USA

Banks aren’t equipped to interpret women’s biographies

Banks were never designed to be interpreters of women’s identity. But on May 19, the Trump administration signed an agreement. executive order Directing federal agencies to strengthen banking identity verification and requiring them to serve as verifiers and interpreters of women’s identities.

early reports It suggests that the executive order would require banks and credit unions to collect and analyze citizenship documents of those who open or maintain accounts. Although the administrative order does not require proof of citizenship for every account holder, directing The Treasury strengthens identity verification and encourages increased scrutiny of documents.

This opens the door to expanded name authentication requirements that could place a disproportionate burden on women whose names and legal identities change over time. Our modern banking system assumes that identity is linear. For men, this is often true. Men are often born and die with the same name. But women are more likely to change their names at some point, creating an unfair burden due to name mismatches.

The decision could highlight systemic flaws and require women to bear the brunt of design inequality. Marriage, divorce and post-divorce name change are common life events for millions of women. All of this triggers documentation requirements that most men will not encounter.

There is currently no single identification procedure in the US outside of the banking system. Instead, we rely on a variety of documents, such as birth certificates, passports, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, and driver’s licenses. Because each system develops independently of the others, not all of these documents are always compatible with each other. Many assume that these systems interact with each other, when in fact they operate independently, often creating inconsistent identity chains.

Moreover, executive order It will likely require banks to take responsibility for analyzing these documents, asking them not only to be financial institutions but also to be custodians and decision-makers of family and name identity, something they were not created to do.

If expanded name verification forces banks to resolve surname mismatches that arise due to common life changes for women, it could lead to reverification requirements for existing banking customers who are women, depending on how federal agencies enforce the decision.

Women, especially less affluent women, are likely to bear the brunt of these needs. in the USA “Having a valid passport increases significantly with income.” Women with valid US passports will likely face less scrutiny than those who use other documents to confirm their citizenship. Those without authentication will likely face additional name verification checks.

As grandchildren of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, we recognize that women should not have to verify their identities, family stories, or life schedules with anyone, let alone their financial institutions.

Jennifer Kady Stanton teaches at California State University at San Marcos and shares the same ancestry as Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Karen Benedict is a retired office manager and paralegal living in San Diego, California. He is the eighth cousin of Susan B. Anthony.

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