bluntmoney.com

Boy, when I was in high school my school had a little student-run store where you could buy notepaper and keychains. Now, some schools have banks inside them. Real banks, run by former students earning real money.

Wells Fargo opened a branch recently at a nearby high school here. I think this is a great idea because it’ll give students an opportunity to learn more about money at an earlier age, especially if teachers take advantage of the bank’s accessibility to develop money-related curriculum. (Of course, it’s also a great idea from Wells Fargo’s point of view, because they’ll get customers at an earlier age who will likely develop brand loyalty.)

This isn’t the first time Wells Fargo has opened a high-school based branch, nor is it the first time banks and credit unions have operated in schools (even elementary schools). The article called “Banks Are Heading Back to School” describes some of the other school-related banking ventures, and discusses a few of the pros & cons. (It may be worth noting that the high school chosen in Mesa IS in one of the poorer areas of town.) There’s even an online guide to establishing bank branches for financial institutions that might be interested in doing this. I haven’t read the entire 44-page guide, so I wonder if it also includes information on helping kids to become responsible money-managers.

What do you think? Great learning tool? Just another marketing method? Or something in between?

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