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Mobile Bank Aims To Help Immigrants With Remittances, Payments

The idea behind Majority is to offer a variety of services that immigrants need in one place, in one mobile app.
Majority
The idea behind Majority is to offer a variety of services that immigrants need in one place, in one mobile app.

The idea behind Majority is to offer a variety of services that immigrants need in one place, in one mobile app. The company is opening an office in Little Havana.

After moving to a new country, in addition to finding work, another practical challenge is what to do with your money. Some people opt to try to get by on cash, while many others choose to start a bank account.

As a one-time immigrant to the U.S., Magnus Larsson found the process daunting and complicated. He moved to Minnesota and later Miami in the early 2000s, from Sweden, and the experience helped inform his creation of Majority, a mobile bank aimed at helping immigrants who straddle two different countries.

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After launching last year in Houston, where Majority worked closely with the Nigerian community, the company is now in the midst of launching in Miami, where it will work with the Cuban community.

“It’s a company built on the foundation that immigration is good,” Larsson said.

The idea behind Majority is to offer a variety of services that immigrants need in one place. Users will get a Visa card, and will be able to directly send remittances to their countries through the app, as well as being able to call the receiver on the other end to verify that they received the money.

For the Cuban community — where remittances are difficult to send due to sanctions — the company offers a service where someone can refill the phone and data plan for a loved one on the island through the app. In an increasingly digitally-connected island it is no small thing.

The attractiveness of the app comes through its business model, said Larsson. Users pay a $5 monthly fee to use the service and, according to Larsson, the functions of the app are provided, essentially, at-cost. He compared it to a Costco model of membership.

“So as an example you are sending recargas with us for roughly $20 — you take the competition and it’s at $25,” he said. “So just for one recarga you’re going to save our monthly fee.”

After considering the option of opening in Hialeah, Larsson determined that Little Havana would be a better fit for the company. A physical shop will be opening up on Calle Ocho within the coming weeks.

“It will work partially as our office because we have people there working, but it can also be used as a kind of event space, where the community can conduct various events and activities,” Larsson said.

Larsson hopes the localized nature of the mobile bank will help with customer service. Since locally-hired employees are also Cuban, the clients will find someone familiar with the issues relating to Cuba when they call customer service. This dynamic has already helped within the Nigerian community in Texas, he said.

The banking service function of the app is run through a partnership with Ohio-based Sutton Bank, giving users access to about 55,000 ATMs nationwide.

The app now has the ability to send remittances to Mexico in a select few states, but Larsson said he expects the whole country to be covered soon.

“Within the coming five months we should have another five to 10 countries that we will be supporting,” he said.

Daniel Rivero is part of WLRN's new investigative reporting team. Before joining WLRN, he was an investigative reporter and producer on the television series "The Naked Truth," and a digital reporter for Fusion. He can be reached at drivero@wlrnnews.org
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