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It's not enough to be multichannel anymore, says author and Movenbank founder Brett King. Banks need to help people bank within the context of their lives.
January 14 -
Green Dot says acquisition of geolocation company Loopt won't be felt in its earnings or services until next year — but it's looking to profit from licensing the company's technology.
April 27 -
The Monrovia, Calif., prepaid card company plans to roll out the bank account with a traditional debit card later this year, chief executive Steve Streit told American Banker.
January 26
After months of internal testing, GreenDot (GDOT) is rolling out a beta version of its
The launch of the iPhone and Android app is the culmination of several acquisitions, including the purchase of
The test puts the prepaid card company in the same league as
What sets GreenDot apart, asserts
"We are a bank, and this is a bank-issued checking account. It is a real, FDIC-insured bank account," he says, alluding to
As of Tuesday morning, people were able to sign up for the beta launch at GoBank.com. "The whole team is set up to hit 'clear, clear, clear,' says GoBank spokesman Quinn Daly. Green Dot will be accepting "a few thousand" initial users, says Streit.
After being accepted into the program, beta testers will be given a confirmation and be able to download the app at the Apple or Google app store.
GoBank customers will be given access to two buckets of money — a Money Vault, a type of savings account where users can sock away cash in an effort to save, and a regular checking account.
In addition to Green Dot's ATM network and mobile check deposit, people will also be able to send cash to others via text message or even through Facebook. Those receiving cash will be able to either open their own GoBank accounts or get the money through PayPal, says Streit.
There is also a savings tool, "Ask the Fortune Teller," that after being set up will advise users on potential purchases. At first blush, the utility of that tool seems similar to
Users will be able to decide if they want to pay Green Dot a monthly fee, anything from nothing to $9 a month.
"Everyone gets mad when a bank forces you to pay this, or pay that, but by making a fee voluntary, it's a sense that [a customer] can punish 'my bank,'" says Streit.
Still, Green Dot is creating new competitors for itself, says Brian Riley, a senior research director of retail banking and cards at CEB Towergroup.
"They lost their first-mover advantage on this in a lot of ways," he says. "But now they are in the hunt with those big dogs... they kind of went from the world of retail and prepaid cards to competing in retail banking, which are two very different animals. They now have to be benchmarked not against NetSpend, but against Chase and American Express."
It's been no secret that the Pasadena, Calif., company's earnings have floundered amidst lost shelf space at Walmart and other retailers.
In
"It's not just the lost shelf space, though," says Aite Group senior analyst Madeline K. Aufseeser. "It's the average tenure of the card in the wallet, and how many dollars are getting loaded on those cards… Their average direct deposit ratio is far less than" their competitors.
Green Dot still has a chance to bounce back, she says.
"The market is growing exponentially, Green Dot has just as much opportunity to grow as any other," Aufseeser added.
