A bank and a homeless man teamed up to help the unbanked get their COVID stimulus checks

Kenneth Moss uses the ATM at the Key Bank on Canal Street in Stamford, Conn. on Monday, October 12, 2020. Moss' friend Leon Standly, a Pacific House Shelter resident, helped Moss get a hassle free account at the bank after developing a relationship with a bank manager.

Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

Leon Standly, left, and Kenneth Moss at the Key Bank on Canal Street in Stamford, Conn. on Monday, October 12, 2020. Standly, a Pacific House Shelter resident, helped Moss get a hassle free account at the bank after developing a relationship with a bank manager.

Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

STAMFORD — Leon Standly is homeless.

That makes him the perfect person to help others navigate the unique challenges that come with being homeless: how to get to medical appointments, fill out applications for food stamps, or collect the COVID-19 stimulus checks from the federal government.

For many Americans, the stimulus money was deposited directly into bank accounts back in April. But when you’re homeless, that means no home address and often no driver’s license or other identification, which means you can’t open up a bank account.

Standly, however, was not about to let that stop him from helping his friends.

“So, I was researching options for homeless people to get direct deposits and I just happened to hit on KeyBank on the internet,” Standly said.

KeyBank said it would offer a “Smart Checking” account to clients in need, a free bank account that eliminates many of the fees homeless people often incur when they instead opt for convenient but expensive prepaid cards.

“The problem with (prepaid cards) is, you get charged, here, there and everywhere,” Standly said, adding that many homeless people feel forced into using them due to their barriers in accessing a bank account.

Prepaid card holders are typically charged a monthly fee, a transaction fee, ATM withdrawal fees, a cash reloading fee, balance inquiry fees, inactivity fees, card cancellation fees, and more, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and it puts an additional strain on an already financially struggling individual.

In Connecticut, in 2019 — the most recent data available — 8.4 percent of people were unbanked, or were not served by a bank or similar financial institution, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.