Chairman’s Message   

A Letter from Joe Coleman
Chairman of the Financial Service Centers of America

Thank you for visiting the official website of the Financial Service Centers of America.
FiSCA is a national trade association that represents more than 7,000 neighborhood
financial service outlets across the United States.

For more than 60 years, financial service centers have offered local communities quick,
convenient and reliable access to the financial services Americans want and need.
We serve millions of Americans, and our customers include individuals that have
relationships with banks as well as those that do not.

The financial service center industry started with a simple idea. Provide an easy way for hard working people to convert paychecks into cash within a short walk from their homes or jobs. Over the years our businesses have broadened to offer a wide array of financial services. In addition to check cashing customers now count on FiSCA members for money orders, electronic bill payments, money transfers, small dollar, short- term loans, ATM access, government benefit and payroll payments, payday advance, tax preparation, prepaid debit cards, deposit acceptance services, and numerous other financial and consumer services.

FiSCA members are continually expanding the roster of services offered to meet customer needs. Just as the services offered by the industry have expanded over time, the markets we serve have broadened. Traditionally, FiSCA members were concentrated in lower income neighborhoods, serving and hiring residents of these communities. More recently, as middle income consumers have demanded more convenient financial services, financial service centers have expanded into their communities.

Our newest product offerings include the NetSpend National Savings Program.  This first-of-its-kind savings program offers an interest-bearing, federally-insured savings account linked to a prepaid branded Visa/MasterCard debit card. We have also launched a partnership with PRBC (Payment Reporting Builds Credit). Through the “FiSCA/PRBC Credit File Building Program,” FiSCA’s members will be able to help their customers build their credit history by voluntarily reporting the financial transactions they’ve been making at member locations on a regular basis, such as bill payments. This will enable users of credit reports and scores to have a more complete picture of an applicant’s creditworthiness.

Many people wonder why consumers use a FiSCA member outlet instead of a bank or a credit union. The answer is simple: we provide the liquidity, access, and service that our customers need. Our customers appreciate the convenient access and high quality services we offer. We fit into their busy lives, with most FiSCA member stores open six or seven days a week. Almost all of our members are open hours later than banks and credit unions; some even stay open 24 hours a day. Consumers are very willing to pay reasonable fees for this type of convenience and recognize that we offer good value. In many cases it is less expensive to use one of our outlets than to use a bank. In fact, 60 percent of FiSCA member customers have a traditional savings or checking account at a bank or credit union, yet choose to conduct their financial transactions at our member locations. That is why so many of our members have grown in recent years and why we have such loyal customers.

Studies conducted by the U.S. Treasury Department, universities and independent researchers have all found that consumers make a purposeful choice and elect to use financial service centers for specific reasons: better service, convenient access and lower costs. The customer satisfaction scores received by FiSCA members are remarkably high and any bank, credit union, brokerage house or other financial institution would be proud to have them. They confirm that consumers are electing to use FiSCA member outlets for some pretty good reasons and that we are doing a very good job. These results make me proud to be a part of the industry, and I salute all of my fellow business owners and their staffs that deliver this type of service every day to millions of Americans.

To expand choice and access to financial services, FiSCA is assisting members in building partnerships with banks and credit unions to bring additional products and services to consumers. Working in concert with state and federal regulators, FiSCA believes the bricks and mortar infrastructure created by our members is the most effective and least costly way of expanding consumer access to services.

I invite you to visit the various sections of this website and to contact us with any questions that you may have. Financial independence and freedom of choice go hand in hand. It’s why our industry got started, and it’s why we’re in business today.

Sincerely,
 
Joe Coleman
Chairman