ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The City of Albuquerque has launched the Office of Financial Empowerment with the intention of using financial literacy to lift residents out of poverty.

The City launched the office Tuesday. The office is structured to help connect residents with various services, such as helping set up a bank account, and educate them about banking opportunities.

According to the city, 16% of residents live in poverty, higher than the 12.5% national poverty rate. According to the Urban Institute, 40% of Albuquerque households have delinquent debt. Half of those households don’t have sufficient funds to handle emergencies.

The office consists of a mix of existing programs and new partnerships. A branch of the city’s Equity and Inclusion Department, they created the office with a grant from the National Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. The office is intended to connect people with city programs and community nonprofits.

One of the main city programs is the Bank on Burque initiative, launched back in 2021. Program leaders say they bring resources to people like transitional living facilities. Office managers say this all came out of ongoing efforts to provide financial education to people in the city.

Department leaders also say the office has other focuses, like asset building, teaching people about credit cards and loans and consumer protection. Consumer protection can consist of warning elderly people about fraud and scam alerts.

They also plan to provide financial counseling to teach people how to manage their money.

The new office will also partner with community programs like the Native Professional Advancement Center. Darius Smith is the executive director of that center and he’s excited about this new initiative because most of his clients were not using any sort of banking at all.

“I was signing upwards to 220 checks every two weeks. And participants were coming to our offices here in Albuquerque, Farmington, and Gallup to pick up their checks. And I started to think, ‘Wow, what’s up with the online banking, ACH opportunities?” he said.

Smith started helping his clients set up for online banking and direct deposit through Bank on Burque. Now, 82% of the 130 participants at his center have bank accounts. He says the financial education helps people start to trust the system.

“It helps with building trust with the banking institutions and our staff. We have 14 staff. We have two, three of them in Gallup. They can role model the benefits of this and the feedback we’re getting from staff out of Gallup and Farmington,” Smith said.

Right now, the office runs on a grant the city received. Eventually, the city hopes to create a more long-term financial stability for that department as well.