NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:
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Available today in a limited launch, GoBank is a modern, feature-rich
bank account with deposits insured by the FDIC.
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Taking a fair approach to pricing, GoBank has no overdraft fees, no
penalty fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no required monthly
fees.
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According to the “State of the Bank” survey1 released
today, conducted by Harris Interactive, Americans are ready for a new
way to bank, with a majority saying they don’t believe their bank is
transparent (87%) or on their side (68%), and with 65% of people
saying they are open to an innovative, mobile-centric bank.
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Live webcast introducing GoBank started at 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET on
January 15 at http://news.gobank.com.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2013--
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) today introduced GoBank,
the first bank account designed from scratch to be opened and used on a
mobile device. Launching in limited release, with general availability
to come later this year, GoBank is fast, fair and feature-rich, allowing
consumers to interact with their money in a way that’s immediate,
intuitive and intimate. In addition to GoBank’s consumer-friendly
pricing model of no overdraft fees or penalty fees and no minimum
balance requirements, GoBank makes it easy to send and deposit money,
build a budget and find an ATM, with a massive network of more than
40,000 fee-free ATMs, more than twice the size of Chase or Bank of
America2.
As a brand of Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC, all GoBank deposits are
FDIC-insured. Each GoBank account includes a checking account with a
linked Visa debit card and a second integrated bank account called the
“Money Vault” that’s designed to be an easy way for GoBank members to
put money away for savings. Accounts are demand
deposit accounts (DDA) with deposits insured by the FDIC and full
“Regulation E” consumer protections.
“Until now, banking is one of the few industries in the world that
hasn't yet been reinvented by Silicon Valley,” said Steve Streit,
founder and CEO of Green Dot. “Most people today, and especially people
under 40, aren't satisfied with their current banking options. Many
traditional bank accounts have long and complex fee schedules with terms
and conditions that favor the bank; not the customer. GoBank is made to
please the customer first and foremost. GoBank is designed from the
ground up to be the bank account for the smartphone generation. Once you
start using GoBank, controlling your money becomes as intimate and
addictive as checking Facebook or texting friends.”
GoBank features include:
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Debit Card Customization: Members can personalize GoBank by
customizing the entire front of their Visa® debit card with their
favorite photo. They can choose the picture from Facebook, their phone
or computer.
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Should You Buy It? Ask the Fortune Teller: “Remember that
time you won the lottery? I don’t either.” This is a response a
member might see from GoBank’s Fortune Teller if they try to spend
beyond their budget. Fortune Teller cross-checks the price of an item
with the member’s integrated GoBank budget, and if they can’t afford
it they’ll be advised in real-time to pass on the purchase. The budget
tool is fun for members to use, with tons of responses that aim to
entertain as well as inform.
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Huge Fee-Free ATM Network: Members can withdraw cash from more
than 40,000 fee-free ATM locations in the U.S. As a market comparison,
Chase and Bank of America each have less than 20,000 fee-free ATMs.2
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Peek at Your Balance Without Logging In: The #1 reason a person
logs into their bank account is to check their balance. GoBank allows
members to use “Slide for Balance” on the app’s login screen to take
at peek at their available balance without logging in (members opt
into this feature).
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Send Money: Members can instantly send money to friends and
family at no charge through email, text message or even a private
Facebook notification. Recipients don’t have to be GoBank members to
receive the money.
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Quick Account Set-Up: Compared to typically long processes
associated with opening a traditional bank account, setting up a
GoBank account can take just minutes. This includes the time it takes
to create an optional custom Visa debit card with a member’s own photo.
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Multiple Deposit Options: GoBank has a variety of ways to
deposit money into the account. Members can deposit checks by snapping
a photo through the app, and they can use a debit card to transfer
some money from another bank account. Direct deposit is available for
paychecks, federal benefits or tax returns. Lastly, members can
deposit cash at select Green Dot retail partner locations nationwide -
all for free.
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Mobile Checkbook and Bill Pay: Members can pay any company or
any person online or on their phone, and GoBank will mail a paper
check to any recipient that doesn’t accept e-payments.
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Money Vault: The Money Vault is an integrated bank account,
with deposits insured by the FDIC, where members can easily put money
away for savings. In real time, members can move money from their
checking account available balance into the Money Vault for safe
keeping. When they want to spend that money, the member can move it
back in two taps and it updates their available balance in real time.
The Money Vault is free to use and members can move money back and
forth as often as they wish.
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Robust Account Alerts: Members can fine-tune a wide range of
notifications about their money to fit their needs – with alerts about
specific transactions, as well as overall account updates.
“It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to bring a Silicon
Valley approach to building a bank account,” said Sam
Altman, executive vice president of Mobile for Green Dot. “Our
GoBank product and technology team is populated by digital natives who
grew up with the Internet and mobile phones being central to our daily
lives. So, our goal was to reinvent personal banking and create a bank
account that understands how people in our generation live, work and
play and how we think about money. We love using GoBank and we hope that
our members will love it too.”
