JPMorgan Chase to Double Community Center Branches in Low-Income Areas

JPMorgan Chase will double the number of its Community Center branches and hire 150 additional community managers, the bank said Thursday. The expansion targets low- and moderate-income neighborhoods where residents may be underbanked or unbanked. The first Community Center opened in Harlem in 2019, and the program now operates 19 locations nationwide.

Centers function as regular Chase branches but include open spaces for financial workshops and programming run by local nonprofit organizations. The workshops are free and cover topics such as household budgeting and small-business management. Community managers at the centers are instructed not to sell products, and attendance does not require customers to open accounts or purchase Chase services.

The bank estimates it has hosted 14,000 workshops with more than 1 million attendees since the program began.

Federal law under the Community Reinvestment Act requires banks to serve low-income communities. The bank has stated that opening branches in these areas creates jobs and provides financing alongside its charitable giving through the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. The bank has reported that Community Center branches generate higher account openings than other branches in the same areas.