Do you remember the U.S. Postal Service pilot program that financial services trade groups warned was the first step toward postal banking?
No?
You’re not alone. Despite all of the dire predictions when the plan was first announced in 2021, nobody is using the pilot program.
Literally, nobody. During the first quarter of FY24, which included the holiday season, no one purchased a single-use gift card using a payroll or business check at any of the four post offices that have been testing the program, according to records released by the USPS this month.
In Sep. 2021, the USPS launched the program at four locations: Falls Church, Va., Baltimore, Md., the Bronx, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. At the time, USPS officials denied that the pilot program was the first step toward allowing post offices to provide basic banking services.
