Mexico’s largest department store now offers banking services to Mexican Americans

The largest department store in Mexico wants to use brand recognition to position itself as a worthy place to keep and manage money for Mexican Americans.

Grupo Coppel, the parent company of the Coppel chain of department stores, on Tuesday launched a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-insured mobile wallet app that offers users digital and physical debit cards and payment services.

Coppel Access is intended to go where traditional banks cannot. Opening an account at traditional financial institutions in the United States requires a U.S. ID, leaving some Mexican Americans unbanked.

“Coppel Access gives unbanked consumers one of the most critical attributes of a financial service: trust,” said Alviere CEO Yuval Brisker.

Alviere is Couple Access’ provider of built-in financial platform. It is FDIC insured through its banking partner, New York City-based Community Federal Savings Bank.

“According to the FDIC, ‘don’t trust banks’ was the second most cited reason for unbanked consumers not having an account in 2021,” Brisker told Banking Dive. “As the largest department store chain in Mexico, the Coppel brand is trusted and recognized by Mexican consumers now in the U.S. Importantly, the mobile wallet features support all U.S. consumers and accept official identification from both Mexico and the U.S. for account registration.”

Those without access to banking services must carry large amounts of cash and cannot make purchases digitally. Access to a debit card solves both of these challenges, and the Coppel Access mobile wallet allows customers to transfer money to friends and family in the US and send money to people in Mexico.

People in Mexico can receive their transfers at 1,250 locations or Grupo Coppel’s bank, BanCoppel, or directly into their BanCoppel account.

By offering some of the same services that traditional banks do, Group Couple continues its 80-year mission of “improving the lives of its customers,” said Adrian Jaimes, CEO of US-based Couple associate Appreciation Pay.

“The Mexican-American community, like many immigrant communities, still has strong ties to its homeland. “For Mexican Americans in particular, we know they support friends and family in Mexico by sending money home, but there aren’t many easy, reliable solutions to do that,” Brisker said. “With Couple Access, they can use direct deposit or mobile check deposit to fund their account and then transfer money to friends or family without leaving their home.”

Also, being able to get a debit card “gives them freedom of choice about where, when and how they spend their money,” he said. “Those of us who have been banks for decades may take it for granted, but this is a critical step in encouraging equity in the United States.”

The launch of Coppel Access comes as another retailer, Walmart, beta-tests its own fintech platform One.

“[Walmart doesn’t] need to acquire customers, they already have them,” David Donovan, an executive vice president at digital consultancy Publicis Sapient, told Banking Dive last year. “They just have to roll out that service and make it very easy and simple. It’s like build it and they will come.”

The cost of acquiring a bank customer varies between $100 and $200, according to a study by Oliver Wyman.

– The acquisition costs are large. It’s a lot to get a new customer when you’re not an established brand,” Donovan said.

Brand recognition will play “a critical role in the introduction of Couple Access,” Brisker said.

“We’ve found that 91% of consumers who visit a brand are willing to use financial services they offer,” Brisker said. “We fundamentally believe that consumers who already know and love Couple Will be excited to see Couple Access is available to those in the US”