Each year, more than 1 million people migrate to the U.S. in search of various opportunities, from improved living conditions to better work and education. Immigrants comprise around 18 percent of the country’s workforce today, and many immigrant households earn a significant annual income.
But millions of immigrants aren’t able to built wealth through the traditional U.S. financial system because they lack a social security number. Maza wants to remove that barrier with its mobile app and debit card offerings. The LA-based startup announced an $8 million round of seed funding to set more immigrants on the path toward the American Dream.
By working with the Internal Revenue Service through its Certified Acceptance Program, Maza is able to provide its customers with individual taxpayer identification numbers. This service grants members the chance to file taxes, build a credit score, obtain a driver’s license and even buy a home.
Maza’s mobile app walks members through the tax ID application and renewal process, CTO Siggy Bilstein told Built in via email. The app is also the primary place where members can access banking services like sending and receiving money, cashing checks and transferring money between accounts. Its banking platform integrates with major payment platforms like PayPal and Zelle, too.
Maza provides members with a Visa debit card, enabling them to access their money wherever Visa is accepted. And the money members deposit into Maza earns a high checking account interest rate, helping them build wealth over time.
Having operated in stealth for more than a year, Maza’s app has already accumulated 50,000 active members, according to a company release. Founded by second-generation immigrants, the company is building on its financial identity platform to help people across the country overcome financial barriers.
“Maza’s vision has always been to enable the American Dream for our customers. From a growth perspective, that means producing a series of product ‘unlocks’ for our members that help them achieve this,” COO Robbie Figueroa told Built In via email. “The near-term unlock I’m most excited about is access to credit — today, most of our customers are asking for this, and we’re building the bridge to get them there with the institutions and underwriters they trust.”
Now, this fresh funding from lead investor Andreessen Horowitz will allow Maza to continue automating more of its tax ID and banking processes, CEO Luciano Arango told Built In via email. It also wants to launch more features that get customers closer to financial freedom.
