Fintech is on fire and Hispanics are adding fuel to the flame, according to the latest research report by Plaid (Fintech Effect 2021). The report showcases how the pandemic has accelerated fintech adoption growing from 58% usage in 2020 to 88% usage in 2021. That’s a 52% increase in one year!

Hispanics are over-indexed versus the general population, with 95% of Hispanics using fintech, according to the report. Across all ethnic groups, fintech’s value comes with saving time (93%), saving money (78%), and reducing financial stress/fear (71%).

It’s also created a democratization of financial services. People with few resources — regardless of location — now have access to banking, insurance, credit, and even cryptocurrency. Between 80% and 90% of users have said they will continue using fintech at about the same level. The report also reveals that the frequency of daily users rose 29%, from 37% pre-pandemic to 48% today.

This is a watershed moment for Hispanics at all income levels to better control their finances. Fintech is a preferred alternative for a community that has been labeled as “unbanked” or “underbanked” for decades. Hispanics use it for budgeting, banking, monitoring/improving credit score, bill pay, and investing and saving.

The headlines have shown us how many people want easy access to saving and investing to live the American Dream, even if they’re starting small. Fintech allows people of color to get a leg up with access to tools for better management of their money, especially in areas with sparse brick-and-mortar banks.

According to Cornerstone Advisors, Chime, a fintech, has become the largest “neobank” in the U.S. with over 12 million customers. Recently featured in an article in The Financial Brand, Chime is attractive to millions of consumers, including Hispanics, who have been marginalized by traditional banks, especially cash-dominant users.

By being a low-cost source for savings and bill pay and secured credit cards, they are opening banking to people who otherwise were in banking deserts or couldn’t meet account minimums. That customer base puts Chime in sixth place of all banks in the U.S. and larger than Truist, TD Bank, and PNC. With their recent partnership with Walgreens, they have hit the “mainstream” as their customers can make deposits in cash at any of the 8,965 Walgreens across the country. Banks should be equally concerned that Chime offers a “no fee overdraft” product for up to $200 – an attractive offering to many U.S. consumers.

So many things have changed in the past two years for all of us. It’s great to see that saving and having greater control of your money is helping so many rise to their financial potential.

About Karla Fernandez Parker, Managing Director, Sensis: Sensis Texas Managing Director Karla Fernandez Parker is a multicultural marketing expert with more than three decades of experience delivering differentiated brand strategies and mission-critical results. She has expertise leveraging communication platforms that have evolved from traditional to digital to influencer-driven. Karla has worked on campaigns throughout the top 30 U.S. markets and many emerging markets. As a multicultural specialist, she has worked on total market and Hispanic campaigns, developing in-culture brand engagement for many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofits. She is a marketing strategist specializing in launching new products, propelling existing brands into new markets, and revitalizing lagging brands with category experience in education, cause marketing, energy/telecom, packaged goods, and financial services.