Digital payment innovation for underserved US communities
BNY Mellon and MoCaFi have formed a strategic alliance to extend digital payment options to unbanked and underbanked communities across the US.
BNY Mellon will now be able to provide federal, state and local governments, as well as corporate clients, with a digital disbursement payment service that will reach individuals who do not currently have access to basic financial services. This is made possible by the platform provided by MoCaFi, a Black-founded fintech company providing financial empowerment for traditionally underserved communities.
The new disbursement service will be offered through BNY Mellon’s Vaia platform, which allows seamless distribution of payments and disbursements, from disaster relief aid to employee payroll, from governments and corporate clients to individuals without financial services access. The opportunity for unbanked and underbanked individuals to receive basic banking services, including an FDIC-insured account as well as debit card and credit reporting capabilities, will also be made available through the MoCaFi platform.
CEO and Founder of MoCaFi Wole Coaxum said: “Our alliance with BNY Mellon will accelerate our mission to reduce the racial and social wealth gap through increasing pathways to wealth for underserved individuals, especially communities of color. Access to modern banking services is one of the best approached to making our economy more inclusive, and by working with BNY Mellon we are helping to provide opportunities to as many people as possible. Further, by joining the Vaia platform, we are creating a more seamless experience for corporations and municipalities from New York City to New Orleans and beyond to receive and distribute cash to a new pool of consumers.”
A recent survey from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found that, in 2021, approximately 5.9 million US households did not have any members who had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union. A further 18.7 million households were deemed to be “underbanked” in the same year, meaning that at least one member of the household does hold a bank account but lacks adequate access to other traditional financial services.
CEO of Treasury Services at BNY Mellon Jennifer Barker commented: “The inability to provide digital payments to a significant portion of the US economy has been a major hurdle for both public and private sectors. Through our commitment to innovation, we met this challenge head on and are thrilled to join forces with a fintech doing outstanding, tangible work in our communities. Not only does this fit with BNY Mellon’s values of making the financial ecosystem stronger, better and more accessible, it also promotes financial equity across the country for people in need.”
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