Details

Last Funding Type

Series B

Last Funding Money Raised

$20M

Industries

Finance,Financial Services

Founded date

Jan 1, 1999

Number Of Employee

1001 - 5000

Operating Status

Active

Green Dot Corporation is a provider of retail-based financial services.

The company offers consumers financial products and services through retailer locations including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS/pharmacy, Rite Aid, Kmart, Kroger, 7-ELEVEN, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Smiths and Radio Shack.

Green Dot's products include Green Dot MasterCard® and Visa® branded prepaid debit cards and the Green Dot MoneyPak® - a cash processing gateway that provides a way for consumers to load cash to prepaid cards, use cash to make purchases and pay bills, and add cash to a variety of accounts including PayPal.

Green Dot is a leading prepaid financial services company providing simple, low-cost and convenient money management solutions to a broad base of U.S. consumers. They believe that they are the leading provider of general purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards in the United States and that their Green Dot Network is the leading prepaid reload network in the United States. They sell their cards and offer their reload services nationwide at approximately 50,000 retail store locations, which provide consumers convenient access to their products and services. Their technology platform, Green PlaNET, provides essential functionality, including point-of-sale connectivity and interoperability with Visa, MasterCard and other payment or funds transfer networks, and compliance and other capabilities to their Green Dot Network, enabling real-time transactions in a secure environment. The combination of their innovative products, broad retail distribution and proprietary technology creates powerful network effects, which they believe enhance the value they deliver to their customers, retail distributors and other participants in their network.

They were an early pioneer in the development of general purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards, or GPR cards, and associated reload services, which collectively they refer to as prepaid financial services. GPR cards are designed for general spending purposes and can be used anywhere the cards' applicable payment network, such as Visa or MasterCard, is accepted, but, unlike gift cards, can be reloaded with additional funds for ongoing, long-term use. Their GPR cards are issued as Visa- or MasterCard-branded cards and are accepted worldwide by merchants and other businesses belonging to the applicable payment network, including for bill payments, online shopping, everyday store purchases and ATM withdrawals. They believe that they are the leading provider of GPR cards in the United States based on the 3.4 million active cards in their portfolio as of March 31, 2010, which they define as cards that have had a purchase, reload or ATM withdrawal transaction during the previous 90-day period.

They have built strong distribution and marketing relationships with many significant retail chains, including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven, Kroger, K-Mart, Meijer and Radio Shack. These retail chains provide consumers with convenient locations to purchase and reload their cards. In addition, any holder of a GPR card issued by a member of their reload network may reload that card at any one of those locations. Currently, there are over 100 third-party prepaid card programs that use their nationwide reload network to facilitate reloading by their cardholders. In 2009, they entered into an agreement with PayPal whereby its customers can add funds to any new or existing PayPal account through their reload network at all retail locations where they sell their products and services, but to date they have not generated significant operating revenues from their relationship with PayPal. In fiscal 2009, the gross dollar volume loaded to their GPR card and reload products was $4.7 billion, an increase of 67% over fiscal 2008.

They have developed a business model with powerful network effects. Growth in the number of their product and service offerings or their network participants, which include consumers, retail distributors and businesses that accept reloads or payments through the Green Dot Network, enhances the value they deliver to all network participants. Their technology platform, Green PlaNET, enables network participants to communicate and complete transactions rapidly and securely through their reload network or third-party payment or funds transfer networks, and is a central component of their network-based business model.