NYC Launches In-School Banking Pilot to Boost Financial Literacy for Public School Students

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, alongside the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and NYC Public Schools, has announced a new in-school banking pilot under the city’s Financial Literacy for Youth initiative, aimed at ensuring every public school student learns how to save and manage money by 2030.

The announcement was made on Wednesday at the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, where 11th-grade student Jaycke Mata opened the event by highlighting how personal finance courses have already transformed students’ understanding of money management. Mata, who has taken financial literacy classes and mentors younger students, said many young people in his community lack access to such knowledge. “My classmates and I are money smart, empowered, and ready to provide for ourselves and our families,” he added.

Mayor Adams praised the initiative as a major step toward tackling long-standing financial inequality, especially in Black and brown communities. He noted that many young New Yorkers grow up without basic financial knowledge and fall victim to predatory financial practices. “If you don’t manage your finances, you will lose your finances,” the mayor said, stressing that financial literacy must be treated as a core life skill alongside academic achievement and emotional development.

Under the pilot, actual banking branches—run in partnership with institutions including Bank of America, Citizens Bank, TD Bank, Urban Upbound, Ridgewood Savings Bank and others—will operate inside selected public schools. Students will be able to open safe, low-cost bank accounts, attend financial workshops, and even explore early career pathways in banking and finance. The city projects that more than 350,000 students will benefit within the first five years.

DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga said the programme is personally meaningful, recalling how a lack of financial knowledge left her buried in student debt for 25 years. “Imagine if our kids never have to carry that burden in the first place,” she said. The commissioner added that DCWP’s financial empowerment centres have already helped New Yorkers reduce debt by over $126 million and increase savings by $14 million—impact the city now hopes to extend directly into public schools.

Ridgewood Savings Bank Vice President Domenico Ciaccio also spoke at the event, noting the programme’s potential to shape entire households. “When you teach a child, you teach a family,” he said.

Mayor Adams told student reporters that his own lack of financial education led to serious money challenges early in life, including poor credit that cost him years to repair. He said the new initiative aims to help young people avoid those pitfalls and step into adulthood equipped to build wealth, manage credit, and break intergenerational cycles of poverty.

The mayor also expressed confidence that the initiative would outlive his administration, noting that a full transition document will be handed to the incoming government to outline programmes worth sustaining.

The pilot is launching in 15 school districts, where financial educators will work directly with students and families to build a culture of financial stability.