Postal Banking to the Rescue in both Canada and the U.S.

Share This

Wednesday June 4 2014

For Immediate Release


“Why force people to resort to payday lending and pawn shops when a better option exists?” asked Denis Lemelin, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. The union has been campaigning for a postal bank.

Both the U.S. and Canada once had successful postal banks and they are a fixture in other parts of the world such as Italy, France, Switzerland and New Zealand. The federal government’s recent agreement with Canada’s largest banks to create more low-cost bank accounts supports the paper’s finding that accessible and affordable banking services are desperately needed.


However, those big bank branches can be hard to find in rural areas. Between 1993 and 2003, Newfoundland and Labrador lost 23% of their bank branches, creating what the paper calls a “banking desert.” Now 235 communities have a post office but no bank.

In the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, payday lenders “shadow” the banks, providing services such as loans and cheque cashing to lower-income residents excluded from mainstream financial services but at predatory rates.



For more information, please contact Aalya Ahmad or Kevin Matthews, CUPW Communications at 613-327-1177 or 613-293-5407 or visit