To the HoneyBee Community,
The financial system is at the heart of racism and inequality in America. Racism and poverty are inextricably linked. According to 2018 Census Data, the poverty rate among Blacks is 20.8%, Hispanics at 17.6%, while the poverty rate among Whites is 10.1%. Americans tend to believe that hard work pays off, but not when the game is rigged against communities of color. We stand with you.
HoneyBee began 4 years ago because my co-founders and I knew how important it was to address this financial inequality in America. Our team is committed to providing equal access to communities of color as we fight for financial inclusion. Most of the employees that use our financial health programs are women, people of color, or both. They deserve our attention and action.
Mainstream financial institutions ignore people of color because of structural racism. Racist policies plague the financial services industry and masquerade as acceptable practices. Bank closings continue to tilt towards communities of color. There remains a systematic denial of mortgage applications tied to poor communities, of which people of color are affected the most. Minimum balance requirements for fee-free banking services discriminate against the poor. The abundance of payday lenders in poor communities speaks to this structural racism.
According to the Federal Reserve, White families today have nearly 10 times the net worth of Black families and more than eight times that of Hispanic families.
We have to do better.
Our mission is to be a safe and affordable resource for people of color.
As we reach a week of protests, I’m proud of my team members who have expressed their solidarity with the Black community.
We’re here. We’re listening. We’re hurting with all of you. And we will continue to ask ourselves how we, as innovators, can be part of the solution.
We all deserve equality.
-Ennie Lim, CEO, HoneyBee