McRae: The Future is Crypto & Venmo
By Treasurer David McRae
For many families, saving for college or career training has always been an important goal, albeit not always the easiest one. Whether it’s inflation that’s forcing you to tighten your belt, a lack of financial tools that fit your budget, or just the feeling that traditional systems are outdated, too many Mississippians have felt shut out of saving for the future.
That’s why I’m proud to share that the Mississippi Treasury is embracing innovation to meet families where they are. For the first time, Mississippians can now use PayPal and Venmo when gifting money to a Mississippi Affordable College (MACS) account, and crypto when contributing directly to the plan.
With this move, Mississippi becomes one of the first states in the nation to give savers this kind of freedom. And that matters! After all, the next generation of parents, grandparents, and graduates won’t necessarily manage money the same way their parents did.
Today, nearly 97 million Americans use Venmo, and about 1 in seven own crypto. This is where financial life is going – to the apps, the internet, the metaverse. If we want more Mississippians to invest in their family’s future, the government needs to keep pace with the way people actually live, work, and save.
At the Mississippi Treasury, our goal isn’t to tell people how to save; it’s to get government out of the way and make it easier for Mississippians to build their future in a way that works for them.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) plan is our state’s most flexible 529 savings plan. It can be used not only for college tuition, but also for K–12 education, classroom supplies, apprenticeships, and workforce training programs. Families and friends can contribute, there are valuable tax advantages, and it only takes $25 to get started. In other words, this program has always been flexible – now, how you contribute to it can be just as flexible.
If you’d like to learn more or open an account, visit Treasury.MS.gov/CollegeSavings, email CollegeSavings@treasury.ms.gov, or call (601) 359-5255.
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College and Career Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $140 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
