PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) today announced the launch of Green Dot Money, an online marketplace that seeks to match low and moderate income consumers with a curated set of lending partners that specialize in serving low and moderate income Americans. The loans are made by third party lenders who are members of the marketplace. Green Dot does not use its balance sheet to fund the loans nor does it assume any risk of non-repayment.
Consumers with little, poor or no credit history are traditionally disadvantaged when it comes to seeking much-needed loans to cover necessary or unexpected expenses. In fact, low income consumers, many of whom also carry general purpose reloadable prepaid cards, are limited in their loan options and are forced to seek loans at higher rates with unsustainable repayment plans. Green Dot Money has an opportunity to help these hard-working Americans find a loan that suits their needs at an interest rate and repayment schedule that makes sense for their financial circumstances.
“We’re excited to launch Green Dot Money, a service that is designed to help low and moderate income consumers find a fair and affordable loan that meets their needs,” said Steve Streit, Green Dot Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The low-income lending segment is in the early stages of unprecedented changes stemming from proposed new regulation putting pressure on the loan product itself, while new technologies and customer acquisition preferences are putting pressure on traditional customer marketing strategies and cost per funded loan. Our goal is to capitalize on these fundamental changes in the lending industry to take advantage of Green Dot's natural assets of a large customer base, a rich data stream on that customer base, a collection of market-leading fintech capabilities and assets combined with a deeply valued national brand name to create something special. Of course, as with any new endeavor, there is always risk. But given the limited investment required to create Green Dot Money and the potentially meaningful opportunity for organically generating new streams of high margin revenue by helping customers find their "Yes," we are certainly eager to get going and see what we can do."
Green Dot Money is available to consumers on a nationwide basis with initial lenders able to offer loans in 46 states. Anyone can access Greendotmoney.com and apply for a loan. The service is not restricted to existing Green Dot customers. Approved applicants can have their loan funded in a variety of ways, including a Green Dot prepaid card or the individual’s own checking account. To learn more, visit www.GreenDotMoney.com.
About Green Dot Corporation
Green Dot Corporation, along with its wholly owned subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, is a pro-consumer financial technology innovator with a mission to reinvent personal banking for the masses. Green Dot invented the prepaid debit card industry and is the largest provider of reloadable prepaid debit cards and cash reload processing services in the United States. Green Dot is also a leader in mobile technology and mobile banking with its award-winning GoBank mobile checking account. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, TPG, Green Dot is additionally the largest processor of tax refund disbursements in the U.S. Green Dot's products and services are available to consumers through a large-scale "branchless bank" distribution network of more than 100,000 U.S. locations, including retailers, neighborhood financial service center locations, and tax preparation offices, as well as online, in the leading app stores and through leading online tax preparation providers. Green Dot Corporation is headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., with additional facilities throughout the United States and in Shanghai, China.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include, among other things, the timing and impact of revenue growth activities, the Company's dependence on revenues derived from Walmart and three other retail distributors, impact of competition, the Company's reliance on retail distributors for the promotion of its products and services, demand for the Company's new and existing products and services, continued and improving returns from the Company's investments in new growth initiatives, potential difficulties in integrating operations of acquired entities and acquired technologies, the Company's ability to operate in a highly regulated environment, changes to existing laws or regulations affecting the Company's operating methods or economics, the Company's reliance on third-party vendors, changes in credit card association or other network rules or standards, changes in card association and debit network fees or products or interchange rates, instances of fraud developments in the prepaid financial services industry that impact prepaid debit card usage generally, business interruption or systems failure, and the Company's involvement litigation or investigations. These and other risks are discussed in greater detail in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which are available on the Company's investor relations website at ir.greendot.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. All information provided in this press release is as of May 12, 2016 and the Company assumes no obligation to update this information as a result of future events or developments.
