Sandra Block’s article in USA Today last week was yet another page in the large volume of “beware of prepaid” stories published in the last year or so. It’s a familiar motif, “working class Peter got a prepaid card only to discover he was getting feed to death.” The five…
Sosas Address the Underinvested
The Sosa Brothers drive me nuts! Mostly because I’m jealous. Really. They are visionary, they are charismatic, they’re successful, they are creative, they live in Austin, they have the word “Lab” in their company name, and they are committed to improving the lives of millions of people who have less…
Small Business and the Underbanked
Seeing the announcement that Sequoia Capital invested $27.5 million in Jack Dorsey’s Square, reminded me of the fact that many of those interested in the underbanked are stuck thinking about the consumer. Well, this “consumer” is a person fully capable of economic production, by means of a job and…
Rent in credit report!!!!
This is a big-deal announcement: “As of December 2010, Experian® will include positive rental payment data as part of a consumer’s credit file.” Sound dry? Not so: My numbers are old, but before the recession 50-odd million Americans had no or thin credit reports. So, if you’re an immigrant…
Is Remote Deposit Capture the Killer App for Mobile?
I’ve been poo-pooing mobile payments for the underbanked for quite a while, much to the chagrin of everyone who believes in technology or has half a brain. And of course, it all does look so good: underbanked people, globally, actually own mobile phones, actually use them, and the phone could…
Innovation in Financial Literacy?
I have long believed almost all financial literacy or financial education is a waste of time. Well intended, but very low impact. The correlation between information delivered and behavior changed is small. At Finovate, I was interested to see quite a few companies with “financial capabilities” offerings. Our partners at…
Under the Mattress
One of the things “mainstream” (as opposed to “alternative”) (and I use those quotes deliberately, because those labels should actually be reversed) financial services rarely consider is how much wealth is found underneath the mattress, especially amongst the un- and underbanked. This story, an estimate of how much is hidden…
More pleasure, better business
Financial services are a drag. Paying bills sucks. Sorting through the best products is no fun, given how many there are and their considerable complexity. A mortgage? Forget it. Why is it that people can’t figure out how to make financial services interactions more fun? Doing so needn’t be a…
In the Future… Transparency Rules
This is part of a series of posts inspired by CFSI’s Underbanked Financial Services Forum. At the conference, attendees were asked to complete the sentence, “in the future, the underbanked marketplace will…” on a square button. Clearly transparency in financial products is paramount, today and moving forward. And not just…
Look West, Wall Street. Look West
Why is the ATM the last great banking innovation? That’s what former Federal Reserve Chairman, Paul Volcker, wonders. While Silicon Valley has created a tremendous amount of society changing ideas and businesses, Wall Street’s attempts at innovation have mostly backfired. Instead of Google, ethernet, LinkedIn, the iPhone or eBay, Wall…