SOLE Financial Partners With Costello's Ace to Offer Financial Services to Unbanked Employees

PORTLAND, Ore., January 9, 2018 (Newswire.com) - SOLE Financial has partnered with Costello’s Ace Hardware, an Ace Hardware franchise with 30 locations throughout New York, New Jersey and Maryland to promote financial inclusion by offering SOLE paycards to Costello’s unbanked employees. Employers like Costello’s are uniquely positioned to invite the 26% of American workers who are unbanked to use mainstream financial services by offering paycards. SOLE cardholders have access to direct deposit, a mobile app, no-cost point-of-sale transactions and online shopping without the risk of overdraft fees associated with traditional bank accounts.

Costello’s also chose to seek out a paycard option to reduce the administrative time and stress for employees that ensued whenever one of Costello’s 700 employees would lose their paycheck before cashing it. When comparing SOLE to the other payroll card options available, SOLE stood out for its low fees, dedication to cardholder education and support and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Costello’s highest business values are meaningful customer service and the importance of trust between vendor and customer, which made partnering with SOLE a natural fit.

By offering paycards to its employees, Costello's is extending the reach of its admirable customer service and trust-building ethos inward, to its own workforce, by providing access to financial services and education through SOLE that many employees would not be able to obtain otherwise.

Tom Secor, President, SOLE Financial

Regarding the partnership, Erica Diemer, Costello’s director of human resources, said, “Rolling out the paycard program was so easy, and paying the employees who use it is just like paying employees who use a checking account because the card has a routing and account number. It’s also good for younger employees who often don’t have a bank account. For the employees, it’s as easy as using a debit card.”

SOLE Financial President Tom Secor added, “We are thrilled to be giving Costello’s Ace’s unbanked employees access to direct deposit through the SOLE payroll card. By offering paycards to its employees, Costello’s is extending the reach of its admirable customer service and trust-building ethos inward, to its own workforce, by providing access to financial services and education through SOLE that many employees would not be able to obtain otherwise.”

Since partnering with SOLE, Costello’s has successfully eliminated paper checks by transitioning over 300 unbanked employees to the payroll card. By going paperless, Costello’s participated in SOLE’s paperless trees program, in which SOLE plants 100 trees in the name of every client who eliminates paper checks to celebrate the valuable contribution to the environment that a company makes by going paperless.

About SOLE: SOLE® Financial advances financial inclusion by providing unbanked workers instant and affordable access to their hard-earned pay while helping companies go paperless. The SOLE Visa® Payroll Card eliminates the expensive and logistical burden of paper checks and bridges the gap for clients striving to reach 100% direct deposit participation. SOLE celebrates clients that achieve 100% paperless pay by planting a grove of trees in their name through its corporate social responsibility program, the SOLE Paperless Trees Project. #FinancialInclusion #DirectDeposit #PaperlessTrees

About Costello’s Ace:  Costello’s Ace Hardware is a member of the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the industry. Ace Hardware began as a small chain of stores in 1924 and has grown to include more than 4,900 stores in 50 states and more than 70 countries. In 1973, the Costello family opened their first 2,300-square-foot store in Deer Park, New York. Since then, the Costello’s family has been devoted to offering quality, value and, more importantly, legendary customer service and, as a result, they have grown their store count consistently over the years. Costello’s now has 29 additional locations throughout the Long Island area, New Jersey and Maryland and we continue to grow even in this tough economic climate. Costello’s credits their success to offering Legendary Customer Service to each and every customer each and every time.

Media Contact: 

Taylor Ellsworth
971.227.5364
taylor.ellsworth@solepaycard.com

Source: SOLE Financial