The term “Hispanic immigrant population” refers to an ethnic group with Spanish as their primary language and culture. The fact that Hispanics frequently receive inadequate pay or are unemployed as a result of prejudice or discrimination makes acculturation more difficult. When they first come to a new nation, they quickly learn how difficult it is to get a job, get through the language barrier, and start a new life in a new place with a new culture. Val Infante, COO and CMO of MyBambu, is delighted to help the unbanked, particularly the Hispanic population, by providing crucial financial services to a niche that is typically disregarded because of his dedication to empowering minorities.
Becoming a determined COO & CMO
Val Infante earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Marketing from the University of Memphis. He formerly served as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s manager of national marketing assistance. He supported all of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital’s nationwide direct marketing campaigns for the fundraising division prior to joining MyBambu. He oversees marketing and operations for MyBambu.
In competitive, high-growth, multi-cultural environments, Val has a track record of success helping early-stage, developing, and established businesses build brands, generate revenue, and provide long-term value. He specializes in developing multi-channel, integrated, data-driven B2B and B2C marketing and strategy initiatives globally. He has more than ten years of experience working in marketing for companies all over the world.
MyBambu has earned a reputation for excellent service in promoting client financial inclusion under the leadership of dedicated fintech marketing executive Val Infante, who has vast experience in global payments, banking, and remittance payments.
Bambu Systems creates products for mobile-based financial services that give customers the convenience and security to transact. Through a cutting-edge and user-friendly digital platform, it provides financial solutions to businesses and unbanked individuals. Regardless of your immigration status, it offers you a bank account, remittances to more than 18 countries, top-up services, peer-to-peer transfers, a physical and digital VISA card, gift vouchers, direct deposit, and cash loading at more than 120,000 locations. By accepting more than 450 different types of IDs and emphasizing financial literacy, it has disrupted the market. The way Latinos manage their finances has changed as a result of the opening of more than 278 thousand accounts and counting. Val states, “MyBambu will be one of the first accounts to break borders and make the connection to your people in LATAM a seamless process.”
The Intellectual Mind Behind the Idea
The origin of MyBambu was motivated by the desire to help the over 44 million immigrants who are unbanked or underbanked in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the needs of the Hispanic community. Val is Latino immigrant and has plenty of understanding of the obstacles one may face when arriving in the US. “Once you overcame all of those mental and physical challenges, you encountered the next cycle of your growth process that is being neglected by financial institutions as well“, says Val. He and his team focus on the actual infrastructure technology, especially the banking cores, and evaluate different options for scaling and building the latest technology around the specific market. They started building the product offering that would meet customer transactions, consumer spending, and other behavioral patterns.
The first company was founded in Memphis, Tennessee. The application was created, approved, and a sponsor bank was located. Due to the lack of appropriate electronic communications, it was difficult to enable mass operation. The technology developed and onboarding process was tailored to be a seamless customer experience that was suitable for this particular market after extensive research and uprooting millions of directions. After obtaining the required funding, they launched the technology they had planned with new infrastructure. They took on the challenge of becoming the first fintech in West Palm because they wanted to disrupt the market. They desired to visit a region with few Hispanic entrepreneurs. From 15 employees, the team has grown to over 100. The increasing Hispanic concentration also made them aware that their impact would be greater.
An industry Expert
Val is in charge of making sure they consistently strive for increased client engagement, activity rates, and KPI compliance in order to reach their growth goals. He also emphasizes the development of new product channels and strategic alliances. He thinks that the company’s culture should be geared toward its mission and core objective, which is to inform and assist an underserved market. His primary goal is to change lives and assist clients in starting their financial careers in the United States.
Motivation for Choosing this Industry
Val was committed to making a positive impact on the world and created a platform to help immigrants compete on an even playing field. He has always felt an emptiness in the way that he is overcoming those challenges as he has grown personally and professionally. “When the opportunity came along to make a difference in our culture and community, I went head-on towards giving people a chance to not be taken advantage of with high minimums and predatory rates,” says Val.
A comprehensive solution with multiple add-ons
Val faced several challenges along the way, the most significant of which was keeping clients’ expectations in check, as the client base is used to physical locations and a high level of human touch in these types of services. MyBambu is able to connect with its customer base via a strong presence in social media and excellent customer service. Val and his team have tailored automated onboarding journeys for their customers.
Val explained the challenge he came across, “One of the main risks I took was to leave a corporate job where I was on a high growth job projection to come and really get to the point where I did not know where my next pay check would come from.”
Val has also seen an economic climate change that has affected fintech in a big way, especially on the fundraising side. Now they have to battle to a breakeven point faster than expected.
Trust Yourself
Val firmly believes that people should believe in themselves, trust their instincts, and get support for their professional development. He had to raise 700 million dollars in donations and support more than 50 different initiatives. He advances toward the social and financial spheres. Regardless of a person’s legal status in the United States, he encourages spreading awareness of eligibility and rights. Through financial literacy, he also hopes to educate people about basic goods that can improve their financial situation. He advises leaders to never give up because it is impossible to truly know how close one is to succeeding. Val also stressed the significance of growing from mistakes and moving on. He said that sometimes it’s better to choose poorly than not at all. To overcome that challenge, one must have a vision, create a plan, carry it out, trust one’s gut, and never give up.
Written by Steve Sanchez.
