Editing Postal savings system (section)

===Canada===
[[Canada Post]] offered banking services via its Post Office Savings Bank, created by the Post Office Act in April 1868, less than a year following the nation's confederation. A century later, the Post Office Savings Bank was shut down in 1968–69.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Willis |first1=John |title=A Chronology of Canadian Postal History |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/chrono/ch1868be.shtml |website=Canadian Museum of History – Civilization.ca |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618002901/https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/chrono/ch1868be.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Since at least the early 2010s, postal banking has been discussed and studied periodically, with postal unions backing the idea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cheques with your stamps? Unions call for postal banking in rural communities |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/postal-banking-canada-1.3993500 |website=CBC |access-date=28 June 2024 |language=en }}<!-- Liam Britten, 22 February 2017 --></ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Can building a bank save Canada Post? |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2624421/can-building-a-bank-save-canada-post/ |website=Global News |access-date=17 June 2018 |language=en |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618005207/https://globalnews.ca/news/2624421/can-building-a-bank-save-canada-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2022, Canada Post dipped its toe into the possibility of rolling out postal banking services by offering small personal loans between $1,000-$30,000 in partnership with TD Bank, but no chequing or savings accounts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada Post moves toward postal banking services in new loan program with TD Bank |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-post-td-bank-1.6614159 |website=CBC News |access-date=13 October 2022 |language=en |archive-date=12 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012230702/https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-post-td-bank-1.6614159 |url-status=live }}</ref> Less than a month later, in November 2022, the loan program discontinued any new applications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Only weeks after launch, TD hits pause on loan program partnering with Canada Post |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/td-bank-canada-post-pause-1.6662813 |website=CBC News}}</ref>

In 2024, Canada Post confirmed it has partnered with [[Koho (fintech)|KOHO Financial]] to bring back postal banking by offering chequing and savings accounts; with a range of different accounts, including a basic no-fee account as well as accounts with fees.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |author=Ian Bickis and Rosa Saba|agency=The Canadian Press |date=2024-11-08 |title=Canada Post to launch chequing and savings account with Koho |url=https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/business/canada-post-to-launch-chequing-and-savings-account-with-koho/article_d6c69e8c-bb62-59a9-8a0f-a3b93719ebc7.html |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=thecanadianpressnews.ca |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2024-11-11 |title=Canada Post Launching Bank Accounts with No Fees: Here are the Details • iPhone in Canada Blog |url=https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/2024/11/11/canada-post-launching-bank-accounts-with-no-fees-here-are-the-details/ |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=www.iphoneincanada.ca |language=en-US}}</ref> The date of public nationwide access to these banking services is planned for 2025.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

Many rural communities, remote indigenous communities, and even some inner-city neighbourhoods, are lacking a local bank or credit union, many with either no reliable access to the internet or no affordable (or free public wifi) for internet banking.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> These financially underserved communities are left without the ability to have a locally accessible bank account, having a high risk of theft or misappropriation of funds if large amounts of cash are stored at home or else resort to paying costly fees using Canada Post's prepaid reloadable Visa card,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canada Post Prepaid Reloadable Visa Card - Fees and Limits |url=https://www.canadapost-prepaid.ca/en/cardholder-agreement |website=Canada Post}}</ref> inability to get a bank loan for a business, inability to build credit, great difficulty running a business, inability to deposit or cash cheques, or inability to cash cheques for more than a limited amount at retailers (if there's any retailers cashing cheques in their community) along with cheque cashing fees, or cash larger cheques at extremely high-fee [[payday lenders]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Why Canada Needs Postal Banking |url=https://policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/why-canada-needs-postal-banking |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Postal Banking – A Bank for Everyone (Fact Sheet) |url=https://www.cupw.ca/en/campaign/resources/postal-banking-–-bank-everyone-fact-sheet |website=CUPW - Canadian Union of Postal Workers}}</ref>

The number of bank branches in Canada have been steadily on the decline, from 6,350 in 2014 to 5,783 in 2020; as have credit union branches, from 3,603 in 2002 to 2,336 in 2022.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=John |date=2022-11-01 |title=Canada Post is investing in wrong banking model |url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/canada-post-is-investing-in-wrong-banking-model/article_f201d305-1f49-52ca-8d7c-2ba9b72a746b.html |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref> Of the 2,620 small towns and rural communities with post offices in Canada, 1,178 (45%) did not have any bank branches; in over 700 indigenous communities in Canada, over 90% did not have any bank or credit union branches.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />  As of 2018, there are more post offices (6,200) in Canada than bank branches. "Banking deserts" occur in cities also, in Ottawa's downtown Bank Street, there are more high-fees payday lenders than banks.<ref name=":0" />

Despite the steady increase of online banking among Canadians, in 2022, the amount of cash in circulation was 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last= |date=September 25, 2023 |title=The case for the legislative protection of cash |url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/september-2023/keep-cash-in-circulation/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Policy Options |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, 40% of transactions under $15 were conducted with cash.<ref name=":2" /> The ability to have a chequing account and withdrawal cash in-person from a local branch is vital for teens, low-income adults, adults trying to get out of debt, and vulnerable Canadians such as the disabled (those able to live without formal trusteeship), elderly and technology-illiterate, and those fleeing domestic abuse; as handling cash gives a more concrete understanding of where money is going than making purchases with a card, as well as less fees taking from their already small funds since purchases with cash have no transaction fees, overdraft fees, non-sufficient funds fees, or card loading fees.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Puslat |first=Rachel |date=2023-06-13 |title=Tips to Help you Decide When to Pay with Cash, Debit, or Credit |url=https://dayair.org/blog/tips-to-help-you-decide-when-to-pay-with-cash-debit-or-credit/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Day Air Credit Union |language=en-US}}</ref>