5. "Good point (re: physical). A lot of major banks are already transitionin..." In response to In response to 2
as aggressively as they can to digital anyway tho. (eg. A friend of a friend in retail banking for one of the majors broke down to me how far gone things already are (at least with that company) and how the general vibe felt like a protracted layoff). It might be wishful thinking to expect these companies will prioritize the needs/habits of their most vulnerable customers (Black, Latin American, Indigenous, rural, etc) over their bottom lines unfortunately.
I personally think postal banking (https://www.fastcompany.com/90416889/the-answer-to-helping-the-unbanked-exists-on-every-main-street-the-post-office) is a better alternative to both traditional and neo models if we're talking accessible and humane physical banking for disadvantaged communities, especially being non-profit. But there's some benefits to the digital/neo-bank model too I guess. I mean, it does cut overhead since less human resources and real/land assets are required for customer service functions... which could translate to lower/zero fees, better savings interest, cheaper lending, and other boosts to customers' wallets. I also get the desire to establish some degree of black ownership early too, if neo-banks are truly to become a mainstay in the near future... rather than risk being mostly locked out of the sector again.
I still want to be mindful of *any* neo-bank's fine print before fully supporting tho, no matter the ownership. Yes they're digital/convenient but they're still banks. Lol. I guess we'll see tho.