Business & Tech

Portland Business Alliance: Wells Fargo Launches Banking Inclusion Initiative

The initiative aims to equip students with much needed financial capability skills and access to support services.

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Press release from the Portland Business Alliance:

May 21, 2021

Banking Inclusion Initiative 1 1 Access to Affordable Products and Digital Solutions

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  • Wells Fargo will deepen its existing relationships with Black-owned Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) to support their work in the communities they serve, including outreach efforts and providing the option for their customers to withdraw cash from Wells Fargo’s ATMs and incur no Wells Fargo fees. In addition, Wells Fargo is offering access to a dedicated relationship team that will work with each MDI on financial, technological and product development strategies to help strengthen and grow their institutions.

    • Relationships with Black-owned Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs)

  • In recognition that unbanked and underbanked individuals need access to short-term credit, Wells Fargo will increase funding and support to expand the Credit Builders Alliance (CBA) low-cost, credit-building consumer loan program. The organization’s CBA Fund will provide patient loan capital, capacity-building grants and technical assistance to their nonprofit lender members, enabling low-cost consumer loans for low- to moderate-income (LMI) individuals to meet short term cash needs and establish or improve their credit scores.

    • Wells Fargo will increase funding and support to expand the Credit Builders Alliance (CBA) low-cost, credit-building consumer loan program

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  • Wells Fargo will increase awareness and outreach about low-cost, no overdraft fee accounts, such as Wells Fargo’s Bank On-certified Clear Access Banking. Wells Fargo introduced Clear Access Banking in 2020, offering an affordable account designed for those who are new to banking or have encountered past challenges opening or keeping a bank account. The account is certified by the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund for meeting Bank On National Account Standards for safe and appropriate financial products to help people enter or re-enter the mainstream financial system, and it gives full access to Wells Fargo’s mobile app, and nationwide branch and ATM network.

    • Wells Fargo will increase awareness and outreach about low-cost, no overdraft fee accounts, such as Wells Fargo’s Bank On-certified Clear Access Banking

  • Wells Fargo will broaden its collaboration with CFE Fund and local Bank On coalitions to pilot new strategies and approaches that help overcome barriers to banking access in several markets with high concentrations of unbanked households. The program will focus on helping those who are unbanked navigate the financial system, develop an easier, more seamless path for them to open a Bank On-certified account and access services they need within mainstream banking. It will be used to identify best practices that can be applied on a national scale.

    • Wells Fargo will broaden its collaboration with CFE Fund and local Bank On coalitions to pilot new strategies and approaches that help overcome barriers to banking access

  • Wells Fargo will work closely with Fintechs that are deeply committed to helping underserved communities. For instance, Wells Fargo is among the investors in Greenwood, a digital platform for Black and Latino individuals and business owners. The bank also has started a collaboration to help the Fintech MoCaFi provide banking to unbanked individuals, starting with offering MoCaFi customers the ability to use their MoCaFi debit card at Wells Fargo ATMs without incurring fees from Wells Fargo.

    • Wells Fargo will work closely with Fintechs investors in Greenwood MoCaFi Financial Education and Advice

  • Teaming with Operation HOPE, Wells Fargo will support the launch of HOPE Inside centers within diverse and LMI neighborhoods, which is designed to foster inclusion through financial education workshops and free one-on-one coaching to help community members take control of their finances and build their credit scores.

    • Teaming with Operation HOPE, Wells Fargo will support the launch of HOPE Inside centers Operation HOPE, Inc.

  • Wells Fargo is working with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Community Development Action Coalition to launch Our Money Matters, a comprehensive financial wellness initiative for college students of color, who disproportionally face greater financial challenges and college debt. The initiative aims to equip students with much needed financial capability skills and access to support services. Over the next 3 years, the program will expand to 25 HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions.

    • Wells Fargo is working with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Community Development Action Coalition to launch Our Money Matters

  • With more than 25 percent of its branches in LMI community census tracts, Wells Fargo will introduce a new program within LMI neighborhood branches that will be designed around the needsof the diverse communities it serves. The branches will feature redesigned spaces created to deliver one-on-one consultations, improve digital access and offer financial health seminars, and through these efforts, will help build trust. Wells Fargo will select a set of pilot locations to introduce the program, with a plan to expand to 100 LMI neighborhood branches with a high concentration of unbanked individuals.

    • Wells Fargo will introduce a new program within LMI neighborhood branches that will be designed around the needs of the diverse communities it serves 100 LMI neighborhood branches Launching National Advisory Task Force

  • Recognizing the difficulty of addressing the unbanked issue in the U.S., Wells Fargo will establish and lead a broad coalition to help with this multi-year commitment. Wells Fargo is forming a National Unbanked Advisory Task Force that will work with the bank in developing solutions to bring more people into the banking system from underserved communities, while also providing feedback on the initiatives that will be implemented and helping determine the best ways to measure success. The task force will feature representatives from leading organizations, including LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), National Bankers Association, NCAI (National Congress of American Indians), UnidosUS, National Urban League, and Mississippi-based Hope Enterprise Corporation.

    • National Unbanked Advisory Task Force LULAC NAACP National Bankers Association NCAI UnidosUS National Urban League Hope Enterprise Corporation About Wells Fargo 1 1

    This press release was produced by the Portland Business Alliance. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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