Innovations in digital payments and financial services have made it easier and safer for people to access and share money, yet 1.4 billion adults worldwide remain unbanked. Building trust is essential to fostering financial inclusion and removing barriers for economically underserved individuals.
Better access to financial services opens the door to increased savings, builds financial history and credit, improves education, and provides new career and business opportunities.
But many people without access to credit are skeptical of the financial system. report by an international management consulting firm Oliver WymanThis is especially true for unbanked, undocumented immigrants, or those who have previously defaulted and were subject to collection.
In particular, financial institutions need to communicate with communities in a way that appeals to their concerns and experiences, making costs clear and easily understandable. Partnerships with local community organizations are key to building positive relationships and trust, especially in historically underserved communities.
Unbanked individuals may struggle to access digital payment tools and some consumers may find it difficult to adapt to new technology. The report warns against being put in a situation of They need a credit history to be visible, but they can’t build a history because they’re virtually invisible.
Inclusion through innovation
Discover Global Network, a global payments brand, is committed to promoting financial inclusion by building trust with consumers and helping individuals improve access and control over their finances .
Discover offers services, solutions and strategic initiatives that improve financial health by providing alternatives to ‘visibility’ through forging strategic partnerships with innovative fintech companies We aim to
Access, control and trust can be critical barriers to financial inclusion and financial soundness, it said. Kiran Phukote, Head of Network Strategy for Discover Global Network. We are excited to support financial innovations that help break down these barriers, making it easier for underserved people to participate and improving their financial health.
Cooperation with Welty
One such partnership is with a social banking startup. Welty, Empower your customers to reach their financial goals by leveraging social features and positive groupthink.
The company is the brainchild of the CEO Fonta Gilliamis a former U.S. diplomat in Asia and Africa who was inspired by social banking traditions that are “very ubiquitous in many unbanked communities”.
One of the greatest challenges and needs of underserved communities is the ability to bring together the resources necessary to achieve basic goals.
Through Wellthi, groups of people can use the “old saving tradition” to set goals and encourage each other to save. With Social Savings Wallet, users set a target amount and invite people to participate in savings missions.
According to Gilliam, the app will use the best aspects of “word of mouth, group targets and peer networks” to help people build trust in the formal banking system. Wellthi says research shows consumers 65% more likely Reach your goals after sharing your savings goals with others.
By partnering with Wellthi, Discover can help build critical levels of financial flexibility for underbanked and unbanked communities in a way never before possible. increase.
wallet
The wallet leverages the Discover Global Network’s prepaid and virtual card products to provide a variety of options, including the ‘Family Wallet’ program, which provides a way for families to collectively save and spend for an elderly family member in need. I am developing a use case.
One of the biggest challenges and needs of underserved communities is the ability to bring together the resources needed to achieve basic goals, Pookote explains. We are particularly pleased to be working with Welty to support their innovative group savings wallet, which allows groups of friends, family or community to come together and save money towards a specific goal.
Discover Global Network and Wellthi are also collaborating on a program that integrates Wellthi’s social savings feature with the Stepping Stones Community Federal Credit Union’s Discover prepaid card in Delaware to help low-income and underserved minorities. promotes savings and financial education.
financial education
Another way to promote financial inclusion is through education. Helping people to be more empowered with their finances gives them better control over their future finances.
Through Pathway to Financial Success, an elementary financial education program, Discover Global Network has partnered with Discovery Education to bring financial education into middle school and high school classrooms across the United States, helping students manage their money and make smarter financial decisions. I am trying to do
The company also supports First Nations financial programs to help Native Americans understand the basics of financial management, financial markets, and financial instruments for borrowing and saving.
Last year, Discover delivered webinars, virtual training and workshops to nearly 300 individuals on topics such as financial skills for families, fraud awareness, Covid fraud, coronavirus in the country of India, and building native communities. It helped me to