Business
Inter Is Making Banking Simpler For Brazilian And Latinx Immigrants
--News Direct--By Faith Ashmore, BenzingaFor millions of Americans, accessibility to banking institutions is a given, but for many underserved communities,
About this update from Inter & Co. Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"--News Direct--By Faith Ashmore, BenzingaFor millions of Americans, accessibility to banking institutions is a given, but for many underserved communities, banking is not as accessible and its lack can negatively impact financial prospects. As such, underbanked communities are often relegated to the margins where they must rely on nontraditional financial institutions like check cashers and payday lenders. Families that rely on nontraditional financial institutions are often at the whims of predatory practices. Check-cashing outlets can cost anywhere from 1% to 12% of the value of the check. Depending on cash or money orders to pay for essentials can cost valuable time and resources; if you have to go to the post office to purchase a money order to pay for rent, that is far more time-consuming than paying online with a debit card. People who go to a payday lender instead of a bank for a loan can end up paying over 300% interest and nearly 1% in four payday loans are reborrowed nine times or more. Marginalized communities and immigrants are underbanked at higher rates than their white counterparts. In 2019, 12.2% of Hispanic households and 13.8% of Black households were underbanked compared to 2.5% of white ones. The disparity exists for a number of reasons ranging from distrust of financial institutions to language barriers to systemic barriers like hefty ID requirements and high minimum balances. For underbanked communities, there is a draw to nontraditional financial institutions and a need for those institutions to empower.Inter Is A Nontraditional Financial Institution With A Focus On Inclusivity Inter&Co (NASDAQ: INTR) understands the importance of expanding financial options and accessibility to underbanked communities. Inter was the first 100% digital Brazilian bank that provided a free digital checking account. In Brazil, Inter has expanded that legacy to include a complete range of services in banking, investments, credit, insurance, and cross-border services.In January 2022, Inter acquired the U.S. fintech company USEND. USEND had a client base of over 150,000 U.S.-based customers across 40 states and offered both financial and non-financial services to its clients. This acquisition enabled Inter’s U.S. customers to make transfers in U.S. dollars quickly and 100% online. The platform also allows payment processing from...