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A Black dollar is a powerful tool. From the popularity of fashion items in culture to the work to overcome systemic barriers, the Black community works in various ways to build, accumulate, and maintain wealth. But in the words of Langston Hughes, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Black people have not always had the luxury or ease of access to the tools and resources necessary to build wealth. Because of the historical and present systems that impact the ability to build wealth, there is a lack of trust in traditional banking systems. This lack of confidence has caused many Black people to be considered “unbanked,” ultimately leading to a significant disparity in financial equity. The folks at Wells Fargo have taken particular notice of this disparity. As a part of its Banking Inclusion Initiative, the bank partnered with Black-led fintech startup MoCaFi to help alleviate the financial barriers for BIPOC community members. AfroTech had the opportunity to speak with the CEO...
Last year, Black-owned fintech company MoCaFi announced updates to their platform to better ease financial burdens for Black and brown communities. Today, they share news of closing a $12 million Series A funding round to expand into larger capacities. “In addition to offering high-quality, low-cost financial products and services that have helped many individuals and families across the nation, we are excited to launch a new strategy that allows municipalities to systematically address a significant market failure – the lack of access to banking products for large portions of the population,” said Wole Coaxum, Founder and CEO of MoCaFi, in a statement. “Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by this phenomenon. Our model reimagines how cities work with financial services to deliver banking and disbursement solutions to all their residents. Together we have the potential to play an important role in closing the racial wealth gap in the United States.” A press release...
The financial struggles and needs facing Black and brown Americans have significantly increased in the wake of COVID-19. Outside of health concerns, financial shocks have altered life and our economy as we know it. In an April survey conducted by the Pew Research Center , 73 percent of Black adults and 70 percent of Hispanic adults said they did not have emergency funds to cover three months of expenses. In turn, it made it even more difficult to pay their monthly bills. To help alleviate the financial burdens of Black and brown Americans, Black-owned fintech company MoCaFi has announced the launch of an upgraded banking platform with “features and services designed to address financial inequality in Black, Hispanic, and historically disenfranchised communities,” a press release said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MoCaFi (@mocafiapp) MoCaFi — which stands for Mobility Capital Finance, Inc. — serves American residents who exist between the economic margins as either...