When Magnus Larsson got here to the U.S. round 20 years in the past, he discovered simply how laborious it was for immigrants to open a checking account, a lot much less navigate the U.S. monetary system. Ultimately, in 2019, he co-founded MAJORITY, a neobank aimed toward making it simpler for brand spanking new arrivals to get entry to cellular banking companies.
Magnus Larsson
Central to MAJORITY’s companies are “meetups”, areas in areas with giant immigrant populations that MAJORITY targets. There they will meet in-person with advisors who typically are additionally initially from these international locations and may help them perceive the nuances of life within the U.S. They’ll additionally attend workshops and different occasions with compatriots.
To that finish, Larsson simply introduced the opening of a brand new meetup house—its fifth —in Laredo, Tex., the higher to supply monetary companies and different help for migrants crossing the border from Mexico. Located in a visual spot, “It is going to be the very first thing you see once you move the border,” says Larsson.
A Meetup for the Unbanked
To date, the Laredo location has employed about ten advisors. They may assist with every thing from the way to get a drivers license to signing up for a bank card. “We take into consideration the entire migrant journey,” says Larsson. That’s notably essential for a lot of Mexican immigrants, who could lack a checking account in their very own nation. Mexico is ranked quantity six on this planet of the least banked international locations, in accordance with Larsson.
MAJORITY opened its first meetups in 2020 in Houston, centered on companies tailor-made for Nigerian immigrants, and in 2021 in Miami, for arrivals from Cuba. (It additionally helps Columbians and Venezuelans). Now, there are also meetup areas in Hialeah and Orlando. (All of the meetups are open to immigrants from any nation). Whole variety of advisors: about 250.
Meetup in Hialeah, Fla
Later this yr, MAJORITY will launch a monetary handbook for Mexican immigrants, a model of its Migrant Handbook, that can concentrate on the nuanced wants and issues of Mexican immigrants. To that finish, it’ll embody tips about every thing from the way to finances, save and make investments to the way to enroll children at school.
For a $5 .99 month-to-month charge, MAJORITY subscribers get cellular banking companies, together with a checking account with no overdraft charges or minimums, a Visa debit card, entry to a community of ATMs, remittance companies and worldwide calling. Subscribers have to have a government-issued ID and a proof of a U.S. handle.
Funding for Enlargement
In 2015, Larsson grew to become CEO of Swedish expertise agency Rebtel, which permits individuals to make worldwide cellphone calls at a low-cost. (He’s now the board chairperson). The preliminary funding for MAJORITY got here from Rebtel’s founders and enterprise capital funding.
MAJORITY additionally not too long ago introduced $9.75 million in funding from Valar Ventures and Heartcore Capital. The brand new funding serves as a prime as much as MAJORITY’s Sequence B spherical led by Valar Ventures raised in September final yr. Whole raised: over $86 million in fairness. The most recent funding ought to assist Larsson increase his companies elsewhere alongside the Texas-Mexico border.
