Underserved and credit-invisible communities lack the resources and access to credit to properly build a history to reach their financial goals and needs, but TransUnion and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have recently partnered to address these challenges.
Consumers can now visit the TransUnion or NAACP websites to access financial education content by inputting information about where they are in their credit journey, which then tailors the content to help grow financial literacy, Tracie Anderson, economic inclusion strategy leader at TransUnion, told Auto Finance News.
Auto finance lenders, too, can adopt initiatives such as consumer financial education tools to grow financial literacy and inclusion in the community.
Lenders are working to improve diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within their organizations, and encouraging DEI within the communities they serve is essential for all consumers.
Bank of America, for one, encourages financial inclusion in the community by making vehicles for disabled individuals available through its specialty finance program for wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Tricolor Auto Acceptance, meanwhile, underwrites auto loans for thin- and no-file Hispanic borrowers via AI and machine learning technology.
Aligned missions for success
“When you think about underserved communities, how you deliver the [educational] content really matters,” she said. Since the NAACP has a long-standing history with communities of color, “it allows customers to know that this is trusted information to improve their credit score and use credit more effectively,” Anderson added.
Whether the consumer is saving to buy their first car or just build credit, the platform can help them reach those goals, she said.
TransUnion and the NAACP “both have aligned missions around helping more consumers be credit active and be successful using credit and mainstream financial services,” Anderson said. “One of the barriers to [building credit] is knowledge, and [consumers] have to understand credit and the ecosystem before they can successfully engage and participate to have positive outcomes.”
Consumers also have access to an online experience called The Blueprint by MoCaFi from Mobility Capital Finance, a fintech platform for economic growth, through the partnership, she said.
The Blueprint by MoCaFi can be used by consumers for budget planning and checking their financial position, including assets, net worth and credit profile, Anderson said.
“We believe that most life goals have a financial component to it, so we want to give consumers the right resources to be able to prepare to access the right credit that they need,” she said.
Auto Finance Summit East, Auto Finance News’ new spring event, is scheduled for May 10-12 at the JW Marriott Nashville featuring a fireside chat with Peter Muriungi, CEO of Chase Auto. Visit autofinance.live.
