New Orleans is launching a pilot program next year that will send $350 a month to young residents in the latest universal basic income experiment in an American city.

On Thursday, local officials in the Big Easy said that 125 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 will receive 10 payments of $350 in Spring 2022. The checks will be loaded onto a bank card provided by Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi), a Black-owned online bank.

In a press conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the program as a way to assist "unbanked" Americans in her city while at the same time imparting skills in financial literacy for the city's youth. Unbanked describes adults who earn money but do not use a bank account, a phenomenon that is particularly acute in Louisiana which has one of the highest percentages of unbanked households in the nation, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“This series of initiatives will address racial and wealth gaps that we know are prevalent right here in our city,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

“My administration continues to identify innovative ways to serve and empower our residents and will make sure that the unbanked are banked and have access to financial education and other resources so that they can attend to basic needs and continue to invest in themselves."

Funding for the program comes from a $500,000 grant from Mayors For A Guaranteed Income, a nonprofit founded in June 2020 by Mayor Michael Tubbs of Stockton, California and which advocates for direct cash payments as a way to support impoverished Americans. The program is also supported by Mastercard, whose North America President Linda Kirkpatrick joined Cantrell and MoCaFi's CEO Wole Caxum in announcing its start last week.

Universal basic income experiments have acquired an increased interest by municipalities from across the United States in recent years. Last week, Los Angeles and Chicago both announced that they would also be launching their own universal basic income programs starting next year. Smaller cities like Paterson, New Jersey and Compton, California have also launched their own programs as well.

Support for universal basic income programs has gone up through the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Multiple polls have found that a sizable number of Americans support a program that would see monthly payments provided to households to help meet their needs.

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