DES MOINES, Iowa-Coopera Consulting and TMG (The Members Group), both affiliates of the Iowa CU League, have partnered to provide Affinity CU prepaid reloadable cards to serve the Hispanic market in a pilot program.
Affinity was awarded nearly $40,000 through an Innovation Grant from the National CU Foundation to launch the program with the assistance of Coopera and TMG. Research indicates between 50% to 60% of Hispanics in the U.S. are unbanked.
Many Hispanics avoid traditional financial services due to lack of identification documents, language barriers, distrust or a variety of other reasons. Prepaid reload cards provide access to cash, secure cash management, easy-to-understand fee structure, convenience and an opportunity to establish credit history with card use.
