Do the Right Thing: Incentivizing Equity in the US with Cal-ITP
Close to 30% of Californians are either underbanked or unbanked. They have no access to credit and often use cash and non-bank payment methods to avoid the minimum balance requirements and high fees of US banks. This poses a significant hurdle to digital payment acceptance for merchants, such as the 250+ transit agencies in California, with smaller transactions that need to process in rapid succession. Cal-ITP is a group of initiatives and strategies to incentivize acceptance and use of customer-friendly, open payment methods, including for customers who are entitled to a price discount.