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Granite Credit Union opened its second bilingual branch at Rancho Market in Ogden last month. It’s part of a growing effort in the state to reach Hispanic and Latino clients who are traditionally less likely than non-Hispanic Americans to have a bank account.
As an immigrant, Ileana McDonald understands why there’s a distrust of banks among the Hispanic community.
“[There are] financial institutions in our countries that are not protected or insured by any means, and they sometimes open, get the people’s deposits, and then they just disappear,” said McDonald, who is the director of community relations at Granite Credit Union and a member of the board of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
This distrust leads many to stay away from banks. According to a 2021 survey by the FDIC, “Don’t trust banks” was the second-most common reason for not having an account with a bank or credit union. Nine percent of Hispanic households were unbanked, meaning that no household member had a checking or savings account.
McDonald said as Granite brainstormed how to better reach the Hispanic community, the idea arose to partner with Rancho Market. The grocery chain sells food and goods to a largely Hispanic clientele, while also offering money transfer services and a Cricket Wireless location.
Their first bilingual branch opened at Rancho Market’s Rose Park location in May.
In planning a second Spanish-speaking branch, McDonald said that Ogden’s large Hispanic population made it the clear choice. Ogden is roughly 29% Hispanic, and Weber County has the second highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents in the state at 18.6%.
Besides the challenge of simply getting out into the community, “there's a lack of information for many financial products,” said Juan Carlos Pinto, a former banker at JP Morgan Chase. “A lot of people don't know the difference between a credit card, a debit card, a prepaid card, a secured card, and they all have different purposes.”
Pinto launched Finanzas Utah (Utah Finances) on Aug. 18 to educate Spanish speakers about banking options.
He researched different banks and aggregated information from news articles and his career in banking to put the site together. It follows the model of Banqos.com, which he launched to provide information on larger banks for users across the country. Finanzas Utah serves this state specifically.
“I want to give them the information so that way, they could pick the one that is best for them. Because, to be honest, there is no best bank for everyone,” he said.
Pinto plans to create informational videos and provide free or low-cost classes about personal finance. “People could learn different topics in finance, not just about bank accounts, but also insurance, about real estate, loans, investment,” he said.
In addition to the two new Spanish-speaking branches, Granite Credit Union offers information in Spanish on its website.
Other credit unions have also been making it a point to reach out to Utah’s Hispanic and Latino populations, too. Beginning in 2021, Mountain America Credit Union has offered eight Spanish-language hubs around the state, as well as a Spanish version of their website and app.
Granite, Chartway, Security Service and Members First credit unions are all approved by Juntos Avanzamos, which means they serve Latinos and immigrants by having bilingual employees and accepting various forms of identification. Mountain America is applying for the designation.
McDonald noted that individuals can open accounts with Granite even if they don’t have a social security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
“Just come with your ID that you bring from your country, and we will take that to identify you,” she said.
Opening a bank account allows clients to do more than just store money, like access loans and build credit, said McDonald.
“At the end of the day, we would just like them to know that they belong, that they don't need to be outcasted just because of their immigration status or anything like that.”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
