Working with Charles International Law as an Unbanked Individual
Date of Information: 09/30/2026
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Indroduction
Charles International Law is a virtual law firm. Although we maintain offices throughout the United States and travel to represent clients in courts across the country, we do not host client meetings at our offices or maintain locations where clients can walk in to make cash payments. Our virtual model helps us keep our services more affordable by reducing the costs of operating traditional client-facing offices. Meeting online also lets us use on-demand interpreters, helping us serve clients who speak a variety of languages, wherever they live.
Over the years, however, we have recognized that this model can create an obstacle for people without access to the U.S. banking system. We accept payments through online systems, which can be difficult to use if you do not have a bank account, credit card, or debit card.
This problem disproportionately affects newly arrived immigrants, especially asylum seekers. By law, asylum seekers cannot obtain a Social Security number until at least 180 days after they file their asylum application (unless they qualify for one through another form of immigration status). Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are also available, but they are not a practical solution for newly arrived individuals who are already documented in the U.S. immigration system. These factors are independent of identification requirements, unfamiliar application procedures, language barriers, and other practical difficulties that can make it harder to obtain banking services, even when an institution may accept alternative identification.
We created this page to help prospective and current clients understand their options for paying for our services when they do not have access to the U.S. banking system. Our goal is to explain the available payment methods, identify their requirements and limitations, and help you avoid spending money on a payment product that will not work with our systems.
When in doubt, email finance@charlesinternationallaw.com. If you do not get a response within 24 hours, please schedule an ad hoc meeting with your attorney here.
What Does “Unbanked” Mean?
An unbanked individual is someone who does not have a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) measures this issue at the household level, classifying a household as “unbanked” when none of its members has either type of account.
Being unbanked is a widespread issue in the United States. In its 2023 national survey, the FDIC estimated that 5.6 million U.S. households—4.2 percent of all households—were unbanked. Source: FDIC, 2023 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. The FDIC conducts this survey in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.
Banking access in immigrant communities
Banking access presents a particular challenge for some immigrant households. An analysis reproducing figures from the FDIC’s 2023 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households reports that 14.3 percent of households headed by foreign-born noncitizens—approximately one in seven—were unbanked, compared with 3.5 percent of households headed by U.S.-born individuals.
That means households headed by foreign-born noncitizens were approximately four times as likely to lack a checking or savings account. The corresponding rate for households headed by foreign-born U.S. citizens was considerably lower, at 3.8 percent.
These figures describe households rather than individual people, and they do not separately measure asylum seekers or recently arrived immigrants. They nevertheless illustrate why access to legal services should account for people who cannot readily use conventional online payment methods.
Sources: YPA-Finance, The State of Immigrant Finance in America, reproducing data from the FDIC’s 2023 survey appendix tables. The FDIC classifies households by the citizenship and birthplace of the householder.
How Charles International Law Accepts Payments
Charles International Law uses Clio Payments, the payment system built into Clio, our client management application. Clio is essential to our internal bookkeeping: it helps us track our business expenses, maintain billing records, and properly account for the payments you make toward your case.
Clio Payments allows clients to pay using credit cards, debit cards, and electronic checks, often called eChecks. These methods are convenient for clients who have bank accounts or payment cards, but they can create an obstacle for people who rely on cash.
You can also purchase some of our à la carte legal services through Calendly when you schedule an appointment. For those bookings, we use PayPal to collect your payment, and we record that payment in Clio so our accounting records accurately reflect what you have paid.
Both payment systems are easiest to use once you have a bank account or an accepted payment card. If you are still unbanked, paying online may require an additional step to turn the cash you have into a payment method our systems can accept.
The following sections explain the options available to you and the requirements and limitations of each method. Our goal is to help you find a workable way to pay for our services without wasting time and money.
Why Is This a Problem Anyway?
For some newly arrived immigrants, access to banking involves both legal requirements and practical barriers. A person may have money to pay for services but lack the documents, identification numbers, or access to assistance needed to use a particular bank or online payment system.
Banks have important obligations to identify their customers, commonly described as “Know Your Customer,” or KYC, requirements. These safeguards help prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other criminal enterprises from exploiting the U.S. financial system.
These requirements serve legitimate purposes, but the way institutions implement them can create obstacles for people who are new to the United States. Federal customer-identification rules permit alternatives to a taxpayer identification number for non-U.S. persons, including certain passport and other government-issued identification numbers, but an institution’s own verification procedures may still make opening an account difficult.
This distinction matters: not having a Social Security number does not automatically make you legally ineligible for a bank account. Nevertheless, the interaction between legal requirements, institutional policies, and practical difficulties can leave immigrants excluded from financial services that other people take for granted.
In our view, that exclusion can function as a form of de facto discrimination—unequal access in practice, even when the underlying safeguards do not aim to discriminate against immigrants. Protecting the banking system from serious crime is necessary, but legitimate customers should also have workable ways to establish their identities and participate in it.
