Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report: Article: Banking Giant Woos Hispanics with ATM

From The Washington Times, via today's Hispanic Business, a piece about the various efforts American banks are making to attract Latino customers. The most salient initiative here would have to be that of Wachovia Bank. They have created a way for Latino customers to send money back to their countries via an ATM machine using a card they call Wachovia Dinero Directo.

According to the article:

Customers can add value to the cards at automated teller machines, by telephone or at branch banks, and mail them to countries throughout Latin America, where they can be cashed at any ATM in the Visa/Plus network.

Very smart idea, though I believe that this would be a lot more effective if there were a way to skip the step of having to mail an actual card to the customer's home country, opening up a new risk for fraud. Why not just allow customers to wire money via the ATM machine? I also have a problem with the price for all of this:

The bank charges no fee to open an account for the Dinero Directo Card, but the cost is $10 each time a customer adds value to it.

This seems steep to me given the working-class market they are looking to target. I wonder if we'll start seeing more of these programs from larger banks sometime soon.

Banking Giant Woos Hispanics with ATM
Tom Ramstack

Wachovia Bank plans to roll out a new ATM card for its Hispanic customers in the Washington area next month to help them send money to friends and family in Latin America. Customers can add value to the cards at automated teller machines, by telephone or at branch banks, and mail them to countries throughout Latin America, where they can be cashed at any ATM in the Visa/Plus network.

The Wachovia Dinero Directo Card, or money direct card, is the latest entry in the bank competition to win customers in the Washington area's fastest-growing minority community.

The card follows the marketing theory that a customer for one banking service becomes a customer for other services, such as home or business loans.

Hispanics represent more than 13 percent of the U.S. population and are the nation's fastest-growing minority, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

HispanicBusiness.com READ MORE

Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report

Comments and insights on marketing and communications campaigns targeting the US Latino / Hispanic community.

August 10, 2005

Article: Banking Giant Woos Hispanics with ATM

3 Comments

Search

My Other Accounts

Recent Comments