Inside Green Dot, the bank behind Walmart, Apple, Amazon & Intuit
Built on checking accounts and a physical network of partner retail locations that's larger than the total number of U.S. bank branches, Green Dot and its bank make money on very basic banking and see potential for expanding into credit opportunities like buy now, pay later lending.
The conventional wisdom of retail banking right now can be reduced to a handful of points:
- The checking account is on its way out as the centerpiece of banking relationships.
- Everything is going digital so the branch is passé.
- Cash is beyond passé.
- Economic inclusion is something you pay lip service to, but it’s not where you make your money.
- To really excel at retail banking, you don’t even need to be a bank anymore. Just borrow some bank’s “plumbing.”
That assessment may be accurate for part of the retail banking universe, but not with the people that Dan Henry sees as the key market for his Green Dot Corp. and its Green Dot Bank. Henry, CEO, heads up a hybrid of sorts, part fintech, part banking-as-a-service provider, and also a chartered bank. Among other partnerships, Green Dot is the bank behind the Walmart MoneyCard, Amazon Flex and Apple Cash.
continue reading »