The suffering inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic is exponentially more painful for the poorest among us,

Approximately 8.4 million U.S. households are considered “unbanked,” meaning no one in the household has a bank account.

For them, the $2.2 trillion economic rescue package can be a vital lifeline for survival.

Under the package, the government sent $1,200 for each person, $2,400 for each married couple and another $500 for each dependent child to poor and middle-class families across the nation.

The government launched an online portal for people to provide their banking information for direct deposit. Those folks got their payments quickly.

Those who have no bank account were not as fortunate. They had to wait for paper checks. Some still are waiting for their stimulus cash.

Once they finally get their checks, many of those without bank accounts will have to resort to check-cashing services that impose ridiculous fees to those who can least afford them.

Those services are highly predatory and market disproportionately to people of color.

There are many reasons a person can be “unbanked.” Some can’t pass a background check to open an account because the banking system views them as too risky. Others are reluctant to trust any institutions with their cash.

Millions are impacted.

Some advocates say the federal government should use the stimulus payments as an opportunity to bring more people into the banking system via Bank On accounts, which are FDIC insured, cost $5 or less a month and do not allow overdrafts or charge insufficient-fund fees. The accounts can be used for direct deposit, purchases and paying bills.

Legislators at both the state and national level should also consider bills that would make it harder to take advantage of the “unbanked.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the large number of our neighbors who are living paycheck to paycheck. The economic rescue package was drafted to help those folks.

Now, we need to do everything we can to make sure they receive all of the money to which they are entitled.