Mobile Banking for the Under-banked

It was January 10, 1995 — the day after my 10th birthday. Throughout the week I received my favorite gift from friends and family. That favorite gift was money. I would love to say with 100% confidence that these monetary gifts accompanied heart-filled cards, but I honestly don’t remember because I opened the cards anticipating a mild thunderstorm. Anyway, after memorizing the exact amount that I had accumulated, my mother suggested that I open a savings account rather than constantly ask her where my money was. So on this 1995 winter day, we headed to the bank to open a junior checking account. The experience was typical of the times and as a child I simply accepted it. I walked into a branch, that I swear was an abandoned McDonald’s two years prior, and my mother spoke to a personal banker that I gave my birthday money to. In return, I got a printout stating how much money I gave the personal banker. As a 10-year-old I thought it was either magic or an inefficient system.

Nothing Was The Same..I mean Different

Due to the economic downturn, Traditional banks have decided to exit or decrease their presence in certain lines of business; fintech companies have emerged to fill those gaps in most markets, but the under-banked.

Twenty years later, despite advances in technology, the process of opening accounts looks very similar. It makes no sense that large banks have not innovated given macroeconomic…