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Banks, fintechs help Ukrainian refugees rebuild their lives

American Baker | 21 November 2022

The challenges refugees face when setting up bank accounts range from language barriers to finding institutions that recognize their identity documents. Some financial institutions in North America have explicitly opened their doors to refugees as both customers and prospective employees, and are working to ease such difficulties.
The challenges refugees face when setting up bank accounts range from language barriers to finding institutions that recognize their identity documents. Some financial institutions in North America have explicitly opened their doors to refugees as both customers and prospective employees, and are working to ease such difficulties.
TD Bank Group in Canada said in March that it was actively recruiting refugees for employment at the bank. Apple Bank in New York City announced in August that it was welcoming Ukrainian refugees to open accounts in-branch, in partnership with the Hebrew Free Loan Society. Royal Bank of Canada offers credit products to newcomers to Canada — which it defines as any individual under one of three visa classes and more broadly who has been in the country for less than five years — that don't require a credit history.
The United Nations reported in May that the number of people forced to flee their homes surpassed 100 million for the first time on record, with the war in Ukraine one factor in tipping this figure over that mark. In September, President Biden announced that the U.S. set the refugee admissions target at 125,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. But efforts to bank this population are largely nascent.