Today, Visa announced the launch of Visa Minority Depository Institutions
Accelerate —
a program to help reduce economic disparities and expand access and opportunity
in communities of color across the United States. Through this multi-year
program, Visa will invest up to $100 million via deposits with MDIs to help
them catalyze lending. Visa will also provide tailored insights and digital
solutions to these banks to help them meet the needs of their clientele and the
communities they serve.
Economic and health shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic have severely affected
minority households already suffering from longstanding disparities in
wealth.
Uplifting communities of color can have far-reaching benefits. According to a
study
by McKinsey and Co, closing the racial wealth gap could add up to $1.5
trillion to the US GDP by 2028.
MDIs are trusted providers for communities of color and include some of the
oldest minority-owned US banks, as well as newer institutions working to reduce
economic disparities. MDIs play a unique role in increasing access to financial
services for underserved populations. According to the
FDIC,
they originate a substantially higher proportion of mortgages and small business
loans to minority borrowers than other financial institutions do.
“Visa acknowledges that economic disparities must be addressed through equitable
access to financial resources. We want to do our part by working with MDIs and
other associations tied to diverse communities.” said Michelle
Gethers-Clark, chief diversity officer & head of corporate responsibility at
Visa. “We believe MDIs play a critical role in improving economic outcomes and
are proud that Visa MDI Accelerate will advance our shared goal of uplifting
everyone, everywhere.”
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Visa’s MDI Accelerate program joins a growing number of efforts by US financial
institutions to help level the playing field for BIPOC and other
underrepresented communities around the country. In 2020, Visa committed to
digitally enable 50 million small
businesses
across the US, with $100K in grants earmarked for Black-women-owned small
businesses; while Mastercard deployed $20 million through impact
investment platform
CNote
to provide funding for underserved communities and help women- and
minority-owned businesses across the US recover and grow. And earlier this
month, Umpqua Bank launched a $2 million
program
that aims to close the opportunity gap in access to capital, resources, and
expertise for minority and women entrepreneurs.
Visa’s new Accelerate program will help MDIs in three areas important
to their mission:
-
Catalyze lending, by investing up to $100 million via deposits with
MDIs.
-
Deliver tailored insights to MDIs, by providing first-in-the-country
access to new enhancements to Visa’s Spending Momentum Index to
provide aggregated insights on consumer spending — illuminating the economic
health of communities. In addition, Visa will support the development of the
National Bankers Community Alliance’s digital impact measurement
platform that enables MDIs to quantitively capture how they support their
communities, helping MDIs attract new investment.
-
Equip MDI customers with digital tools and training, via a suite of
small business payment tools on Authorize.net and digital learning
platforms to equip small business owners and consumers with the financial
skills, insights and tools to manage their financial lives.
“Creating more equitable wealth distribution requires more inclusive
opportunities for MDIs to uplift the communities they serve,” says Nicole
Elam, executive director of the National Bankers Community Alliance — the
nonprofit affiliate of the National Bankers Association. “We are pleased this
multi-faceted program will enhance the lending capacity of MDIs as well as
empower minority-owned and -operated banks with social and economic impact data
to better serve their customers and communities.”
Visa will work closely with FDIC-designated MDIs to determine interest in
participating in the Accelerate program — which Visa says will better equip them
to serve their clientele and communities through increased financing, enhanced
digital capabilities, and better insights and analysis.
For more information, visit
Visa.com/MDIAccelerate.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Feb 23, 2022 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET