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Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera Offers Financial Inclusion to NYC's Mexican Immigrant Community
July 08, 2014
New York City's rapidly-growing Mexican population has gained a unique resource as it strives for financial stability and inclusion in the American economy. Earlier this year I joined the Consul General of Mexico in New York and a host of other dignitaries at the opening of a new one-stop financial services center known as a Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera, or Financial Counseling Window.
The new 'Ventanilla' offers New York's Mexican community the opportunity to access free financial services through a trusted partner in a safe and convenient place. Created through collaboration between the Mexican Consulate, Citi Community Development and the New York City Office of Financial Empowerment, the center has its own space at the consulate, 27 E. 39th St.
The services available are among the first for the Mexican community. They include one-stop access to individualized financial empowerment information as well as one-on-one Spanish-language financial consultation.
Research has shown that the alternative for many in the Mexican immigrant community is a cash environment that relies on high-cost check-cashing agencies and pay-day lenders, making it difficult - if not impossible - for them to build assets and have access to the information, products and services that would help them become more financially secure.
Citi Community Development has long been a key partner in bringing financial services to low-income and under-banked individuals. Citi Community Development funded a 2013 study by the New York City Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) which found that Mexican immigrants faced a host of real-and-perceived barriers to sound financial advice and safe financial products.
The OFE study showed that 57 percent of the Mexican population in New York City was unbanked because of impediments including language and a lack of access to reliable information. Nearly 40 percent of the study participants also said they would open bank accounts if someone close to them explained the process.
At the same time, a March 2013 report by New York's Community Services Society revealed that the median income for Mexicans in New York was $20,800 yearly, placing two-thirds - 67 percent - of the Mexican community at or below the federal poverty line of $23,500 yearly. New York City's Mexican population passed 320,000 in the 2010 Census. Projections indicate that by 2023, it will become the largest Latino national group in the City.
My hope is that New York City's 'Ventanilla' will become a model for other consulates across the U.S. For now, New York City's Ventanilla is hard at work supporting a segment of the population that contributes greatly to making New York City one of the most economically vibrant cities in the world.