Serving the New American

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Serving the New American

• Focus Group Findings

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Purpose of a Focus Group

• Provide target audience opportunity to freely
  express opinions about a product or service.
• Offer Clients/Researchers greater insight into
  social dynamics and the interpersonal reactions
  that are related to topic being discussed.
• Reveal how participants view a particular product
  or idea in actual conversation, noting also the
  vocabulary, phrases, inflections and subtle
  nuances that come out in this informal setting.

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Our Objective

• Budget and financial planning
• Perceptions of the banking system
• Financial Services
• Credit usage
• Financial education

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Target Markets

• Dallas
• Fort Worth
• Houston
• Austin
• El Paso
• Rio Grande City

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Target Audience

• First Generation Hispanics
• 10-15 participants each session
• 63 participants total
• Houston largest 15
• Austin lowest 6
• 79.4 Born in Mexico

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What does Texas look like?
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Key Findings

• Most felt instability of economic status left
  little money to budget and save.
• Most common practice spend money earned
  immediately on basic needs (food and housing).
• Wives generally assumed greater role in daily
  management of household finances.

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Perceptions

• Hispanics generally have positive views of U.S.
  banking system, but mostly unfamiliar with credit
  unions
• 63 had positive opinion of banking system
• 28.6 had positive view of credit unions
• 12.7 indifferent
• 3.2 had negative view
• 52.4 didnt know difference credit unions/banks

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Concerns

• Their immigration status would be revealed
• Uncomfortable using credit unions/banks that
  dont accept Matricula
• Lack of information provided in Spanish
• Fear that money would be lost in credit
  union/bank robbed
• High cost, lack of options for remittance
  services
• 57.1 believe its very important to offer money
  transfers

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What is the Matricula?

• An Official I.D. card issued by Mexican
  government throughout its Consular offices
• Provides Mexican Nationals with Means of
  identification
• Requirements to obtain a Matricula
• Original birth certificate
• 2nd form of I.D., preferably voters registration
• Proof of address in U.S. (i.e. utility bills)

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Who Accepts the Matricula?

• Wells Fargo Bank
• U.S. Bank
• Lone Star National Bank
• Bank of America
• Citibank
• Union Bank of California
• Bank and Trust
• Washington Mutual

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Credit Unions Accepting

• Amarillo Community FCU
• Austin Area Techers FCU
• Border FCU (Del Rio)
• Brownbuilder FCU (Houston)
• Chocolate Bayou Community FCU (Alvin)
• City CU (Dallas)
• Community CU(Plano)
• Denton Area Teachers CU
• El Paso Bell FCU (El Paso)
• First Class American CU (Fort Worth)
• First Central CU (Waco)
• Government ECU of El Paso
• MCT CU (Port Nehces)

• Members Trust of the Southwest FCU (Houston)
• Monument Area FCU (Deer Park)
• Neighborhood CU (Dallas)
• Oaktree FCU (Houston)
• River City FCU (San Antonio)
• San Antonio City EFCU (San Antonio)
• Select Employees FCU (San Antonio)
• TCC CU (Dallas)
• Unity One FCU (Fort Worth)
• Velocity CU (Austin)

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Visible Security Features
GREEN SECURITY PAPER WITH THE OFFICIAL
MEXICAN SEAL PRINTED IN A SPECIAL SECURITY
PATTERN
COPPER-COLORED HOLOGRAM ADVANTAGE SEAL WITH
THE SRE SEAL THAT APPEARS OVER THE HOLDERS
PICTURE AND CHANGES COLOR FROM GREEN TO BROWN
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Visible Security Features
USING A FLUORESCENT-LIGHT LAMP, CAPITAL LETTERS
SRE CAN BE SEEN ALL OVER THE FRONT
INFRA RED BAND ON THE UPPER BACK
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Invisible Security Features(A special decoder is
needed)
MEXICO PRINTED ON THE LEFT SIDE, NEXT TO THE
HOLDERS PICTURE
MATRICULA CONSULAR ID CARD, PRINTED AT THE
BOTTOM
SRE PRINTED THREE TIMES ON THE RIGHT SIDE
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Most Difficult Aspects to Understand

• Steps of opening an account
• Interest Rates
• Charges for ATMs
• Bank Statements

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Room for Improvement

• Not asking for documentation related to legal
  status
• Acceptance of the Matricula
• Making loan standards more flexible
• Bad credit vs. no credit
• Better explanation of fees
• Friendlier Environment
• Dallas, Fort Worth Houston participants cited
  discrimination as issue.

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Profile of Participants

• 38 use a bank
• 4.8 use a credit union
• Non-users of banks/credit unions use
  supermarkets, check cashers, etc.
• Only 4.8 use banks or credit unions to send
  money to Mexico
• Western Union cited as most used

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Just how much money is being sent?
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Remittances Impact on Mexicos Economy
Mexicos Top Sources of Income (Billions of
Dollars)

• Remittances represent 3rd largest source of
  income for Mexico
• As much as 13.3 billion in remittances were sent
  from the U.S. to Mexico in 2003
• While approximately 10-15 of remitters paycheck
  is sent to their country of origin, 85-90 stays
  in the U.S.

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Method Used to Send

• Nearly 50 of remitters send money home once a
  month
• 46 of remitters earn less than 30,000 a year
• 38 of remitters send (average) 200 a month
• 70 of remitters use Western Union or Money Gram
• Just 2 use a credit union

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Profile of a Remitter U.S. Foreign Born
Hispanics Who Send Money Home

• Young Adult Hispanic male
• U.S. resident 10 years or less (over time
  remittance decrease with assimilation)
• Immediate family abroad

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International Remittance Network

• Payments to 38 countries from minutes to same day
  (Mexico 30 min.)
• Exchange rate given at the POS, free 3 minute
  international call (Mexico, DR and Brazil)
• 10 to send up to 1000 to Mexico
• Competitive prices and exchange rates

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What do other Vigo outlets look like?
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How can you help?

• Offer free checking
• Allow for access to money by relatives in Mexico
• Provide weekend services
• Have bilingual/bicultural services in place

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Why Banks/Credit Unions Not Used?

• 33.3 say fees to high
• 21.2 lack of convenience
• 18.2 lack of trust
• 15.2 fear privacy might be violated
  immigration status
• 84.8 of non-users say more likely to open
  account, if Matricula accepted

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Financial Education

• Only 2 of the 63 study participants had received
  financial education
• 85.7 expressed interest
• Topics of Interest
• How to organize finances within a budget
• How to use a savings/checking account
• Information about credit how to build
• Home buying
• How to open an account

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Recommendations

• Offer products/services in demand
• Remittances
• Financial Education
• Bilingual Staff
• Materials in Spanish
• Understand Immigrants
• Language/Cultural Difference greatest barriers to
  overcome

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Recommendations

• Connect with Market
• Country of origin preferred language, English
  proficiency, literacy level familiarity with
  banking system, etc.
• Identify Resources
• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, local Mexican
  Consulate, Hispanic community leaders, civic
  organizations, etc.

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Tap Into to Market

• Get involved in local outreach efforts
• Take advantage of partnership opportunities
• Have a branch in their neighborhood
• Offer full range of bilingual services
• Provide extended hours of service
• Ensure Spanish language infrastructure support is
  in place
• Establish in-house focus committee
• Invest early on as brand loyalty is strong among
  Hispanics