MADISON, Wis. -- Filene Research Institute has received more than $1.6 million in grant funding for its financial access-focused incubator.
The incubator, Reaching Minority Households, is dedicated to researching access gaps – including in-market testing of credit unions and community banks among financially fragile populations from the U.S and Canada – and identifying successful solutions that have been integrated locally.
"Credit unions can play a more active role in improving the financial lives of their members and the 50 million underbanked consumers in America," Andrew Downin, head of the incubator, said in a news release. "We're testing products that not only have the potential for life-changing personal impact but that can also provide long-term sustainability for financial institutions."
The five programs the incubator tests are Data Mined Auto Loans, the JOB Program, Non-Citizen Lending, Payday Payoff Installment Loans and QCash.
The incubator is largely funded by Visa, which has acted in an advisory firm to the incubator. The Ford Foundation, which gave it its first initial investment when it launched three years ago, has also continued to grant it funds to expand infrastructure and initiatives.
