There are tools out there for this circumstance. For instance: Bluebird. It's by AmEx, sold at WalMart.

Unfortunately, income inequality and knowledge inequality go hand in hand when it comes to upward mobility.

What do you think is more likely - that the man you saw is ignorant of alternatives to bank accounts and has attempted to solve the issue in good faith, only to be unable to find any way to get a bank account or proxy... or that he was lying and hoping to play on the sympathies of passers by?

I spent quite some time talking with him, I think it's the former. Also, shame on you.

If he made a sign, hopefully someone told him that.

That sounds like another con/sob story angle, unless he was asking for help setting up a bank account.

I'm pretty sure that the law in the US and NY says that if someone has done work for you, you need to give them the wages they've earned, and whether or not they have a bank account is irrelevant. Not paying someone for work they've done is wage theft, which is a crime.

This might not be common in the US but a huge majority of South East Asian countries still do not have a bank account. That is why Alipay/Wechat is going to be beneficial for these people as they have a mobile phone despite not having a bank account.

Disclaimer: I am working on a solution for the 'underbanked'

If he has a driver license and a car - how come he can't open a bank account? Getting a driver license is much harder and requires more paperwork then opening a bank account I thought

I'm not entirely sure how one would do any type of meal delivery in Manhattan by car. Even UPS mostly cart things around.

Yeah but don't you need to provide some paperwork in order to open a delivery account with uber?

Around here a good portion of uber eats seems to be by bicycle...

There are many reasons people can't have a bank account. His name could be on the OFAC list or too similar to one on it. He might've bounced a number of checks for whatever reason and now has a bad record with Telecheck so is banned. Could provide several other examples.

aren't there accounts for such people, too? In germany/europe you can be homeless and has negative entires in "schufa" and you would still get a bank account (since 2016).

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=h...

I don't think you need an address to get a driver license. To open a bank account you need to verify your current address with something like a current bill or pay stub.

I don't know how it works where you live. I live in Florida. When Florida became compliant with the REAL ID Act, we had to start producing proof of residency when renewing our driver licenses or applying for them. This means showing things like utility bills. Owning real estate is not sufficient.

According to the DMV site, you dont. https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/prove-identity-age-permitl...