NBC Boston: Not Everyone Has a Bank Account: The Cost of Being Unbanked
Originally published May 26, 2022 | NBC Boston
When Andrew Ramsay came home after serving 28 years in federal prison, he was excited to move on with his life. However, Ramsay — who was granted a compassionate release last year after being convicted of murder in aid of racketeering when he was 18 — was met with resistance.
“There was no help for me as an individual who was coming home from incarceration,” he said.
Of the many things Ramsay had to do once he re-entered society, he said, getting a bank account was among the most difficult. Many banks require official documentation — like a driver’s license — to open an account. After being incarcerated for more than half of his life, Ramsay only had a prison ID at the time of his release.
“If you come home from being incarcerated, and you don’t have any kind of identification, what can you do?” Ramsay said.