WASHINGTON—The U.S Postal Service is taking another step closer to offering financial services, and CUNA is proposing a partnership with credit unions.
The U.S Postal Service Office of the Inspector General is seeking stakeholder comment on a proposal to offer financial services at post offices. The office plans to release a paper assessing a number of approaches to these services.
CUNA has scheduled a meeting with the USPS, in part to discuss additional avenues to promote credit union services, the trade association reported.
Previous reports, and the USPS OIG, have stated that the products that could be offered by the USPS would give consumers options over payday lenders and check cashers—such as money transfers, money orders, bill pay, prepaid cards and mobile payment solutions.
CUNA reported that General Counsel Eric Richard will be meeting with USPS to see if there could be partnering opportunities for credit unions. He did note that the field of financial services is already extremely crowded and competitive, and credit unions already provide a cooperative, not-for-profit alternative that benefits consumers, including many who would otherwise be unbanked.
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