The story
Founded by Steve Streit in 1999.1
Originally known as Next Estate Communications, Green Dot Corporation was founded in 1999 by Steve Streit. Its first debit card, branded as I-GEN and marketed toward teenagers and Internet users, was released in 2000. In 2001 the first I-GEN MasterCard was sold at a Rite Aid in Virginia. In 2002, Green Dot debit cards were offered at Rite Aid, CVS Pharmacy, and Pantry Convenience stores and by 2003, in over 18,000 stores nationwide.
In the year 2004, I-GEN officially changed its name to Green Dot and launched the first cash-accepting network for reloading the debit cards.
On July 22, 2010, Green Dot Corporation went public and started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. under the stock ticker: GDOT
In 2011, Green Dot expanded into offering banking services by acquiring Bonneville Bancorp and its subsidiary, Bonneville Bank, based in Provo, Utah. The acquisition was approved by the Federal Reserve, allowing Green Dot to become a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act. This move enabled Green Dot to issue its own prepaid debit cards directly through its banking subsidiary and provide related financial services, enhancing its control over product offerings and customer experience.
In early 2012, Green Dot acquired the mobile location technology company Loopt for $43.4 million, retained Loopt's employees to develop GoBank, the first bank account designed to be opened and used from a mobile device. In 2016, ridesharing company Uber enlisted GoBank to be the principal payment processor for its drivers. Green Dot regards this as their pivot from a prepaid debit card company into a platform company.
In 2014, Green Dot Corporation acquired Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, the largest tax refund processor in America.
Green Dot continued its acquisition of competitors in 2015, purchasing Account Now Inc. and Achieve Card.
On September 24, 2014, Walmart announced it would be partnering with Green Dot Bank to begin offering Walmart customers checking accounts.
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In 2016, GoBank partnered with Uber to launch the Uber Debit Card, enabling Uber drivers to cash out their ride fare immediately.
On January 30, 2017, it was reported that UniRush LLC would be sold to Green Dot Corp. in a deal valued around $147 million. The deal was projected to add around 750,000 cardholders to Green Dot's network.
In early December 2017, Green Dot Corporation announced that it was powering the Apple's new Apple Pay Cash P2P payment service.
On May 7, 2021, CNBC reported that "Green Dot, a fintech firm and biggest U.S. provider of prepaid debit cards, is moving its headquarters from Pasadena, California to Austin, Texas."
Awards
CEO Steve Streit was nominated for Industry Executive of the Year at LendIt.
Green Dot was nominated for Solving Problems Through Payments during the 2018 Benzinga Fintech Awards.
From Wikipedia’s article on Green Dot Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6