Making Banking Work for Immigrant Communities
Mela Finance partnered with Zenus Bank to integrate regulated U.S. banking infrastructure into a financial platform designed around the needs of immigrant communities, connecting USD account access, domestic payments and international family transfers into a more connected experience.
For millions of immigrants, having a bank account does not necessarily mean having financial services that reflect how they live, work and support their families.
Banking and international money transfers are often separate experiences. Customers may receive their salary through one provider, use another service to send money abroad and face additional barriers when they need support outside traditional banking hours or in their preferred language.
Mela Finance was created to address this gap.
Founded in 2024 by Ethiopian immigrants who had experienced these challenges themselves, Mela is building financial services around the needs of immigrant communities, starting with the Ethiopian diaspora and with plans to expand its model to other immigrant communities.
The Challenge
Immigrant families often manage financial responsibilities across multiple countries.
For Mela's customers, this can mean receiving income in the United States while simultaneously supporting family members abroad, paying tuition or medical expenses internationally, or managing other recurring financial commitments across borders.
The infrastructure supporting these activities can be fragmented. Customers may encounter transfer fees, unfavorable exchange rates, uncertain delivery times and difficulty getting support when something goes wrong. Managing everyday financial needs can require moving between banks, remittance applications, transfer agents and other providers.
These challenges can have tangible consequences. Higher costs leave less money available for families, while payment delays can affect important expenses such as tuition, healthcare and household costs. For freelancers and small businesses, difficulties receiving international payments can also limit their ability to work with customers across markets.
The Solution
Through its partnership with Zenus Bank, Mela integrates regulated U.S. banking infrastructure into its platform, enabling it to bring together USD account access, domestic money movement and transfers to Ethiopian bank accounts within one digital experience.
Zenus provides the underlying U.S. banking infrastructure, while Mela manages the customer experience, localized support and services designed around immigrant communities it serves.
This infrastructure allows Mela to support financial needs beyond stand-alone international transfers while maintaining a more connected experience for its customers. The platform provides 24/7 digital access and support in English, Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya, helping customers manage their finances around their own schedules and communicate about financial matters in a language they understand.
Direct bank connections and automated processing also help reduce intermediary steps and manual processes. For eligible transfers to Ethiopian bank accounts, Mela reports that payouts can arrive in approximately 15 seconds once funding and required checks have been completed.
The partnership also supports Mela in serving eligible customers beyond immigrants living in the United States. According to Mela, this includes professionals and remote workers in Ethiopia who need USD accounts to receive international income. Account access remains subject to country eligibility and verification requirements.
Financial Access in Practice
For Mela, financial inclusion is about more than providing another account. It means building financial services around the practical realities of the communities it serves.
Consider an Ethiopian immigrant finishing a late shift who needs to send money to help pay a family member's tuition. Instead of managing the transaction across separate remittance services, they can access their account digitally and initiate the transfer through Mela. If assistance is needed, support is available in their preferred supported language.
This illustrates the broader challenge Mela is addressing: creating a more connected financial experience for customers whose work, families and financial responsibilities extend across borders.
"Moving across borders should not fracture financial life, but expand opportunity. How people earn, send, pay, save, support family, and build community remains divided across institutions and borders. Inclusion should mean more than access. It should mean a financial system built around the full reality of people's lives, wherever those lives extend. This is why Mela exists."
Looking Ahead
Mela plans to take the model it is building for the Ethiopian community and extend it to additional immigrant communities, adding relevant languages, local banking connections and payment destinations. The company also plans to expand USD account access for eligible customers in supported emerging markets and develop additional community payment and financial-guidance services.
The partnership also provides an example of how financial infrastructure can support broader access to financial services through institutions and platforms that understand the specific needs of the communities they serve.
This aligns with Zenus Bank's commitment to responsible and inclusive finance. As a signatory of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), Zenus supports expanding access to financial infrastructure that helps individuals and businesses participate more effectively in the global economy.
"Financial inclusion requires more than making financial products available. It requires infrastructure that enables our partners to build services around the needs of the communities they serve. Our partnership with Mela shows how access to U.S. banking infrastructure can support more connected financial experiences for people whose lives and financial responsibilities extend across borders."
By combining Mela's understanding of immigrant communities with Zenus Bank's regulated U.S. banking infrastructure, the partnership demonstrates how financial services can be designed around the realities of customers whose financial lives extend across borders.
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