BNY Mellon and financial empowerment fintech MoCaFi have partnered to improve payment options for unbanked and underbanked communities in the US.
The digital disbursement payment service grants users access to basic financial services through the MoCaFi product. It will be provided to federal, state and local governments and corporate clients by BNY Mellon Treasury Services’ Vaia platform, launched in October 2022.
Using the service, governments and corporate clients can distribute disbursements and payments to those without financial services access. This could be used for situations from employee payroll to the provision of disaster relief financial aid, BNY Mellon says.
Additionally, the MoCaFi platform offers basic banking services for unbanked and underbanked individuals.
Commenting on the partnership Wole Coaxum, CEO and founder of MoCaFi, says: “Our alliance with BNY Mellon will accelerate our mission to reduce the racial and social wealth gap through increasing pathways to wealth for underserved individuals, especially communities of colour.
“Access to modern banking services is one of the best approaches to making our economy more inclusive, and by working with BNY Mellon we are helping to provide opportunities to as many people as possible. Further, by joining the Vaia platform, we are creating a more seamless experience for corporations and municipalities to receive and distribute cash to a new pool of consumers."
Jennifer Barker, CEO of BNY Mellon Treasury Services, adds: "The inability to provide digital payments to a significant portion of the US economy has been a major hurdle for both public and private sectors. [Partnering with MoCaFi] fits with BNY Mellon's values of making the financial ecosystem stronger, better and more accessible, and promotes financial equity across the country for people in need."
