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  1. AARP Public Policy Institute

The AARP BankSafe Initiative

The BankSafe Initiative helps the financial industry better meet consumers’ financial needs and safeguard their assets. The initiative focuses on four key areas:

  • Preventing financial exploitation
  • Empowering family caregivers
  • Helping those with dementia
  • Making banking tools and environments easier to access

With the average victim losing $120,000, prevention of financial exploitation is critical to AARP’s mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. BankSafe meets this need by conducting research into consumer insights, facilitating partnerships between the aging network and the financial industry, and developing the innovative BankSafe training platform to help financial professionals identify and stop suspected exploitation.

Woman working at a bank talking to customers

Check Out the BankSafe Training Platform

Explore AARP’s free financial exploitation prevention training platform for the financial industry

What Every Financial Institution Should Know

Learn what the 50+ want out of financial institutions and ways to protect consumers from exploitation

Access BankSafe Guides and Resources

Get tip sheets, checklists and other resources for financial institutions, employees and consumers

  

The Impact of AARP BankSafe

Researchers from Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology studied the impact of training bank and credit union staff to spot and prevent financial exploitation. The research shows significant benefits to consumers and financial institutions when frontline employees take the AARP BankSafe training rather than other forms of training, including:

  • A 133% increase in knowledge regarding exploitation
  • Four times greater employee confidence in recognizing, preventing, and reporting cases of financial exploitation
  • An average of 12 times more money protected per employee 

Full Report – AARP BankSafe™: The Impact of Training Financial Professionals to Prevent Financial Exploitation

Summary – AARP BankSafe™: The Impact of Training Financial Professionals to Prevent Financial Exploitation       

Apply for the AARP BankSafe Trained Seal    

As part of the BankSafe program, banks, credit unions and investment firms can apply to have AARP verify that at least 80% of their frontline staff successfully passed the BankSafe training and confirm that they have a financial-exploitation escalation reporting policy. Qualifying banks, credit unions, and investment firms in good standing can apply to receive a seal from AARP, good for one year, recognizing their commitment to fighting exploitation. Learn how to earn the BankSafe trained seal.

a a r p bank safe trained 2021

Connect With Us

Insights From Jilenne Gunther

AARP’s national director of BankSafe addresses trends in financial exploitation

Invite BankSafe to Your Event

Let us know if you would like BankSafe to participate as a speaker or panelist at your next event

FAQs and Contact BankSafe

Still have questions or need help? Review our FAQs or reach out to the BankSafe team