- Research finds LGBTQ+ folks often experience bias or discrimination regarding financial services.
- To see if a bank is LGBTQ-friendly, check for LGBTQ-friendly policies and services.
- You can also check for bank recommendations and reviews from other LGBTQ+ people.
While the banking sector is shifting to better address customer needs, LGBTQ+ customers still often face systemic barriers in banking.
If you're searching for a financial institution that more closely aligns with your values, here's how to find the best banks that support LGBTQ+ folks.
What makes a bank LGBTQ-friendly?
Inclusive policies and non-discrimination practices
Research from the National Endowment for Financial Education found that two in five LGBTQ+ adults felt blocked or discouraged from getting financial services and products because of barriers or discrimination in how these services were designed. Furthermore, respondents who identified themselves as transgender were more than twice as likely to say they've experienced discrimination and bias in the financial system than LGBQ+ cisgender men and women.
Aspiring LGBTQ homebuyers experience discrimination in mortgage lending. According to a 2023 research report conducted by the Urban Institute, homeownership rates for LGBTQ+ people are significantly lower than for straight and cisgender people.
The process of changing the name on your debit card or credit card to reflect your chosen name can also be challenging. Only a few financial institutions allow you to customize debit cards or credit cards, regardless of what your legal ID says.
Because of all of this, it's important that banks have inclusive policies in place for LGBTQ+ customers. It's also important that they have non-discrimination policies in place to keep LGBTQ+ customers from being discriminated against, and that they have their employees go through non-discrimination training to make sure they're well-equipped to understand the specific needs of LGBTQ+ clients.
Training and support for LGBTQ+ employees
It's important that the company you're interested in banking with supports not only its LGBTQ+ customers but also its LGBTQ+ employees.
Banks and credit unions that support their LGBTQ+ employees by creating an inclusive workplace aren't only more ethical than their non-supportive counterparts, but they're also more likely to attract and maintain LGBTQ+ employees. In turn, these LGBTQ+ employees can provide more personalized and knowledgeable help to LGBTQ+ customers. They can also help form stronger LGBTQ-friendly policies within the bank itself.
Financial institutions can support their LGBTQ+ employees and promote workplace diversity by covering trans employees' healthcare, providing benefits that apply to both married couples and domestic partners, providing fertility support for LGBTQ+ couples hoping to have children, having explicit non-discrimination policies, and providing internal training on LGBTQ+ topics for all its employees.
Support for LGBTQ+ causes and community engagement
Many banks will show their support for the LGBTQ+ community by donating to LGBTQ+ causes and partnering with LGBTQ+ organizations. For example, a bank might donate to an LGBTQ+ charity, host a charity event with a nonprofit designed to help LGBTQ+ individuals, or otherwise engage with the community.
While this can be a sign that a bank is LGBTQ-friendly, you'll also want to check what banks have done for their customers and workers to make sure your banking experience with them will be smooth. You'll want to see what else they do with their money, just in case the bank is also donating to anti-LGBTQ+ causes.
Researching banks
Reviewing bank policies and commitments to diversity
There are a few things to look out for on a bank's website when researching whether they are LGBTQ-friendly. First, you can see if they have a "commitment to diversity" statement or something similar that addresses diversity and inclusion in banking. If they do, you'll want to check and see if LGBTQ+ people are mentioned in the statement and whether the statement lists concrete actions the bank has taken to help their workers, their customers, and their communities.
You'll also want to see if the bank's policies are LGBTQ-friendly. For example, it's important that the bank's workers are trained to understand what LGBTQ+ customers need. "Making things gender neutral and not assuming that everyone is in a heteronormative relationship when it comes to dealing with banking, that's the baseline" of what banks should do when working with LGBTQ+ customers, says Leo Aquino, independent journalist and finance coach at Queer and Trans Wealth.
Seeking feedback from the LGBTQ community
While researching a bank's website can tell you a lot about their policies and history working with LGBTQ+ people, it doesn't tell you what it's like to bank day-to-day with a company. Frequently, talking to individual LGBTQ+ people is a better way to get a sense of that. "Asking people around you is really the best way to learn about how certain banks or certain organizations treat LGBTQ people," says Brian Thompson, CFP, founder of Brian Thompson Financial.
By talking with other LGBTQ+ people who have banked with your chosen institution, you can find out if they've ever been denied services, misgendered, or had bad experiences with banks.
Evaluating bank services and products
Checking for targeted services and products
A few banks offer services and products directly targeted towards the LGBTQ+ community. The most common of those are services that let you bank with your chosen name instead of your legal one, although some banks offer other services, as well. Here are a few banks that offer such services and what they are:
- Amalgamated Bank: Amalgamated Bank is a socially responsible bank with open branches in Washington, DC, and the New York City area. It also offers online-only checking and savings accounts if you don't live in these places. Amalgamated Bank showed support for LGBTQ+ rights by joining amicus briefs that opposed LGBTQ+ discrimination. It also allows transgender people living in New York to open bank accounts with their chosen name through IDNYC.
- BMO Bank: If you get a BMO credit card, debit card, or ATM card, you are allowed to display your chosen name if it isn't the same as your legal name.
