Press
Inclusiv joins board at Dora Financial, a CUSO neobank
NEW YORK, NY (January 4, 2022) — Inclusiv is excited to announce that we have joined the Board of Managers for Dora Financial, which is designed to support low and moderate income individuals with safe and responsible banking access in both English and Spanish. We look forward to being on the Board with four visionary leading credit unions: Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union (St. Paul, MN); Digital Federal Credit Union (Marlborough, MA); Service Credit Union (Portsmouth, NH), and USALLIANCE Financial (Rye, NY). Inclusiv plans to bring to Dora’s Board of Managers our experience developing highly impactful programs, products, and services that significantly increase the financial health of low-income consumers.
Dora is a credit union service organization neobank, or an online-only financial institution. Announced at Inclusiv’s 2021 Virtual Conference in late September, Dora is intended for low- to moderate-income individuals currently underserved by the mainstream banking system. The name is inspired by credit union pioneer Dora Maxwell, who helped to charter hundreds of U.S. credit unions and believed that everyone should have access to fair deposit products.
With financial inclusion as the priority, the Dora Everyday Checking account features no minimum balance, no monthly maintenance fees, early payday with direct deposit, bill pay, a surcharge-free network of 30,000+ ATMs nationwide, and financial education opportunities – packaged in a fully bilingual experience. Dora is the only neobank that offers a Spanish language version native to the app, an innovation that reinforces credit unions’ commitment to helping and empowering consumers who face barriers in financial services. Dora has been certified with Bank On National Account Standards, which identify critical product features for bank or credit union accounts appropriate to people outside of the mainstream banking system.
“Dora gives the community development credit union movement a powerful tool to reach and serve the people that credit unions are organized to help. Consumers who face barriers to access mainstream banking products and services or who have been caught in products designed for them to fail will now have a safe and transparent alternative. Inclusiv is proud to work with these visionary credit union leaders to bring collective expertise to scale solutions that help people gain financial empowerment and achieve financial independence in English and Spanish,” said Cathie Mahon, Inclusiv’s President and CEO. Inclusiv’s investment in Dora is the latest expansion of the Inclusiv/Technology initiative, which partners with mission-aligned fintech providers and others to develop, test, and scale innovative products and services. Inclusiv/Technology is supported by Prudential Financial.
“Through the creation of Bank Dora, we have successfully enabled the expansion of USALLIANCE’s fundamental mission – to serve the underserved and underbanked with exceptional banking products, services, education, and assist in building one’s financial well-being,” said Kris VanBeek, CEO of USALLIANCE Financial. “The Dora CUSO aligns with Inclusiv’s mission to provide access to financial services to achieve financial independence and empower members to live their life to the fullest extent. We are exhilarated to accelerate our mission through our partnership with Inclusiv.”
