(NewsDirect)
By Faith Ashmore, Benzinga
For millions ofAmericans, accessibility to banking institutions is a given, but formany underserved communities, banking is not as accessible and itslack can negatively impact financial prospects. As such, underbankedcommunities are often relegated to the margins where they must rely onnontraditional financial institutions like check cashers and paydaylenders.
Familiesthat rely on nontraditional financial institutions are often at thewhims of predatory practices. Check-cashing outlets can cost anywherefrom 1%to 12% of the value of the check. Depending on cash or moneyorders to pay for essentials can cost valuable time and resources; ifyou have to go to the post office to purchase a money order to pay forrent, that is far more time-consuming than paying online with a debitcard. People who go to a payday lender instead of a bank for a loancan endup paying over 300% interest and nearly 1% in four paydayloans are reborrowed nine times or more.
Marginalized communities and immigrants areunderbanked at higher rates than their white counterparts. In2019 , 12.2% of Hispanic households and 13.8% of Blackhouseholds were underbanked compared to 2.5% of white ones. Thedisparity exists for a number of reasons ranging from distrust offinancial institutions to language barriers to systemic barriers likehefty ID requirements and high minimum balances.
For underbanked communities, there is a drawto nontraditional financial institutions and a need for thoseinstitutions to empower.
Inter Is A Nontraditional FinancialInstitution With A Focus On Inclusivity
Inter&Co (NASDAQ: INTR) understandsthe importance of expanding financial options and accessibility tounderbanked communities. Inter was the first 100% digital Brazilianbank that provided a free digital checking account. In Brazil, Interhas expanded that legacy to include a complete range of services inbanking, investments, credit, insurance, and cross-borderservices.
InJanuary 2022, Inter acquired the U.S. fintech company USEND. USEND had a client base of over 150,000 U.S.-based customers across 40states and offered both financial and non-financial services to itsclients. This acquisition enabled Inter’s U.S. customers to maketransfers in U.S. dollars quickly and 100% online. The platform alsoallows payment processing from several international platforms withACH/wire transfers to any account in the US.
After this acquisition,the company integrated USEND’s offerings into the Inter Super App,bringing its benefits to both U.S. and Brazilian customers, andrenamed it to Inter Global The Global Account allows customers to buyairfare, transfer US dollars to an international account, and payexpenses during an international trip, all in a single app. At the endof September, there were more than 500,000 Brazilian Global Accountusers on the platform. Inter’s Global Account does not have anopening or monthly fee, making banking more accessible to underbankedcommunities.
Interis also working to expand services for its customers and recentlyannounced they have become a certified provider with Amazon.Now Inter’s Brazilian clients who are sellers on Amazon will be ableto receive and send payments directly to their Inter accounts.
The company is activelyworking to build ties and accountability within immigrant communitiesin New York City. In November, Interannounced that it became an official new partner of the NewYork City Football Club (NYCFC). The NYCFC has a strong immigrant andBrazilian fan base and Inter is eager to provide its services toLatino communities.
PriscilaSalles, CMO of Inter&Co, shared: "We are very excitedto partner with the NYCFC, not only for what they represent as one ofthe leading MLS teams but also as a way to connect more meaningfullywith the Brazilian and Latino communities in the US. Our commitment tomaking money remittances affordable and accessible to everyoneresonates deeply with NYCFC values of inclusion and community."
For underbankedcommunities, having access to nontraditional financial institutionslike Inter can help make life easier by opening doors and providing asafety net against often-predatory financial services like paydayloans.
This article was originallypublished on Benzinga here .
Inter&Cois the holding company of Inter Group and indirectly holds all ofBanco Inter’s shares. Inter is a digital bank that simplifiespeople’s lives, where everything is integrated in a single app. InBrazil, under the Inter brand, the company offers a complete suite ofservices in banking, investments, credit and insurance, in addition toa virtual mall that brings together the best retailers in Brazil andthe US. The company’s US digital account, under the Inter Globalbrand, allows individuals and companies to make transfers in U.S.dollars quickly, safely and 100% online, as well as process paymentsfrom several international platforms. It also offers debit cards, giftcards with cashback, and ACH/Wire transfers to any account in the US,serving as a hub for the needs its customers have in a world withoutborders. Inter&Co is listed on Nasdaq under the tickerINTR.
This post contains sponsored advertising content.This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended tobe investing advice.
This material may containforward-looking statements regarding Inter, anticipated synergies,growth plans, projected results and future strategies. While theseforward-looking statements reflect our Management’s good faithbeliefs, they involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties thatcould cause the company’s results or accrued results to differmaterially from those anticipated and discussed herein. Thesestatements are not guarantees of future performance. These risks anduncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to realizethe amount of projected synergies and the projected schedule, inaddition to economic, competitive, governmental and technologicalfactors affecting the Bank, the markets, products and prices and otherfactors. In addition, this presentation contains managerial numbersthat may differ from those presented in our financial statements. Thecalculation methodology for these managerial numbers is presented inInter’s quarterly earnings release. Statements contained in thisreport that are not facts or historical information may beforward-looking statements under the terms of the Private SecuritiesLitigation Reform Act of 1995. These forwardlooking statements may,among other things, beliefs related to the creation of value and anyother statements regarding Inter. In some cases, terms such as“estimate”, “project”, “predict”, “plan”,“believe”, “can”, “expectation”, “anticipate”,“intend”, “aimed”, “potential”, “may”,“will/shall” and similar terms, or the negative of theseexpressions, may identify forward looking statements. Theseforward-looking statements are based on Inter's expectations andbeliefs about future events and involve risks and uncertainties thatcould cause actual results to differ materially from current ones. Anyforward-looking statement made by us in this document is based only oninformation currently available to us and speaks only as of the dateon which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update anyforward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be madefrom time to time, whether as a result of new information, futuredevelopments or otherwise. For additional information that aboutfactors that may lead to results that are different from ourestimates, please refer to sections “Cautionary Statement ConcerningForward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” of Inter&CoAnnual Report on Form 20-F. The numbers for our key metrics (UnitEconomics), which include active users , average revenue per activeuser (ARPAC), cost to serve per active cliente (CTSAC) and crossselling index (CSI), are calculated using Inter’s internal data.Whether based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates, there arechallenges inherent in measuring the use of our products. In addition,we continually seek to improve estimates of our user base, which maychange due to improvements or changes in methodology, in processes forcalculating these metrics and, from time to time, we may discoverinaccuracies and make adjustments to improve accuracy, includingadjustments that may result in recalculating our historical metrics.The financial information, unless otherwise stated, is presented inmillions of reais, in accordance with the consolidated financialstatements, in IFRS.
Contact Details
SantiagoStel
CompanyWebsite
https://www.bancointer.com.br/
Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.