The United States has not fully resolved this tension between financial security and financial inclusion. Charles International Law created this resource to help our clients navigate the resulting barriers and access legal services.
Having a Trusted Person Pay on Your Behalf
If you do not have a bank account or payment card, a trusted friend or family member may be able to make an online payment on your behalf. You can arrange to reimburse that person in cash, while they use their own authorized payment method to pay Charles International Law.
Please contact us before arranging payment so we can provide the appropriate payment link and ensure that we credit the payment to your case. Give us your name and case reference, along with the name of the person making the payment.
The person paying does not become our client or gain authority to direct your case simply by paying your legal fees. We will discuss your consent to the arrangement and protect the confidentiality of your information.
Use someone you know and trust, and keep a record of both your reimbursement and the payment to our firm. The person making the payment should enter their own payment information; you do not need to exchange account passwords.
You Remain Our Client, Regardless of Who Pays.
If you are concerned that a relative or another person might use financial support to push your case toward an outcome you do not want, please tell us. Paying your legal fees does not give that person authority to control your representation or override your decisions.
Our professional obligations require us to respect your decisions about the lawful objectives of your representation and protect our independent professional judgment from interference by anyone paying your fees. We must also obtain your informed consent to a third-party payment arrangement and protect the confidentiality of your information.
The attorneys at Charles International Law regard these principles as inviolable and adhere to them strictly. Our responsibility is to you as our client, and we will not allow another person’s financial contribution to redirect your representation toward goals you have not authorized.
Prepaid Visa Cards
A prepaid Visa card allows you to exchange cash for a card that you can use for eligible online purchases. Some cards are sold as nonreloadable Visa gift cards, while others are reloadable prepaid cards that may require identity verification, including a Social Security number or another identification number.
Clio Payments accepts prepaid cards for one-time payments, although the card issuer may impose additional restrictions. You cannot store a prepaid card in Clio for automatic future payments, so you will need to make each payment separately. For that reason, you cannot use a prepaid Visa card to establish an automatic payment plan. Learn more about Clio’s accepted payment methods.
Before purchasing a card, confirm that it supports online purchases and that you can satisfy its activation and registration requirements:
Some prepaid Visa cards require activation by entering a Social Security number or ITIN.
Others require documents that newly arrived immigrants and asylum seekers may not have.
You will also need to load the card with enough cash to cover CIL’s fees and any purchase, transaction, or other fees required by the card issuer.
Once you have activated the card, open the payment link we provided with your Clio bill or payment request and select the credit or debit card option. Enter the card number, expiration date, security code, and the billing information required by the card issuer, and keep your payment confirmation.
Money Orders
A money order is a paper payment instrument you can buy with cash without using a bank account. For example, the U.S. Postal Service sells postal money orders at Post Office locations, subject to purchase limits, fees, and applicable identification requirements. Learn more about USPS money orders.
Contact Charles International Law before purchasing or sending a money order. We will provide the correct payee name, delivery instructions, and information needed to identify your case and apply the payment to the appropriate bill or payment request.
Keep your purchase receipt and a copy or photograph of the completed money order. We must receive the original instrument to process the payment, and our staff will record it in Clio so your case’s payment history remains accurate.
Unfortunately, Clio Will Not Accept Money Orders as an eCheck.
Clio’s eCheck option withdraws funds from a bank account that you authorize it to debit. Do not enter the numbers printed on a money order into the eCheck form, because those numbers do not give you authority to withdraw money from the issuing institution’s account.
Coming Soon: Cash Payments at Participating Retail Locations
Charles International Law is developing a partnership with PayNearMe to accept cash payments for our services at participating retail locations throughout the United States. This payment method is not yet available through our firm, and we will update this page with instructions as soon as it becomes available.
PayNearMe allows participating businesses to provide clients with a payment barcode that a retail cashier scans when collecting cash. Its nationwide network includes participating 7-Eleven, CVS, Dollar General, Walmart, and Walgreens locations, among other retailers. Learn more about PayNearMe’s cash-payment network.
Once our arrangement is active, we will explain how to obtain your payment barcode, find an eligible location, identify any fees or payment limits, and confirm that we have credited your payment. Please wait for those instructions before visiting a retailer to attempt a cash payment to Charles International Law.
Cryptocurrency Payments Are Not Currently Available
Charles International Law does not currently accept cryptocurrency. We have not established the infrastructure needed to receive these payments, convert them into U.S. dollars, and make the funds available to pay our expenses.
We are open to accepting cryptocurrency in the future as suitable payment options become available. We regret any inconvenience and ask that you use one of the payment methods described on this page.
When in doubt, email finance@charlesinternationallaw.com. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, please schedule an ad hoc meeting with your attorney here.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I hire Charles International Law if I do not have a bank account?
