This article was originally featured in Change Makers in Action — a monthly newsletter covering Change Machine’s updates, including issue advocacy, funding partnerships, and field leadership events. Subscribe today!
In partnership with the TD Charitable Foundation, Change Machine and United Way Miami are working to build fintech onramps for residents who navigate financial insecurity.
Fintech usage has expanded since the onset of COVID-19, but low-income communities remain largely excluded from the design, development, testing, and delivery of financial products and services. Last year — through a series of focus groups with financial coaches and customers — we identified five products that prioritize the financial experiences of low-income Miamians, and introduced them on our platform’s recommendation engine. Among other characteristics, these products recognize the language and immigration needs of local community members.
Over the next year, Change Machine and United Way Miami will continue to assess the impact of these and other products on customer financial security. We will use the feedback of practitioners engaging with customers around fintech product usage to improve our platform’s recommendation engine feature. In addition, we will communicate our findings to external audiences and examine how we can begin to scale this work in other places, such as rural areas outside of Miami.
To learn more about how nonprofit practitioners are engaging with fintech to build financial security with customers, learn more from our Convening for Change webinar, held on November 16th.