“For millions of people in the US, exclusion from the banking system is simply a fact of life. An estimated 14 million US adults don’t have bank accounts, forcing them to rely on exploitative check-cashing and payday loan services that charge high interest rates—and thus, eat away at funds needed for food, rent, and medical expenses. Lawmakers in New York are trying to correct this with a new bill that would create a “public Venmo” system designed to include more people in the formal economy and stimulate local economic growth.”