ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Greenlight® Financial Technology, Inc. ("Greenlight"), the fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially-smart kids, today announced the Greenlight Family Cash Mastercard®, a new credit card designed to help parents save for their kids’ college and family’s future. The Family Cash Card is the first of its kind to offer up to 3%* unlimited cash back on all purchases with the option to automatically invest rewards, helping families accelerate long-term savings. This marks the first time Greenlight, known for its award-winning debit card and banking app for kids, is entering the credit card market as the company expands to serve the entire family.
Many parents use credit cards for family spending but miss opportunities to save and invest in their family’s future. In a new national survey, Greenlight found that only 22% of parents use credit card rewards for long-term saving despite 90% saying they wish they had more money saved for their children’s future. 68% of parents said they have little to no savings for their children’s future.
“Families today have an increasing amount of expenses, making it difficult for many to save for the long-term,” said Tim Sheehan, co-founder and CEO of Greenlight. “At Greenlight, we’re focused on helping families build healthy financial futures. With the new Family Cash Card, parents can get the most out of everyday spending and invest towards big life events like their children’s college education.”
Greenlight’s Family Cash Card offers an industry-first combination of up to 3%* unlimited cash back and automatic investing of rewards. Parents can earn cash back on every purchase with the flexibility to spend, save or invest rewards using Greenlight’s investing platform for parents. Within the Greenlight app, parents can manage their own Family Cash Card activity alongside their kids’ Greenlight debit account, keeping family finances all in one place.
Additional survey results show that parents are increasingly using credit cards and spending more while struggling to save for the future.
Key insights include:
Inflation is causing parents to spend and use credit cards more than they used to.
- 42% of parents say they are using credit cards more in the past 6 months with nearly 3 out of 4 (73%) citing inflation as the cause of increased credit card usage.
- 65% of parents report having credit card debt and 31% say their credit card debt has increased over the past 6 months.
- 43% of parents say they are spending more and 29% say they are saving less within the past 6 months.
Saving for big life events like college is a source of stress and anxiety.
- 90% of parents wish they had more money saved for their children’s future.
- More than half of parents (52%) use credit card rewards for short-term spending rather than long-term saving or investing (22%).
- 72% worry they won’t have enough money to support their family’s future and 68% say they have little to no savings set aside for their children’s future.
- 70% of parents are anxious about saving for their children’s college education, which is ranked as the #1 savings goal for their kids.
Parents wish they talked about credit cards more with their own parents.
- 81% of parents wish they had more financial education about credit growing up.
- 79% of parents signed up for their first credit card on their own.
- 38% of parents say they didn’t learn about credit cards until they had one.
- Financial education was not equal for all parents with a distinct gender gap emerging — almost half of female parents (48%) didn’t learn about credit prior to their first credit card compared to only a quarter (26%) of male parents.
Greenlight serves more than 5 million parents and kids, helping families navigate the world of money together. Its award-winning debit card and banking app teaches kids and teens critical financial skills like how to earn, save, spend wisely and invest. Now, with the Greenlight Family Cash Card, parents can also teach their kids about smart credit habits while building a healthy financial future for their family.
Starting today, parents can sign up for the waitlist here to receive early access to the Greenlight Family Cash Card. The card will be available to all eligible Greenlight customers. The Greenlight Family Cash Card is issued by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO®), member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. The Greenlight Family Cash Card is powered by FNBO and Marqeta.
*Earn unlimited cash back — 3% when you spend $4,000+ a month, 2% when you spend $1,000 - $4,000 a month and 1% when you spend <$1,000 a month
Survey Methodology
Survey insights were collected by Greenlight through a Researchscape survey fielded between April 26 and April 28, 2022, among 1,098 U.S. respondents, all of whom were credit card users and parents of 8-18 year olds. Results were weighted by age, gender, and Census region.
About Greenlight
Greenlight Financial Technology is the family fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially-smart kids. Its groundbreaking product, Greenlight, is an all-in-one money management platform purpose-built for families, complete with a debit card for kids and teens, cash back credit card for parents and companion app. Parents can automate allowance, manage chores, set flexible spend controls and save for their family’s future. Kids and teens learn to earn, save, spend wisely, give and invest with parental approval.
The Greenlight Debit Card is issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. The Greenlight Family Cash Card is issued by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO®), member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. Greenlight Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, provides investment advisory services to its clients. Investing involves risk and may include the loss of principal. Greenlight is a financial technology company, not a bank. The Greenlight app facilitates banking services through Community Federal Savings Bank, Member FDIC. For more information, please visit: greenlight.com.
