Banking the Unbanked — Investing in Mobility Capital Finance
Money management has become increasingly accessible because of explosive growth in the fintech sector. But people without bank accounts cannot use these tools. The pandemic has exacerbated this longstanding problem. Making financial services accessible to these “unbanked” customers is a crucial first step toward economic inclusion.
Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi) is a Black-owned fintech committed to bridging the wealth gap through its mobile banking platform. Led by former Wall Street executive Wole Coaxum, MoCaFi offers FDIC-insured bank accounts, access to mobile banking basics, including payments, savings and deposits and financial literacy education. Through partnerships with Equifax and TransUnion, the MoCaFi platform also features a rent reporting service to help its customers build credit.
Where access to traditional banking and lending options is limited or unattainable, MoCaFi is a critical financial on-ramp for underserved communities. Without the benefits of traditional banking services, lower-income households rely on expensive stopgap measures to access cash. To shift citizens away from predatory alternatives, MoCaFi helps the unbanked and underbanked build solid financial futures. By prioritizing the needs of these communities, the MoCaFi model tackles barriers to economic mobility and plugs more people into the banking mainstream.
In response to the pandemic, MoCaFi worked with the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in Brooklyn to assist those hardest hit by economic after effects of COVID-19. MoCaFi’s Mobility Bank Account and Immediate Response solutions have allowed it to disburse cash grants for food and supplies to approximately 500 Brooklyn residents to date.
MoCaFi has also partnered with the City and County of Honolulu to distribute CARES Act funds to thousands of O’ahu households that have suffered economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As innovation drives the economy forward, the Partnership Fund invests its capital in solutions that expand opportunities for more New Yorkers. With this goal in mind, the Partnership Fund made an initial investment in January 2020 and a follow-on investment in MoCaFi in February 2021. The Partnership Fund is proud to support MoCaFi’s mission to drive financial inclusion forward and give all New Yorkers access to the digital banking economy.
MoCaFi in the News
Harlem startup backed by $12M from Citi, Mastercard aims to close racial wealth gap one bank fee at a time | Crain’s New York Business
Can Fintech bring financial inclusion to all? | American Banker
20 Minutes With: Wole Coaxum, Founder and CEO of MoCaFi | Barron’s
Trying to Correct Banking’s Racial Imbalance | NY Times
