Ottawa [cup] _ National Money Mart, a private com- pany providing banking ser- vices for a fee, is cashing in on students who can’t afford to open accounts with com- mercial banks or credit unions.

Students and other low income earners often can’t wait for a cheque to clear

when opening a new account

or simply don’t have enough identification to cash che- ques, says Debbie Hughes- Geoffrian, thé National Anti- Poverty Organizations liai- son.

“(The Money Marts are) a bad solution to a real pro- blem,’’ Hughes-Geoffrian said. She said they are providing a service banks should, but refuse to offer.

“We have to get the banking system to start look-

ing at the way they do business. and start doing with some sort of. con- science. Right now they have none,”’ she said.

Money Mart, a Victoria- based company begun in 1982, has 30 offices across Canada and eight in the United States. The company

“a bad solution

to a real problem.”

is more than happy to do business with those who need immediate cash - for a price. Chargin six per cent for new customers and three per cent for regular cus- tomers, Money Marts will cash cheques with little or

Book burning

Ottawa [CUP] In retaliation to the flourishing used book trade on campuses across the country, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited announced it will be revising its texts more frequently, increasing obsolescence and raising textbook prices.

Lloyd Scheirer, president of McGraw-Hill, denied the move was calculated to take advantage of the captive student market.

“| don’t feel as though | am gouging the students; what we’re doing is revising more often to remain com- petitive in the market place,’’ Scheirer said.

“Of course, we’re not taking advantage of stu- dents; they’re our custom- ers. | was once a student myself.’’

Scheirer admitted the de- cision to revise more fre- quently was a financial one. “It’s partly true we’ re losing revenue to used book deal- ers - all publishers do. It’s a matter of being up to date, and not because the books are obsolete.”’

Linda Jenkins, marketing.

assistant for McGraw-Hill’s College Division, said the rate books are revised de- pends upon how quickly the material changes and how easy it is to get authors to revise their material.

Most revisions are a- mendments, or adaptations

of American books for a Canadian audience, Jenkins said. Unless a book is quick- ly out-dated, most books are revised every three years.

Jenkins said it would be difficult to consider more frequent revisions because of the amount of time need- ed to contact authors, review content and rewrite material.

McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 70 per cent owned

by its American parent McGraw-Hill Inc., had a 1984, net profit of $3.5

million, down from $3.6

million the privious year. This year’s first quarter, though, slowed a 17.5 per cent rise in sales which totaled $4.9 million. This resulted in first quarter pro- fits of $101,000 as opposed to a loss of $11,000 for the same period in 198

no ID required. Some bran- ches will cash personal. che- ques for 10 per cent. ~

The Canadian Banking Association says 96 per cent of Canadian adults have bank accounts, but a survey conducted by Canadian Facts this spring shows only 76 per cent of Canadian university students have accounts with a bank.

Irving Whynot, a_ public relations officer for the banking association, denies that commercial banks show any bias against students as a group. He says that it is up to each individual bank to set policty for cashing che- ques and that each customer is an individual case.

Whynot also says that banks face considerable los- ses from returned cheques.

Money Mart describes it-

based on convenience for customers. It offers : profes- sional cheque cashing, a money wire service and photo ID. The company’s typical customer is an 18 to 34-year-old male.

Money Mart’s head office in Victoria refused to answer any questions about the company, saying that it would only reply to ques- tions submitted in writing.

September 19, 1985 PAGE 5

Bank taps students for big bucks

“self as a service industry

In Ontario the Task Force on Financial Institutions will be making recommendations on how to make banking more accessible in its fall report to the provincial government.

Cindy Dymond, a re- searcher for the task force, says there is a need for change as banking is an essential service on which many low-income people rely