FINTECH’S PUSH FOR DE&I IN FINANCE BREAKING BARRIERS:

As diversity and inclusion take centre stage in society, fintech is leading the charge to make the finance industry accessible to everyone. But how are companies ensuring an industry that’s diverse and inclusive for all? Features editor Polly Jean Harrison explores the issue

Traditionally, when we talk about diversity, people immediately jump to gender and initiatives to aid women. That’s not to say gender isn’t a part of diversity, and any effort to champion or benefit women is always welcome. However, diversity encompasses far more than just gender, and unfortunately, many companies seem to forget that. Diversity can include race, ethnicity, sexuality, location, language, disability, age and many other factors. This wide-ranging list poses a significant challenge, perhaps bigger than people expect. There is a huge laundry list of circumstances that prevent people from accessing the financial services they need. In a world of hoverboards, AI robots and virtual reality, it seems odd that the financial world still isn’t accessible to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. Yet, things still lag behind.

In the UK alone, an estimated 1.5 million adults were underbanked in 2020, with the access gap to financial services threatening to grow even bigger with the move to digital and the push towards a cashless society.

Consumers rarely fit into a standard box, and if financial services can’t meet their needs, then accessibility goes right out the window, and financial inclusion becomes nothing but a pipe dream.

Financial Inclusion

Before delving into solutions, let’s first define financial inclusion.

According to Lord

Chris Holmes MBE, Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer and a constant champion of diversity and inclusion through his work in Parliament, it means: “Every citizen, every small business, every part of our economy, and every part of our society enabled and empowered through every part of what finance is and what it can be.”

In the past, he said: “People have been unfairly shut out for want of traditional financial services considering them correctly and bothering to understand their context and their perspective and how they should be included.”

Fintechs throughout the country are developing innovative products and services to promote financial inclusion.

“What’s fantastic is how so many fintechs have that sense of purpose about them, and they really are getting after so many of these issues that have been unconsidered by traditional finance for far too long,” added Holmes.

Managing Money

Sibstar provides an excellent example of a fintech that is working to make finance more accessible.

Founded by Jayne Sibley, Sibstar recently launched to the wider community to help families living with dementia to safely manage their everyday spending.

Sibley explains that the inspiration for the company came from caring for her parents who both have dementia.

“I was caring for my mum and dad who both have dementia. As mum’s condition progressed, she started to mismanage her money. It meant she couldn’t really understand the value of money. She was overspending on food or other things she didn’t need; she’d take out money from a cashpoint and give it all away or even treat everyone to their nails at the nail bar. All of that money that she worked hard for all their lives was just disappearing.

“We tried lots of different solutions, but nothing worked. So that’s when we came up with the idea for Sibstar, which was a way for people living with dementia to remain financially independent while knowing their money is safe.”

Since difficulty managing money is one of the early signs of dementia, individuals are more likely to fall victim to financial crime. However, very few banks and financial institutions offer dedicated services for those with dementia. Sibstar has found a truly untapped market and launched after a 10-month trial with 65 customers.

Independence With Oversight

The concept of Sibstar is straightforward. After completing the onboarding process, users can choose to connect the debit card and app to the phone of the person with dementia or let their support person manage the app on their phone. They can then load the card with funds and customise spending options, such as enabling or disabling cash withdrawals, high street spending, and contactless payments. Budgets can also be set per day or per month to help manage finances more effectively.

“People with dementia have varying needs,” continued Sibley, “and sometimes it’s quite difficult to access financial services because of that. We built an onboarding process that keeps that in mind and addresses the different needs individuals might have.

“Sibstar has been received really well and our customers are happy, which is what we set out to achieve. People tell us that we’re giving them peace of mind and allowing themselves or their family members to have more independence, so are all very supportive of what we’re trying to achieve.”

Better Accommodations

Mahalo Banking, a US-based credit union service organisation that provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, is another example of fintech pushing the inclusivity and accessibility of finance. In February, it announced the launch of its next-generation digital banking platform designed to deliver neurodiverse functionalities intended to improve accessibility and better accommodate the cognitive needs of all credit union members.

The platform makes use of different features that are designed to cater to the 15 to 20 per cent of the world’s population that lives with a neurodiverse condition, such as dyslexia, autism, ADD, ADHD and others. Among the platform’s new features are left- and right-hand use modes, font options for those with dyslexia or visual impairments and the ability to disable animations for individuals affected by epilepsy.

“Never before has our industry developed a banking platform for credit unions that is engineered to incorporate the neurodiversity of our members,” said Denny Howell, COO of Mahalo.

“As a credit union member and one who is colourblind, I know first-hand what it is like to leverage digital banking channels that lack functionality. Mahalo’s goal in reimagining our platform was to deliver digital banking humanised – a robust, high-quality experience for all members, regardless of their unique conditions. We are proud of our next-gen banking platform, but we are equally excited as we continue to enhance our solution to build out more user-centric features that enable additional diverse groups of credit union members to have better digital banking experiences.”

The Push For Inclusion

Though not operating with a specific niche, plenty of other companies are attempting to promote diversity and inclusion within the products and services they offer.

The Beans is a financial wellness technology company aiming to simplify the path to financial success by automating financial planning and support. Its founder and CEO, Melissa Panocast , advised that it promotes diversity and inclusion by “building products with and for a diverse audience”. She continued: “For example, we built our data models after building plans by hand for 1,000 teachers in one of the most diverse cities in the country. We know that making our tools and resources that reflect the needs and experiences of a diverse population makes us relevant to a broad community of consumers. Doing so is not just good business, it’s smart business, too.”

Unique Financial Needs

Aimee Griffiths, head of social impact, employee engagement and internal communications at transfer company MoneyGram shares a similar view.

She said: “It is important for financial technology companies like MoneyGram to develop products and services that help meet the unique financial needs of consumers globally. Global fintech organisations should also work to address the ongoing lack-of-access issues for immigrants and refugees, as well as assisting those in countries with vulnerable banking systems or enduring crises.

“That’s why MoneyGram’s mission is to deliver innovative financial solutions to connect the world’s communities. MoneyGram’s cross-border platform provides millions of consumers annually the ability to seamlessly send money home to family and friends through a variety of methods tailored to satisfy the evolving needs of consumers. Between our expansive set of digital fintech offerings, MoneyGram is prioritising financial inclusion for all global citizens and supporting the unbanked and underbanked communities.”

The Role Of Financial Education

Shyam Pradheep, general manager of financial literacy platform Zogo, adds: “Diversity and inclusion are woven into Zogo’s fabric from how we design our product, like text-to-speech features, to the broader company strategy and goals, like creating a free education app for everyone nationwide. We’re also thrilled to be releasing a version of the app in Spanish to promote further inclusivity and accessibility.”

Pradheep continues, advising that inclusion can be helped achieved via financial education, an essential to building the knowledge and skills one needs to survive and thrive in life. He said: “This education has historically been delivered inequitably, furthering both the financial literacy gap and wealth gap for minorities.

“Zogo is dedicated to closing these gaps by democratising financial education and making it accessible and effective for everyone. We make financial education not only free but fun by delivering our curriculum in a smartphone app. By creating engaging bite-sized lessons on nearly a thousand topics in finance, our education is equipped to help a diverse range of people with a diverse range of problems and goals.”

A Way To Go

The challenges of accessing finance are a significant problem for many individuals, for various reasons. When considering disability and long-term illness, the financial industry has very few provisions to assist people in the way they need.

Fintech is not a magical solution to these problems, but it can significantly contribute to addressing these issues and making the financial world more inclusive and accessible to those who need it. Ultimately, isn’t that what fintech is all about?