On-the-ground inclusion with MoCaFi

What

Mobility Capital Finance, Inc., or MoCaFi, is a Black-founded and led fintech and banking platform on a mission to close wealth gaps through capital, banking services, data, and education. Founded in 2015, MoCaFi offers three products. Its Demand Deposit Account provides fee-free banking through Debit Mastercards, and lets customers use convenience stores and ATMs for deposits and withdrawals. Its Immediate Response Card is built for disbursement accounts led by municipal or non-profit groups; it’s currently used by major city governments such as Los Angeles’ to serve as the infrastructure for its Guaranteed Basic Income project. Lastly, Blueprint is a personal financial management app that helps build wealth through credit building recommendations, affordability tools, and one-on-one financial guidance. 

Why

To Christina Keitt-Chaney, Head of Sales and Relationship Management at MoCaFi, the banking startup is a necessary and intentional corrective helping marginalized and underbanked communities build wealth and financial health. “You do that by helping them with programs that will really be intentional and say, ‘I'm going to help you spend these 12 months doing these activities, specifically, very tactically, that will help you get to this part of the wealth building journey,’” Keitt-Chaney said.

The company’s range of products are designed for what Keitt-Chaney termed “the bottom third of the pyramid,” helping these customers eventually qualify for traditional bank mortgages and other financial products that can help them acquire assets; MoCaFi thus intentionally partners with commercial banks as a feeder. 

How

Cognizant of a history of redlining and financial discrimination in the US, MoCaFi consciously engages in public-private partnerships throughout its sales pipeline to both develop trust with underbanked communities and affect substantive structural change. 

With that in mind, the Immediate Response Card has been a robust component of MoCaFi’s revenue stream. And, by pitching itself as municipalities’ financial infrastructure and committing to a B2B2C model, MoCaFi is able to get subsidies and cash directly in the hands of those who need it most, distributing funds efficiently through its payments tech. 

“That model of being able to give a person some type of subsidy or direct cash assistance puts them on the journey of being able to meet their basic needs, pay their bills, and begin to grow their credit,” Keitt-Chaney said. ”We're able to show the impact of how, when you give someone $500 a month for 12 months, that is life changing and how that puts them on a journey to building financial awareness, financial literacy, and financial education.”

MoCaFi’s direct-to-consumer sales models have also hinged upon partnerships with local institutions. MoCaFi has started a pop-up sales series called “On Our Block,” wherein MoCaFi organizes an event with local community-based organizations and financial and non-profit partners to help local people sign up for MoCaFi’s free Demand Deposit Account. The events have seen signups in the thousands, especially as potential customers can hear from others about their financial struggles, see demos, and understand how overdraft-fee-free banking accounts can help address their acute financial needs. Keitt-Chaney said “human interaction on the ground” is central to that strategy’s success. 

“When you talk about financial inclusion and you talk about putting people on a journey to create generational wealth, you have to be intentional and you have to meet people where they are,” Keitt-Chaney said. “Your intentionality shows up when you really are thoughtful about meeting people where they are, going to where they are, and putting partnerships and policies in place that are inclusive.”

Finally, MoCaFi also pitches itself as an underbanked-services complement to commercial banks. In exchange for benefits such as access to their ATM networks, MoCaFi works with large banks to help its users graduate up to their services. “They’re willing to be a part of the journey along the way until you're ready for something like a mortgage or an auto loan,” Keitt-Chaney said. These larger banks also work with MoCaFi in their lobbying efforts, helping build out a legislative landscape that more thoughtfully solves for financial inclusion.