USF Grad Builds Financial Platform for Change

Salvador Chavez also known as “Chava” grew up in a small town outside Lake Tahoe. He is a first-generation Latino who witnessed the financial challenges faced by underserved communities.

When his father came to this country through the Bracero Program, his first job was as a farm worker. The Bracero Program was a U.S. government-issued program that provided temporary U.S. work permits to millions of Mexican people to help ease labor shortages in the U.S. after WWII.

As a farm worker, Chava’s father had no access to financial services; he would pay 10% of his earnings to cash his check and send money to his family, and would often stuff the remainder of his earnings under his mattress which sometimes got stolen by his coworkers.

“We grew up poor and when my father needed money, he had to go to a loan shark which was 10% interest a week. Today, the rate for a personal loan in Salinas, CA is 7.5% interest per week,” said Chava. “This is why I’m trying to make a difference.”

Breaking Cycles of Poverty

According to Prósperos, 50% of Mexico is unbanked. Increases in corrupt banking transactions have led many Mexicans to rely more heavily on cash. Many feel intimidated and distrustful when they go to a bank due to poor previous experiences. However, cash is vulnerable.

The catalyst for Chava and his founders was recognizing that these populations needed easy and trustworthy financial services. They wanted to build a platform that eliminated fees and provided a culturally relevant experience for them. They listened to their users and partnered with employers to reach them directly.

“When they come to Prósperos, they can open up a bank account in 4 minutes,”said Chava.

Breaking cycles of poverty starts with providing people the knowledge and the tools they need in the financial system. These historical challenges have created cycles of financial security that were difficult to break. When you provide access to free banking and free accounts, the rest of the community will follow, and when people budget, save and use tools like Prósperos effectively—they can create wealth and economic mobility.”

See to Believe

The Jesuit education at USF challenged Chava to think more critically, and his professors played a key role in shaping his career path, guiding him toward opportunities he hadn’t considered before. Chava feels lucky to have gone to USF and seen what it was like on the other side. His mission now is to help the Latino community gain as many opportunities as they can to thrive.

Chava has led Employee Resource Groups at his workplaces, and more recently joined the Cristo Rey Board of Directors with a drive to empower students, and create an engineering career accelerator program.

“As someone who benefited from a USF scholarship, serving on the board helps me equip them with professional skills, and it transforms lives,” said Chava.

I have this theory called ‘See to Be.’ You need to see it to be it. I really believe, especially for first-generation students, that once they see a professional that looks like them, they believe they can be it.”

Through mobile financial platforms, ERGs, and board leadership, Chava remains committed to advancing the idea that financial education and inclusion are the essential foundations to building financial freedom.

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