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Unable to secure additional funding, PerkStreet Financial announced Monday that it is closing its operations on Sept. 26. The Boston startup has been offering people checking accounts that reward customers for their debit card swipes.
August 12 -
The demise of PerkStreet, a startup that offered generous cash back on debit card purchases, illustrates how the business is changing. Interchange-funded rewards are out; merchant-funded perks are in.
August 16 -
BBVA's purchase of digital-only "neobank" Simple provides both parties with new strengths. For the bankers on the sidelines, it shines a spotlight on the need to attract affluent young customers with trendy mobile services.
February 21
Eastern Bank in Boston has established a new unit to develop technologies for itself and other banks and has tapped the former leaders of the tech startup PerkStreet to run it.
The $8.7 billion-asset bank announced Monday that Dan O'Malley, PerkStreet's founder and former chief executive, will join Eastern as its chief digital officer, overseeing the newly created Eastern Labs.
Joining O'Malley at Eastern are John Magee, PerkStreet's former vice president of analytics and Laurence Stock, PerkStreet's ex-chief financial officer. Magee will be Eastern Labs' chief data scientist and Stock will be its senior vice president of emerging technologies.
Eastern said in a news release that its Eastern Labs will use "the hundreds of millions of digital data" created within the bank each year to build new technologies for use both inside and outside of the bank.
In addition to hiring PerkStreet's former leaders, Eastern said that a diverse group of 80 Eastern employees will join Eastern Labs.
"Eastern recognizes that the industry is going through dramatic changes and increased investments in technology and data analytics can create exciting opportunities to better serve our customers," said Eastern Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Rich Holbrook in a news release. "We are excited to partner with Dan and his team because of their expertise in these areas and their proven ability to create a culture of innovation within financial services."
Boston-based PerkStreet was founded in 2008 with a mission of helping consumers achieve more substantial rewards from debit card swipes than they were getting with mainstream banks. The company, which issued its debit cards through The Bancorp Bank in Wilmington, Del., shuttered operations in September after it was unable to secure funding.
