Green Dot is overhauling the services it offers through its partners, this week announcing upgrades for Walmart MoneyCard and Passbook by Remitly customers.
Pasadena-based Green Dot, founded in 1999, has made money from reloadable prepaid cards for years, but with a growing number of companies offering financial products for underbanked consumers, Green Dot is trying to find new ways to reach end customers.
“We’ll take full advantage of our bank charter, retail distribution and direct-to-consumer capabilities,” said CEO Dan Henry, who was hired in March, during a call with investors earlier this month. “I believe the reason we are seeing such an abundance of so-called challenger banks pop up is because both Netspend and Green Dot squandered their advantages in this space over the past five years. We will be working hard in the coming years to regain that lost ground.”
Walmart MoneyCard, a prepaid debit card that has grown into a full-fledged banking platform, now offers 2% APY through its integrated savings account. New features for account holders are up to four extra cards for family members who are at least 13 years old, and the ability to deposit cash for free and transfer money from outside bank accounts. These new features add to existing account features that include early direct deposit and cashback rewards. And Green Dot announced in April that it would process government stimulus checks through Walmart MoneyCards.
Passbook by Remitly, a bank account for underbanked immigrants launched by the remittance startup in February, also now offers free cash deposits through Green Dot. Customers can deposit cash at almost 90,000 retail locations, including Walgreens and 7-Eleven stores. “[The feature] addresses a key pain point for our customers: linking cash income to an accessible bank account,” Remitly co-founder and CEO Matt Oppenheimer said in a statement. “As we look to the future, we’ll continue to expand Passbook’s offerings to provide our customers with safe, reliable financial services during these challenging times and beyond.”
See also: In response to challengers, Green Dot is growing its platform business
Green Dot gained a banking license in 2011 through its acquisition of Bonneville Bank. In addition to Remitly and Walmart, Green Dot provides the banking services for big names like Uber, Stash and TurboTax. Last summer, the company launched its own digital bank brand, Unlimited by Green Dot, which offers 3% cash back and 3% APY on savings below $10,000. It seems, however, Green Dot might make modifications to Unlimited’s terms.
“We do have some customers that have embraced that product, and we’re going to make sure they stay happy,” Henry told investors. “But we’ll probably make some modifications to that on a go-forward basis to be able to continue and maintain strong acquisition to improve the economics of it.”






