Innovators Showcase

American Banker: Regions Finishes Rolling Out Financial Products for the Underbanked

Regions Financial, a participant in CFSI's Innovators Roundtable, has launched a number of alternative financial services including check cashing, money transfer, expedited bill pay services, and prepaid debit cards. Regions is focusing on the "pay-as-you-go" consumer which is a growing, yet underserved ...

Posted: March 2012

CFSI Past Grantee Credit Builders Alliance Featured in the New York Times

CFSI past grantee, Credit Builders Alliance was recently featured in the New York Times. Credit Builders Alliance helps microfinance and other nonprofit lenders report the consumers’ payment histories to the big credit bureaus.

The article highlights credit builder loans, which are innovate products allowing credit ...

Posted: February 2012

Paybefore Names 2012 Award Winners

CFSI would like to congratulate all of the 2012 Paybefore Awards winners for their outstanding achievements. These awards highlight companies who are striving to solve real-world payment issues and provide outstanding convenience, safety and control for individuals who use these products. Loraine DeBonis, ...

Posted: February 2012

The Salt Lake Tribune: Green Dot Pushing Banking for the Unbanked

Green Dot has been making news again with the decision to become a bank holding company. Being the largest provider for prepaid cards in the nation, Green Dot will now have more freedom to offer bank products without high costs of a traditional ...

Posted: December 2011

MasterCard and Western Union Combine Forces

MasterCard and Western Union are teaming up to better serve the prepaid card market internationally. Western Union has been offering prepaid cards with the MasterCard logo in the United States and plans to expand to developing countries where access to electronic payments ...

Posted: December 2011

Visa Rolls Out Prepaid Mobile Payments Product for the Underbanked

Visa announced it's new offering aimed to help underbanked in developing countries. Visa will be launching a prepaid mobile product to its customers in collaboration with MTN Mobile money (part of MTN Group, a telecommunications provider in Africa).

This product will enable account holders ...

Posted: November 2011

How to Reach the Underbanked

CFSI's former grantee Self-Help Credit Union is featured in this article about reaching out to the underbanked.  Several credit unions such as Self Help are aiming to serve the underserved while growing their bottom line.  Self Help, which has expanded from its ...

Posted: November 2011

Prepaid Card Aim at Hispanics Unveiled

Visa, a participant in CFSI's Innovators Roundtable has been making big strides in embracing Financial Inclusion. Coopera and The Members Group are now offering a prepaid card created specifically for underbanked Hispanics.

The prepaid, reloadable Coopera Card provides secured access to financial services ...

Posted: October 2011

Western Union and 7-Eleven Sign Prepaid Agreement Serving Consumers across U.S.

CFSI Roundtable participant Western Union, a leader in global payments, and 7-Eleven, Inc., the world's largest convenience retailer, have signed a prepaid agreement to offer consumers the ability to obtain The Western Union(R) MoneyWise(TM) General Purpose Reloadable prepaid card at 7-Eleven, Inc.'s store ...

Posted: October 2011

Helping the poor save money

In this Economist.com video, former CFSI Grantee Self-Help is highlighted as helping the nearly quarter of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked by offering low cost services from a hybrid check cashing and credit union model.

Click here to view the video: http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/09/banking-underbanked

Posted: September 2011

Blackhawk Network and NetSpend Announce Prepaid Card Distribution Partnership

Innovators Roundtable participant Netspend and the Blackhawk network have partnered together to offer consumers the convenience of purchasing NetSpend Visa(R) prepaid cards at top grocery stores within the Blackhawk prepaid network.  "Our distribution partnership with NetSpend provides customers with even more convenient ...

Posted: September 2011

Will Plastyc Encourage the Broke to Save More?

Plastyc is designing a new savings solution with the help of former CFSI grantee Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund, a national non-profit with a mission to strengthen the financial opportunity and security of low and moderate income consumers by innovating, incubating and ...

Posted: September 2011

Citi and Self-Help Expand Micro Branch Model

Innovators Roundtable participant Citi, and former grantee Self-Help, expand the Micro Branch Model to move people away from alternative and sometimes costly financial services.  You can read more about it here!

Posted: August 2011

Western Union Enhanced Walk-In Payment Service Expands Nationally

Innovators Roundtable participant Western Union, announced the national expansion of its enhanced walk-in bill payments service as a result of a successful regional test.  Read more about it here!

Posted: August 2011

NetSpend Teams With Prepaid Resources to Launch BenefitsExpress(TM)

Innovators Roundtable Participant NetSpend launches BenfefitsExpress(TM), its private-labeled automated direct deposit enrollment management application engineered and powered by Prepaid Resources, a leading technology provider for the prepaid debit industry.

You can read all about it here!

Posted: August 2011

Wal-Mart Expands Check Cashing Service

Innovators Roundtable Participant Wal-Mart is expanding their check cashing business, expanding on their motto to offer "every day low prices" and "convenience" across multiple product offerings.

You can read more about it here! 

Posted: August 2011

Some Ways to Get Started as a Social Entrepreneur

This NY Times article about small business highlight's CFSI investee Progresso Financiero. Progreso’s business model is based on charging an average percentage rate of 36 percent, much less than the rates that many payday loan services charge. If borrowers pay back loans ...

Posted: June 2011

The Potential of Visa's New Partnership

Tim Chen of NerdWallet opines on Innovator's Roundtable participant Visa's recent deal with British mobile services provider Montilise PLC to offer the kind of services we’re now seeing in a number of mobile-payment startups. The card network hopes to introduce mobile transit ...

Posted: June 2011

Green Dot Gets Prepaid Revenue Boost in Tax Season

CFSI Roundtable participant Green Dot Corp.'s first-quarter revenue rose 26% with 2.2 million new cards activated.  Green Dot typically sees higher volumes in the first quarter because of a partnership it has with the tax software provider Intuit Inc.

Click here to ...

Posted: May 2011

Big banks want a piece of the prepaid debit card business

CFSI's 6th Annual Underbanked Financial Servcices Forum speaker and Green Dot Chief Executive Steve Streit, has come a long way in providing a low-cost alternative payday loans and check-cashing services to underbanked Americans. He has expanded the prepaid market to 55,000 outlets ...

Posted: April 2011

Equifax to unveil system to rate 30M ‘unbanked’

Equifax, Inc., has developed a database of unbanked customers, to help lenders provide options for small businesses, first time homeowners, and underserved consumers, who are likely to pay their bills on time but don’t have a credit history.  The product is intended ...

Posted: April 2011

SABEResPODER, Wells Fargo Join Forces to Provide Financial Education to Underbanked

CFSI roundtable participant Wells Fargo & Company is joining forces with SABEResPODER to provide financial education to the underbanked in 13 cities across the country. The campaign includes guides, video and events, opt-in mobile text message tips and community events. Wells Fargo ...

Posted: April 2011

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