Underbanked

Quona Capital Management raised $141 million for the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, which will invest in companies that provide financial and other services to underserved customers in emerging markets.

The retailer is set to announce Tuesday that it is updating its app to allow its customers to input money transfer information electronically rather than having to fill out paperwork in the store.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

The card brand and bank will offer lending and prepaid cards to a traditionally underserved demographic.

The prepaid card issuer has been striving to overcome the setback it suffered from the discontinuation of a popular product in 2015.

Although much of banking is cautiously optimistic about the Trump presidency, the financial firms and organizations that serve the unbanked see the election as a mixed bag at best so far.

Tala, based in Santa Monica, Calif., makes its loan decisions after analyzing data on the mobile phones of users in Kenya and the Philippines.

First half: Brett King says the OCC fintech charter is overdue. Second half: fintech and refugees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking feedback on the benefits and risks of using alternative data sources, such as rent or utility payments, that would allow lenders to build a credit history for unbanked consumers.

NCUA has opened its first round of CDFI certification for the new year.

Supporters of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a Treasury program, are weighing the potential for budget cuts against the administration's interest in creating jobs and helping low-income communities.

The story of MPESA, Kenya’s mobile money system, and how it came to partner with banks to give all people access to financial services.

Supporters of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a Treasury program, are weighing the potential for budget cuts against the administration's interest in creating jobs and helping low-income communities.

Activehours, a direct-to-consumer startup that lets hourly wage earners name their paydays, announced it has raised $22 million of funding.

We need more and bigger black-owned banks, not just a surge of deposits for a few institutions, especially if those institutions have not proven that they adequately serve the black community.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is facing renewed pressure by consumer groups and think tanks to move forward with a plan that would rein in overdraft programs.

Following the passage of the November ballot initiative, it is hugely important that cannabis businesses in the nation's largest state be able to secure bank accounts, at a minimum.

Borrowers served by the FHA program, particularly first-time buyers and minorities, have benefited from nonbanks' increase in lending. Those independent lenders should be commended for filling a gap.

Issuers of prepaid cards often say their products are a good tool for budgeting, but it's rarer to hear merchants market their own branded prepaid cards this way. Walmart is retooling its prepaid strategy to focus on saving in an effort to improve the financial habits of its customers.

While other banking laws may be headed to the chopping block, the Community Reinvestment Act can address the needs of communities defined by their economic struggles.