Wells Fargo has launched a 10-year commitment to improve financial inclusion among Black, Hispanic and Native American families.
The Banking Inclusion Initiative promises to help unbanked people gain access to affordable, mainstream, digitally-enabled transactional accounts.
Specifically, Wells Fargo says it will deepen its relationship with Black-owned Minority Depository Institutions, offering access to a dedicated relationship team that will work with them on financial, technological and product development strategies.
The banking giant is also promising to build on its work with fintechs, citing its recent investment in Black-owned digital banking startup Greenwood and a collaboration with MoCaFi.
Wells is also upping its efforts in financial education, partnering Operation HOPE on workshops and free one-on-one coaching to help community members take control of their finances and build their credit scores.
A partnership with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Community Development Action Coalition will create a financial wellness initiative for college students of colour.
Meanwhile, 100 branches in low-to-middle income neighbourhoods will be redesigned to deliver one-on-one consultations, improve digital access and offer financial health seminar.
Charlie Scharf, CEO, Wells Fargo, says: “Through our Initiative, we will organise our resources under one umbrella and work with a broad and diverse group of stakeholders on a sustained multi-year effort to accelerate financial inclusion in the US.”