Study examines impact of fees for check cashing and tax refund anticipation loans on local economies

April 14, 2010
Springfield Republican
Holyoke customers pay $3.1 million a year in fees to those same high-cost businesses, including $1.6 million for check-cashing, according to the study “Going for Growth.”

“It’s a loss of income that could be used to build up these communities,” said study co-author Benjamin Forman, research director at the institute, a Boston-based think tank known commonly as MassINC.

In Springfield, Forman and his team have estimated using national data that check-cashing fees alone cost customers $5.8 million a year.