April 2017
Unbanked But Not Unwise
The Psy-Fi Blog
“Lisa Servon has written a clever, accessible and pin-point clear piece of ethnographic research. It looks at how an underserved and underappreciated tribe, without access to regular financial services, has developed ways and means of coping in their absence. It's also a damning indictment of the organizations that claim to offer them these services.”
March 2017
The Banks Are Even Worse
American Prospect
“Servon persuasively challenges the premise that members of the lower and middle classes patronize payday lenders out of ignorance... [U]nlike too many other commentators, Servon does not let mainstream banks off the hook in her rigorous analysis of the dynamics of lower- and middle-class debt.”
February 2017
Where do you go when you need $400?
Medium
“Lisa Servon’s timely new book, The Unbanking of America, explains how and why Americans are using “alternative financial service providers” to circumvent traditional banks. The how is told through her engaging first hand account of working at check cashers and retail payday loan establishments.”
January 2017
The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives
Publishers Weekly
“Required reading for fans of muckraking authors like Barbara Ehrenreich, this fascinating look at the future of money management insists that the ever-growing number of the “unbanked” are a sector deserving of respect and solid options.”
Why Poor People Make Expensive Financial Decisions
The Atlantic
“On top of the academic research that forms the foundation of her case, it is these personal, first-person accounts of those trying to cobble together some form of financial security that provide the texture of a story about what the American economy looks like in practice.”
'The Unbanking of America' asks why banks no longer serve the middle class
Christian Science Monitor
“Servon’s compassion and intelligence light up every page of this valuable book. 'Unbanking' exposes core reasons why many Americans aren’t gaining financial traction as she skewers huge banks for maneuvers and manipulations that have little to do with providing service.”