- Citi: You may get a Citi credit card or debit card with your chosen name. You can call customer support to get your chosen name written on your card.
- Republic Bank: Republic Bank is a brick-and-mortar financial institution with branches in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Ohio. Republic Bank offers the True Name feature for its debit cards, although the name on your checking account will still be your legal name.
- Climate First Bank: Climate First Bank is a Florida bank that offers online banking products, such as CDs and high-yield savings accounts. One of the accounts it offers is Pride Banking, a checking account with perks designed for the LGBTQ+ community. With Pride Banking, you can bank with your preferred name and pronouns, and Climate First Bank will donate to a local LGBTQ+ charity.
- Element Federal Credit Union: Element Federal Credit Union is a credit union for West Virginia residents that allows you to bank with your correct name and pronouns. It also makes donations to local LGBTQ+ community organizations when you meet certain criteria.
Accessibility of services for LGBTQ individuals
One thing to check is whether all of the services the bank offers are equally available to LGBTQ+ customers as to straight, cisgender customers. "If you are not married, it makes it a little bit harder to have joint bank accounts and function together," says Thompson.
He says that, if you do have a long-term unmarried partner, ask the bank ahead of time whether it has any additional rules that unmarried couples have to meet before getting service.
Also consider the general accessibility of a bank; if a bank is not accessible to disabled customers (for example, if the bank's website is not screen reader compatible), or if a bank has a history of discriminating against its customers of color, then it's not truly accessible for the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Community and advocacy support
Banks' involvement in LGBTQ+ advocacy and support groups
One way that many banks show LGBTQ+ community banking support is through pride, whether through sponsoring pride events or having a float in a local pride event. However, sometimes this can come off as "rainbow capitalism," a term that refers to companies providing superficial support of LGBTQ+ causes as a way to gain more customers.
Thompson says that, in order to check whether a bank's support is more substantial, it might be worthwhile to check what they do outside of pride month. "Making sure that it's not just a June issue where you're advertising towards LGBTQ+ people, but offering something throughout the year."
Partnerships with LGBTQ-friendly businesses and organizations
One way to evaluate a bank for LGBTQ+ inclusivity is to check if it's partnered with LGBTQ+ businesses, community centers, and organizations. Check to see how it helps the organizations it's partnered with, and what the result of those partnerships are. For example, does the company attend events held by LGBTQ+ centers and organizations, and what does it do there? Does it donate to or hire from these groups?
Questions to ask
As part of your research on whether a bank meets your inclusive banking criteria, you may want to actually call or walk into a bank to ask questions. In that case, you'll want to bring up specific questions about their policies or services that are relevant to your situation. "For trans folk specifically, one of the simpler ones is 'I've had a gender-affirming name change. Do you know what that means?'" says Aquino.
Specific questions are frequently easier for customer service to answer, and you're more likely to get the information you need with them.
Online resources and tools
Websites for comparing LGBTQ-friendly banking options
There are a few different places where you can find information on LGBTQ-friendly banks. Thompson says it could be useful to check the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, which provides the LGBTBE certification for LGBTQ-owned businesses. It also works with affiliated state-specific chambers of commerce, which often have lists of local LGBTQ+ businesses. An example of this is the DC Equality Chamber of Commerce. Check to see if your local affiliated chamber of commerce has a list of LGBTQ+ businesses that includes a bank or credit union.
Another place to check is the Human Rights Campaign's Equality 100 Award. But keep in mind that you aren't going to find local or small businesses there. "The companies that appear there are like JP Morgan Chase, or Bank of America," says Aquino. "These are the folks that have the resources to buy LGBTQ 101 kinds of training."
If you're looking for a smaller, local bank, you're better off checking with your local LGBT Chamber of Commerce affiliate, doing a Google search for LGBTQ-friendly banks in your area, or asking other LGBTQ+ people for their preferences.
Social media and forums for community recommendations
If you're looking for honest reviews of banks' advocacy and financial services from actual LGBTQ+ people online, social media might be the way to go. Aquino says that Reddit frequently has authentic reviews from LGBTQ+ people who have actually used the bank. He says that searching "trans+ [name of bank] from:reddit.com" helps them find reviews from actual trans people who have used the services he's interested in.
LGBTQ-friendly banking FAQs
You can tell if a bank is genuinely LGBTQ-friendly by looking at the actions that a bank has taken. Check if a bank has diversity training for employees, partnerships with LGBTQ+ organizations, and transparent policies protecting against discrimination.
The LGBTBE certification by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce certifies that a company is LGBTQ-owned and could be helpful if you're looking for LGBTQ-owned banks. The Human Rights Campaign's Equality 100 award could also be useful if you're looking for a big bank with LGBTQ-friendly policies.
Yes, switching to an LGBTQ-friendly bank can help LGBTQ customers receive better, more tailored service while potentially supporting causes they believe in.
Many LGBTQ-friendly banks may give to LGBTQ+ causes, sponsor Pride events, and have financial services tailored to the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals. LGBTQ-friendly banks also ensure their practices reflect a commitment to equality and diversity.
You can find options from online banks. These institutions can often provide an inclusive banking experience regardless of where you live.
