Banorte presents to the Executive Committee of UNHCR in Geneva, Switzerland, the efforts for the financial inclusion of refugees

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Oct 16, 2024, 14:03 ET

GENEVA, Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Banorte and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Mexico, presented to the UNHCR Executive Committee in Geneva, Switzerland, the bank's pioneering initiative Enlace Digital to achieve the financial inclusion of refugees in the country and facilitate their incorporation into the formal economy.

Banorte and UNHCR executives participated in the panel "Sustainable Planning: Development of policies and practices" where they presented the actions undertaken to contribute to the UNHCR's Local Integration Program.

Regarding this participation, Carlos Hank González, Chairman of the Board of Grupo Financiero Banorte said: "Through this alliance with UNHCR, Banorte is a pioneer in national banking by offering Enlace Digital, an easily accessible product for refugees, which allows them to integrate economically and socially in Mexico".

With Enlace Digital, refugees can access formal employment, receive their paycheck, have a plastic card for transactions and cash withdrawals, pay taxes and generate a history to benefit from other services such as savings, access to loans and credit, and a safe place to keep their money.

At Banorte, we identified and aligned an online process for refugees to open an Enlace Digital account with limited deposits (up to 24,000 pesos, equivalent to 1,230 dollars), without the need to visit a branch in person.

The process consists of two steps: 1) fill out a form that takes less than 5 minutes on our WEB page www.banorte.com, and 2) once the account is opened, download the Banorte Móvil APP and activate the digital banking.

Among the operating facilities of the Enlace Digital account are the following advantages:

1. When activating the Mobile Banking, a digital card is created to immediately make online purchases, cardless withdrawals at ATMs, online transfers, payment of services, use of the My Sections and Scheduled Savings service, direct access to the contact center and control usage limits on Debit Card or electronic transfers.

2. The physical card can be requested with home delivery, or you can buy a debit card at one of the 20,000 convenience stores with which Banorte has an agreement and which can be found throughout the country.

3. Customers have access to withdrawing their money at more than 10,500 ATMs, as well as the support of an executive who provides personalized service to customers referred to us by UNHCR who need it.

UNHCR's Executive Committee is made up of representatives of the associated states, members of academia, NGO members and companies linked to this institution.

More than two years ago, Banorte decided to commit together with UNHCR to help refugees gain access to the financial system. This initiative is of foremost importance to UNHCR's objectives, especially under the current context where Mexico has registered the highest levels of refugee applications in its history, registering 140,777 asylum requests during 2023.

As of September 2024, we have identified more than 5,900 customers who are refugees and have opened an Enlace Digital account.

Of this total, 49% belong to the Millennial generation, 22% to the Z generation and 23% to the X generation, the remaining 6% belong to the Boomers; 45% are women and the predominant range is young adults between 20 and 30 years of age.

The main nationalities from which the refugees who have a Enlace Digital account originate are Venezuela, Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador, Cuba, and Guatemala.

Refugees make an average of five transactions a month in their Enlace Digital account at Banorte, where they manage an average monthly balance of 1,550 pesos (US$81). The 5,900 accounts collectively receive a total average of sixty-five million pesos per month (US$3.4 million) in salaries and wages.

Banorte is committed to continue supporting the efforts of UNHCR in Mexico to help refugees gain access to financial services that meet their needs for social and economic integration into the country.

*Note: Exchange rate $19 MXN/USD

About Banorte

Grupo Financiero Banorte (GFNorte) is Mexico's largest financial institution. It offers financial services to individuals and corporations through its banking, brokerage, fund management, insurance, pension, leasing and factoring, warehousing, portfolio management and Uniteller remittance businesses.

GFNorte also includes Afore XXI Banorte, the largest Afore in Mexico in terms of asset management. GFNorte is a public company listed on the main indicator of the Mexican Stock Exchange, and has 32,966 employees, 1,165 branches, 10,530 ATMs, 209,162 Point-of-Sale Terminals, and 19,652 correspondent branches, which with the alliance with OXXO will reach almost 41,000.

LinkedIn: Grupo Financiero Banorte

Twitter: @GFBanorte_mx

Facebook: Grupo Financiero Banorte

For more information, media communication can contact the external communications team: [email protected]

Contact Number: (55) 8471-7481

SOURCE Banorte