Ready, Set, Bank: Online Banking for Older Adults

In an effort to enable as many people as possible to safely bank online, Capital One has provided resources to ensure people have the necessary tools to confidently manage their money digitally. 

Capital One is partnering with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to offer virtual financial well-being workshops through its Ready, Set, Bank program to help older adults across the country feel empowered to bank online.

Improving Digital Literacy for Older Adults

Since May 2020, Ready, Set, Bank workshops have received more than 29,000 views.

In concert with the NCOA, Capital One recently led Ready, Set, Bank workshops to help 45 older adults at the Northeast Levy Regional Senior Center in Chicago, IL, gain skills to bridge the digital divide and start banking online.

“Ready, Set, Bank workshops help close the digital literacy gap that exists among many older adults that are learning how to navigate and understand the digital world around them,” says Vivian Nava-Schellinger, Director of Partnerships at the NCOA. “It’s creating a movement for improved financial well-being that will transcend the COVID-19 pandemic”

Many older adults were unfamiliar with online banking prior to the pandemic, according to an AARP report published in September 2020, with older Americans aged 65 and older most likely to frequent bank tellers to access their accounts. 

“I always avoided online banking, but now feel like I’m living in the 21st century when it comes to managing my finances,” says Gloria Guillermo-Garza, a resident at Northeast Levy Regional Senior Center who participated in the Ready, Set, Bank workshops. 

In addition to offering financial well-being workshops in Chicago, Capital One and the NCOA are offering Ready, Set, Bank to older adults in cities throughout the country, including Los Angeles, California.

Helping Asian Pacific Americans Avoid Digital Fraud

To support Americans that speak Asian and Pacific Island languages as their first language, Capital One joined forces with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), to produce videos aimed at providing information and tools for Asian Americans to avoid predatory financial scams while highlighting some of the common fraud warning signs and ways to avoid them for members in National CAPACD’s affiliate network.

Those videos were also created in English and Spanish, and Capital One provided National CAPACD with a $5,000 grant to distribute the videos to their affiliate network.

Through its coalition of 100 community-based organizations spanning 21 states and the Pacific islands, National CAPACD disseminates national resources locally to help improve the lives of more than two million AAPI people living in poverty nationwide. 

Fifteen volunteers from Capital One’s Origins Business Resource Group for Asian and Pacific Islander associates used their language expertise to help review the translations in Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese.

“My mom is in her 70s and uses technology to connect with my siblings who live in different parts of the world,” says Choon Yang Tan, a director at Capital One who volunteered to review the Mandarin translation of Capital One’s financial scam prevention video. “Not being technologically savvy, she was overwhelmed by all the potential scams and phishing schemes she encountered on various channels during the pandemic. Those videos are designed to inform people like her about how to spot suspicious emails, texts and calls.”