Majority is “the first digital financial service built by migrants, for migrants.”

A long time ago I moved to America. Getting a bank account and a credit card took ages, even though I had good credit and could navigate all the “no, sirs” in my first language. There are legit reasons for this — no proof of residence, no social security number — to name but two. Imagine how hard it is to convince a landlord without the legitimacy of a 100-year-old institution behind you.

Now imagine you don’t speak the language too well, have less than secure employment, and scant proof of your financial history. Some of you will carry the weight of expectations of the family you left behind; you were the chosen one everyone agreed would go. There’s a lot riding on this.

That very insecure feeling you have now is common to many of the 258 million migrants around the world, and it is what Majority will address as “the first digital financial service built by migrants, for migrants.”

Majority is a subscription service. For $5/month you get banking, remittances, and international calling. Migrants are spending on average over $30/month for all that today and are more vulnerable to the punitive ATM and overdraft charges of the brick and mortar banks. This is a strong value proposition. Add to this customer service in many languages and community centers in major metros in the US for migrants to connect and build a sense of place, and you have something quite compelling.

This is, of course, one way that challengers win: carve out a specific segment, design for them, addressing the pain points that large incumbents have glossed over for ages, and wrap it in shared values. Worked for Mini Cooper, Clif Bar, and Made, and one of our clients in the same space as Majority, Xoom.

Some of the people behind Majority worked at our former client Tele2 on the Comviq brand, which has long championed the immigrant community in Sweden. They know this audience and how to run effective acquisition campaigns. And with Lotta Onajin as their Chief Story Officer, this is definitely one to watch.

Mark Barden is West Coast partner at eatbigfish. He is the co-author with Adam Morgan of A Beautiful Constraint: How to Transform Your Limitations Into Advantages and Why It's Everyone's Business.