Yes, lacking a bank account does not itself prevent you from becoming our client. Contact us to discuss an available payment method before purchasing a prepaid card or money order.
2. What is the easiest way to pay if I only have cash?
If someone you trust can help, they may be able to pay online using their own authorized card or bank account, and you can reimburse them in cash. Otherwise, contact us to discuss a money order or the possibility of using a prepaid card.
3. Can I bring cash to one of your offices?
We do not maintain walk-in locations for client meetings or cash payments. Please contact our financial manager to arrange one of the payment methods described on this page.
4. Do all prepaid Visa cards work with your payment systems?
No, we cannot guarantee that every prepaid Visa card will work. Clio accepts prepaid cards for one-time payments, but issuer restrictions, activation requirements, available balances, and payment verification can affect whether a particular transaction succeeds.
Acceptance by Clio also does not guarantee acceptance through PayPal when booking through Calendly. Contact us before purchasing a card, and check its online-payment and identification requirements with the issuer.
5. Can I use a prepaid card for a payment plan?
A prepaid card cannot be stored in Clio for automatic recurring payments. If we have agreed to a payment plan, ask us whether you can make each installment separately using an accepted payment method.
6. What should I do if my prepaid card is declined?
Check that the card is activated, supports online purchases, and has enough available funds for the payment and any applicable issuer fees. Confirm that the billing information matches the card issuer’s requirements, and contact the issuer if the problem continues.
Let us know if the decline prevents you from making an agreed payment. Do not repeatedly retry a transaction while its status is uncertain, because pending authorizations may temporarily reduce your available balance.
7. Can I pay a Clio eCheck using a money order?
No, an eCheck requires an authorized withdrawal from a bank account. A money order is a separate paper instrument, so you must arrange delivery of the original to our firm rather than enter its printed numbers into Clio.
8. Where should I send a money order, and who should I make it payable to?
Contact us before purchasing or mailing it so we can provide the correct payee name and delivery instructions. Include the client and case information we request, and keep your receipt and a copy of the completed money order.
9. If a relative pays, can they control my case or receive confidential information?
Paying your fees does not give another person authority to direct your case or override your decisions about the lawful objectives of our representation. It also does not automatically entitle that person to confidential information; we will discuss your informed consent to the payment arrangement and protect your confidentiality.
10. Can I open a bank account without a Social Security number or ITIN?
Possibly, because some banks and credit unions accept alternative identification, including certain foreign passports or consular identification documents. Requirements vary, so contact the institution and ask what it accepts before visiting or applying.
11. Can I pay Charles International Law in cash at Walmart, CVS, or another retailer?
Not yet, because our proposed PayNearMe payment option is not currently available. We will update this page with eligible locations and payment instructions when the service becomes available through our firm.
12. Does buying a card or sending a payment automatically hire the firm or reserve an appointment?
Buying a prepaid card or money order does not establish an attorney-client relationship or reserve an appointment. Follow the firm’s engagement and booking instructions, and contact us if you cannot complete the required payment or scheduling steps.
13. How can I confirm that you received my payment?
Keep the confirmation from the payment system, or your purchase receipt and delivery information if you use a money order. If you are unsure whether we credited your payment, contact our financial manager with the client’s name, case reference, payment amount, date, and transaction reference, if available.
14. Who should I contact for help?
Email finance@charlesinternationallaw.com for help choosing a payment method or resolving a payment problem. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, use the attorney scheduling link provided on this page to arrange an ad hoc meeting.
External Resources
These resources come from U.S. government agencies and provide practical information about banking, prepaid cards, and money orders. They do not guarantee that a particular institution or payment product will meet your needs or work with our payment systems.
Opening a Bank or Credit Union Account
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Account-Opening Checklist
This newcomer’s guide explains the information and documents you may need to open an account, including alternatives to a Social Security number. It also identifies questions to ask about fees, opening deposits, and minimum balances.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: GetBanked
The FDIC provides resources for finding and opening an account at an FDIC-insured bank. Use these materials to compare account options and understand the benefits of deposit insurance.
Choosing and Activating a Prepaid Card
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Choose the Right Card for Your Situation
This guide explains differences among prepaid cards and gift cards, along with features, fees, and consumer protections. Review it before purchasing a card, especially if you need online bill payments or cash reloads.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Identification Requirements for Prepaid Cards
This explanation describes why most prepaid accounts require identity verification and what information an issuer may request. Check the specific product’s requirements before paying for a card you may be unable to activate.
Purchasing and Tracking a Money Order
U.S. Postal Service: Money Orders
USPS explains how to purchase postal money orders with cash, including current fees and purchase limits. The page also provides instructions for checking payment status and requesting replacement of a lost, stolen, or damaged money order.
Getting Help with a Financial Product
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Submit a Complaint
You can submit complaints about covered consumer financial products and services, including prepaid cards and bank accounts. If you cannot resolve a problem directly with the provider, this resource explains how to request assistance.
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