one client who uses it only for his student loans. So each month, he re-loads it and they debit it straight from there,” said Thorpe.

“It’s tailored to each individual and whatever they want to use it for. I love the card. I give one to my son when he goes away for the summer. He’s not carrying cash, he knows there’s a limit, and it teaches him a little financial responsibility.”

There’s no credit check to use the Cash Access Card. It can be used at any ATM, and there is no fee if it is used at a Carver Bank ATM. Card-holders can get cash back when making a purchase at most supermarkets and pharmacies. It also can be used to receive direct deposits from employers.

To learn more about the Cash Access Card and Carver’s other services, residents may visit the branch at Restoration Plaza or go online to www.carvercashaccess.com. For more information on the bank’s free tax preparation services with BSRC, go here.