Disrupting Debt Cycles by Maximizing Benefits, Compensation

Q: What central elements of Minu's value proposition have contributed most to the company's fivefold growth between 2021 and 2022?

A: When we founded Minu four-and-a-half years ago, we were singularly focused on improving the financial health of millions of workers, who were being systematically depressed by a social dependency on payday. Living paycheck to paycheck with little to no financial education has consistently forced people to defer to loans with alarmingly high annual percentage rates (APR), trapping thousands into crippling debt cycles. This situation is known to have a direct detrimental effect on people's mental and physical health, which in turn undermines the productivity of companies and the country’s overall competitiveness. 

Considering this macroeconomic context, it was clear to us that we had to begin tackling this issue by enhancing individual liquidity between paydays, leading us to pioneer what is known as salary-on-demand. This grants employees 24/7 access to their earned income, providing them with both the tranquility and empowerment to take control of their finances. In an increasingly on-demand economy, the concept has snowballed as people find it unnecessary to continue adhering to static paydays. The popularity of this model has sparked legislative discussions in the EU, the US and in Latin America. 

Q: How has Minu's SaaS subscription model contributed to the company's success? 

A: Without a doubt, Minu’s SaaS, B2B fixed-cost business model has played an integral part in the company’s fivefold growth during 2021-2022. When designed, we thought it was crucial for the employer to carry the cost of use so employees would feel comfortable and encouraged to actually use the over 35 financial services offered on our platform. The centralization of all employee benefits removes the inconvenience and complexity of entering multiple platforms to access benefits, a known reason for the low usage rate among beneficiaries. Taking this into account, Minu gamified its platform with incentives across its services so that employees would find it consequential to regularly engage with our platform services. Altogether, our platform’s complete added-value prompts our users to use our application at least four times a month. 

On the employer's side, our 600 clients have observed improved mental and physical wellness among their employees, with a direct impact on productivity and retention rates. Using our anonymized data, a Harvard Business School study found that our platform helped boost employee retention by 20% annually, representing an important time and cost-saving measure for organizations. Meanwhile, companies can also leverage the platform’s automated reports to inform and develop an integrated benefits and compensation strategy.

Q: How will Minu’s recent merger with Plerk strengthen its service offering? 

A: Our merger with Plerk was a complementary strategic decision that stemmed from the widespread popularity and use of vouchers in Mexico. We now have one of the most diverse portfolios of vouchers accepted in over 500,000 establishments across the country that offer tax benefits to both employees and employers. Overall, this represents an important market differentiator that makes Minu one of the largest benefits and compensation players in the country. Our clients include large, medium and small companies, including Grupo Modelo, Telefonica and Indra Aviation. Overall, our clients report a 92% satisfaction rate. 

Q: As a KPMG Global Tech Innovator, what are your short-term and long-term visions for continued innovation at Minu? 

A: We are in the midst of significant and exciting HR technology innovations, as business leaders increasingly see this department as strategically fundamental to the company's continued success and competitiveness. Shifting workplace expectations that prioritize wellness and the need for intelligent organizational visibility has incentivized innovation. Minu is exploring how to integrate artificial intelligence to continue improving the financial wellness of employees with a personal, digital finance and benefits coach. This digital coach aims to help employees maximize their compensation and benefits by providing them personalized finance education and geo-location reminders, which they can use to make the most of all the discounts we offer. 

For leaders, we are looking to leverage artificial intelligence to take over time-consuming administrative tasks so they can focus on more pressing strategic talent initiatives. 

Q: How do you see Minu maximizing compensation and benefits packages ahead of the anticipated economic downturn?

A: Considering the state of the interconnected economy, it is more important than ever to support the maximization of compensation and benefits packages. Meeting this challenge rests mainly on leveraging finance resources and tools so individuals can make strategic, risk-adverse decisions and are prepared to weather economic pressures without having to recur to loans with historically high interest rates. More often than not, employees usually leave a lot of money on the table by not taking full advantage of the finance and wellness resources at their disposal. Employees would benefit significantly by using Minu – or other tools – habitually so their savings accumulate into something substantive, reflecting an improved standard of living. 

Q: What challenges do HR departments face in striving toward data maturity and how is Minu working to overcome these challenges?

A: The most prominent obstacles talent leaders face is absent and siloed data spread across their enterprise and providers. We greatly facilitate the centralization of all their data and provide insight reports, which are helpful for leaders and teams that are beginning to develop analytical skills. According to a study by Mercer, 80% of survey respondents reported that they still have not integrated data analysis into their benefits and compensation strategy. 

Minu is a leading compensation and benefits platform driven by a goal to evolve the way employees are compensated, with an all-in-one digital platform that offers flexible benefits, more engagement and social impact.