This year, Change Machine partnered with the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) by creating a cohort of practitioners to build their capacity and integrate fintech into their financial security programs. Made possible by Capital One, we wanted to better understand what resources practitioners and customers needed to successfully use fintech products and services to achieve their financial goals.
We collaborated with Branches in Miami-Dade, Florida, El Centro De La Raza in Seattle, Washington, Chinese Community Center in Houston, Texas and Building Skills Partnership in California. In addition to providing training and technical assistance to effectively identify and recommend fintech products in coaching sessions, Change Machine worked closely with each organization to put together an implementation roadmap that addresses specific challenges that partners face when it comes to embedding fintech products.
While the organizations had diverse programs and unique customer needs, there were overarching themes that emerged from their feedback on fintechs:
- Inclusivity: There is a distinct lack of fintech products and services that cater specifically to immigrants and non-English speakers in low-income communities. It’s critical to identify products that are cost-effective, fully available in other languages, and enable enrollment regardless of citizenship status.
- Familiarity/Comfort with Technology: Our partners, particularly Branches, learned that even customers who identify as comfortable with technology benefit from having access to detailed instructions for downloading, enrolling, and engaging with fintech products.
- Trust: Organizations found many of their customers — being immigrants and at times unfamiliar with the US financial systems — were more comfortable with products recommended by friends and family.
We shared our findings in depth in our Fintech: Reshaping Financial Capability Services webinar co-hosted with NALCAB on September 14th, available above.