() — For the 44 million Spanish-speaking people in the United States, opening a bank account can be an intimidating journey with a series of obstacles.
Sixa new bank targeting Spanish-speakers, is trying to reshape the mobile banking experience to be more inclusive of immigrants.
Trevor McKendrick, the company’s founder, said he felt the US banking system was not adapting to native Spanish speakers.
“I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I have a lot of Mexican friends who have immigrated to the US,” McKendrick said. “They’ve had a lot of negative experiences with the banking system here, whether it’s because of fear, or language barriers, or cultural differences, whatever. There are enough Spanish-speakers in the US. They deserve their own banking and that’s why we started Six”.
Seis employs people from the US, Mexico, Honduras, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and other Latin American countries to interact with customers. Every time a customer communicates with the bank, the interaction is always 100% in Spanish with a native Spanish speaker.
“We can build something really specific to them, whereas a big bank operates with a kind of single-mindedness and ends up not really putting customers first,” McKendrick said.
Spanish-speaking immigrants have long encountered obstacles at traditionally established banks, he added, such as required documentation and minimum balances, which in most range from $300 to $500.
Bank account are minimum balances
Seis allows immigrants to open a checking account with just a passport, without the need for a social security number. The customer can download the application and apply for an account online, with no minimum balance, requirements or fees.
“You don’t need money to open the account. We don’t charge for minimum balances. We don’t require you to have a certain number of passes per month. We have a no-fee ATM network of more than 55,000 (units),” McKendrick said.
Many Latinos use their mother’s and father’s last names, but traditional American banks often only allow one last name on an account or application. McKendrick said many often have transactions declined because the full name used when making a purchase doesn’t match what’s on their debit card.
“You’re in this country, you don’t speak the language yet,” McKendrick said. “And besides, this transaction just got rejected. You’re totally confused and don’t even know where to start to fix it.”
Sergio Manrique, the bank’s head of community, said he grew up translating for his family when they first immigrated to the US from Mexico City when he was nine years old, and he understood the struggles many families like him face.
“It’s amazing to have a product where if you just got here you can understand it, you can use it and be a part of American society,” Manrique said.
Seis also aims to empower its Spanish-speaking customers, whether it’s educating them about financial products like their checking account or Visa debit card, or about services like building credit.
“Our clients see themselves … they’re in their own American dream,” McKendrick said. “So, we see ourselves helping them on that path.”
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