A partnership between nonprofit Grameen America, Citi and Mastercard will create financial technology solutions for more than 86,000 low-income minority women entrepreneurs across the country.
Grameen America provides access to capital and credit-building services, as well as savings accounts provided by Citi, to women entrepreneurs who live at or below the federal poverty line. Most members did not have bank accounts before joining Grameen and had either negative or no credit history.
This new initiative will help Grameen integrate low-income women entrepreneurs into the cashless economy, enabling them to make online purchases for their businesses, view financial transaction history in real-time and experience the benefits of digital banking.
Among the new solutions supported by Citi and Mastercard is a cloud-based Management Information System infrastructure to modernize and bolster Grameen America’s operational capacity. They will enable Grameen to standardize and streamline their back-office processes and allow national field staff to enter real-time data remotely about member women entrepreneurs.
“Solving the need for digital banking services among low-income communities in the United States is a pressing priority,” Andrea Jung, president and CEO of Grameen America, said. “This collaboration represents a perfect marriage of the key players in technology and financial services coming together to empower women entrepreneurs through access to capital, credit- and asset-building services.”
The upgrades also include the reloadable disbursement Mastercard cards issued by Citi Prepaid Services that Grameen America will use to deliver microloans to its members instead of using bank checks, which can be costly and need to be cashed. The cards will provide Grameen America’s clients – many of whom were previously unbanked – with an easier way to access their funds instead of carrying large sums of cash.
“According to new data from the FDIC, more than 33 million households are either unbanked or underbanked, living without the ability to safely save and build financial security,” Bob Annibale, global director of Citi Community Development and Inclusive Finance, said. “These important technology upgrades will strengthen Grameen America’s infrastructure and expand their ability to bring more low-income women entrepreneurs into the financial mainstream.”
Shamina Singh, president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, said the initiative will help unlock the economic potential of these entrepreneurs and reduce poverty.
“Working with Grameen America, we are glad to join a partnership that will advance economic mobility through entrepreneurship in the United States,” Singh said.