"If there were good returns in this kind of business, the private sector would already be doing it," Whalen said of the proposed postal bank. "If the union thinks this is a great idea, are they going to be an investor in the bank?"
The private sector is.
It's called 'banks'.
The way a bank makes money is by borrowing from its customers at low interest rates (savings accounts) and loaning it back to them at high interest rates (credit cards, mortgages).
The union doesn't seem to be much interested in merchant banking and international banking.
In some small towns, the post office is in the Federal Building.
Employees are handling money for passports, income taxes, and GSP/HST payments already.
Not to mention cash payments for stamps and parcels. Adding banking to the mix would not be a security problem.
And if, like the ordinary banks, they charged fees for their services, much of the overhead would be covered.
In any case, money is mainly trust.
Which is why banks give credit cards to freshmen university students with their orientation packages, along with the pizza coupons and deodorant samples. Once the kid, potentially a high income earner, starts using it, there is a good chance they will be a customer for life. Well worth the occasional deadbeat-- whose daddy is likely high income already.
As for the 'green' post offices.
Any building needs occasional maintenance. Add the solar collectors when the roof is repaired and insulation added.
Put in a recharging station for the postal trucks and rent time on it when they are not around. Or put in two, one specifically for government/PO vehicles and one public with rentable time.
