Move Your Money

Today is Buffalo Bank Transfer Day - a day designed to Encourage Buffalonians to Divest from Wall Street, and Reinvest in Main Street.

"It's time for me to put my money into a local credit union that benefits the community I live in rather than leave it with a corporation whose sole purpose is to make a profit," said Brian Trzeciak, an Occupy Buffalo participant.

Today, Saturday Nov. 5, the occupiers of Niagara Square will join Buffalo First! and a host of grassroots activists to promote Buffalo Bank Transfer Day, a movement that encourages community members to take their money out of major banking institutions and save it with locally owned and controlled financial institutions.

Moving your money out of big Wall Street banks to small community banks and credit unions makes good financial sense for a number of reasons: better rates with fewer fees, personalized services that fit you and your lifestyle, and increasing community wealth and, eventually, creating more jobs by keeping money in your local community. But the most important reason to move your money is to make your voice heard.

Whether implicitly or explicitly, when you transfer your assets and advocate for others to do the same, you are standing with Main Street. Just as frequenting local, independent businesses helps our local economy grow, by keeping your money in a local financial institution, that money in turn is reinvested within your community, which builds a sustainable, self-reliant economy that encourages diverse investments.

"From buying local to banking local, Buffalo First! has always encouraged individuals to vote with their dollars," said Sarah Bishop, Buffalo First!'s Executive Director. "The action planned on Nov. 5 is representative of the many meaningful and measurable actions community members can take to create a more just, sustainable and local economy."

A Buffalo Bank Transfer Day march will begin at 10 a.m. (photos taken at the rally) at the HSBC branch at Elmwood Avenue and Utica Street, head to the Bank of America branch one block south and end in Niagara Square, where the occupiers will hold their general assembly at noon.