New advisory services are being offered at Oklahoma City’s Mexican Consulate office aimed at increasing financial literacy for the city’s fast-growing Mexican community.
Friday saw the official launch of “La Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera,” or the “Financial Advisory Window,” at the Mexican Consulate in downtown Oklahoma City.
The program, in partnership with the Greater OKC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is one of several consular services being offered to city and state residents of Mexican descent, who have historically faced various barriers to money management resources and access.
“I cannot mention enough how valuable this migrant community, this migrant population is to the life of Oklahoma,” said Edurne Pineda, head consul for the Mexican Consulate. “We need to tell this migrant community, in the best way possible, that this program is very valuable in its intent to serve them.”
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What does the Financial Advisory Window at OKC’s Mexican Consulate offer?
La Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera, or VAF, is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 1131 W Sheridan Ave., Oklahoma City.
Services are free and are only offered in Spanish.
“They do not need to have an appointment,” said Ruth Hill, program coordinator for the Financial Advisory Window. “Anyone can come and request information on anything that has to do with finances. That’s what we do.”
The VAF covers a broad range of topics including:
- How to open a checking or savings account
- How to establish a line of credit
- How to gain approval for a loan
- How to manage an auto loan
- How to apply for a mortgage
- How to start a business
Consulate’s financial literacy program aimed to protect residents from theft or fraud
David Castillo, CEO and president of the Hispanic Chamber, said a major reason for starting the advisory program was to help more members of the community better understand the security of shifting away from cash as the only means of payment they use.
“The community is growing tremendously, and with that growth comes what we call ‘growing pains,’” Castillo said. “And some of the growing pains is that we have a lot of people still using cash, and so we’ve got to get them accustomed to using banks, using credit unions, opening accounts, establishing credit, things like that, which are so important, especially in business.”
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Simply put, a person is more at risk of being robbed if they are seen carrying cash than if they are seen using a credit card. A credit or debit card can be shut off quickly, while cash money is nearly impossible to trace because of its anonymity.
Hill said the state’s Mexican population is a hard-working community often lacking in financial literacy, making them more vulnerable to issues of theft and fraud.
“We see us everywhere: roofing, yards, restaurants, you name it,” Hill said. “The culture is that we come here to work, and we bring an asset to the community. However, we do not have any type of financial education, and that’s what this program is about.”
One of several officials who attended Friday’s launch was Oklahoma Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval (D-Oklahoma City), who serves south Oklahoma City, where much of the metro area’s Hispanic population resides.
“When you think about the Latino community in Oklahoma, we contribute so much economically because we have just over 20,000 businesses as a Mexican community,” Alonso-Sandoval said. “We have a lot of families who might not be as in tune with a lot of the financial services that we have here in Oklahoma, so I’m excited for them to have those services (…) that can really help the families out.”
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In addition to OKC’s Hispanic Chamber, which is managing the program, the Financial Advisory Window also partnered with five “allies” to provide personnel and consultation. They are Allegiance Credit Union, First United Bank, Tinker Federal Credit Union, True Sky Federal Credit Union and WEOKIE Federal Credit Union.
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