State of the Bank – Survey Conducted by Harris
Interactive
Illustrating the need for GoBank’s unique approach, a survey conducted
by Harris Interactive called “The State of the Bank” was released
today by GoBank. The survey depicts an America that’s very open to a
new way to bank. The survey found that almost 2/3 of Americans (64%) say
they don't fully trust big banks. The majority of Americans don’t feel
their bank is transparent (87%) or on their side (68%). In the past 10
years, Americans see Banking as being one of the least innovative
industries – only airlines and pet care were seen as less innovative.
And, only 11% of Americans say their bank frequently offers new tools or
features that they use.
The survey shows traditional banking practices are fading, with 67%
saying they write fewer paper checks, and 14% of 18-34 year-olds saying
they’ve never written a paper check. As an indicator of
Americans’ overall willingness to break away from traditional banking,
65% of people (and 81% of 18-34 year olds) indicated they’d be open to
using a bank like GoBank (when presented with a description consistent
with GoBank’s features). The full national survey results can be found here.
Pricing
According to a study3 by the Pew Charitable Trust, the
average bank had 38 different fees that a customer could incur when
using their checking account. And around 90% of all checking accounts
had a monthly fee. The median monthly fee in the report was $12 unless
the customer carries a sufficient minimum balance, which averaged $2,000.
While GoBank is one of the most feature-rich bank accounts on the
market, its pricing is designed to be fair, simple and affordable. As
such, GoBank has no overdraft fees and no penalty fees of any kind,
ever. Nor does GoBank have any minimum balance requirements. In fact,
while the average checking account may have as many as 38 different
fees, GoBank has only four fees, which are:
1) Out-of-network ATM: GoBank has a very large fee-free ATM
network of more than 40,000 locations. However, if the member uses an
out-of-network ATM, there is a $2.50 charge for withdrawals and a $1
balance inquiry fee.
2) Foreign Transaction: If the member uses their GoBank debit
card to make a purchase at a merchant outside the United States, there
is a 3% foreign transaction surcharge.
3) Custom debit card (optional): If the member wants to order an
optional customized photo GoBank Visa® debit card, there is a charge of
$9. Of course, there is no charge for the standard GoBank debit card.
4) Monthly Membership (optional): GoBank charges no monthly fee.
However, members can voluntarily pay a monthly membership fee in any
amount they think is fair, from nothing up to a maximum of $9 per month.
Making the monthly fee voluntary ensures that anyone who wants to use
GoBank can become a member without being denied access based on their
ability to pay. Allowing the customer to voluntarily pay what they think
is fair gives the customer the power to “punish” or “reward” GoBank
based on how they feel about the product. This provides an emotional
benefit for the member because it puts them in control of their bank.
Based on our product research, we believe that most GoBank members would
contribute monthly if they liked the product.
Become One of GoBank’s First Members
Beginning today, anyone can request an invitation to join GoBank (visit GoBank.com
and click “Join Now”). The first invitations for membership will also go
out today to those who have requested to join. The GoBank App is also
available as a free download from the App Store for iPhone or iPod
touch, or Google Play for Android. To use the app, you must have an
existing GoBank membership.
For a quick
video overview of GoBank, check out GoBank’s
YouTube channel. For photos and videos from today’s launch
event, visit http://press.gobank.com.
Information about GoBank’s fees can be found at http://GoBank.com/NoWorries.
About GoBank
GoBank is a brand of Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC. GoBank is the first
bank account designed from scratch to be opened and used on a mobile
device. With GoBank, members have full access and control of their money
from their iPhone, iPod Touch or Android device, and can withdraw cash
from more than 40,000 fee-free ATMs in the U.S. For more information
about GoBank or to request a membership invitation, visit http://gobank.com.
You can also visit http://facebook.com/GoBankUS
or http://twitter.com/GoBank.
About Green Dot
Green Dot Corporation is a publicly traded bank holding company with a
mission to reinvent personal banking for the masses. Its products and
brands include Green Dot brand reloadable prepaid debit cards, The Green
Dot Reload Network, the Green Dot MoneyPak
and GoBank.
The Company’s prepaid products and services are available in more than
60,000 retail stores nationwide and online at Greendot.com. GoBank is
available online at GoBank.com and via the Apple App Store and Google
Play with additional distribution locations to be announced in 2013. The
company is headquartered in Pasadena, Calif. with technology offices in
Mountain View, Calif. and Westlake Village, Calif. and its bank
subsidiary, Green Dot Bank, located in Provo, Utah.
Harris Interactive Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris
Interactive in partnership with Green Dot on December 18-20, 2012 among
2,080 adults age 18 and older, among whom 1,519 had total household
incomes of less than $100k and have a checking account at a bank or
credit union. This online survey is not based on a probability sample
and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting
variables, please contact press@gobank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are
subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, among other
things, statements regarding the timeframe within which GoBank is
expected to become available generally and any predictions of customer
behavior. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. A
wide-variety of potential risks, uncertainties, and other factors could
materially affect Green Dot's ability to achieve the results expressed
or implied by Green Dot's forward-looking statements, and those risks
and uncertainties are detailed in Green Dot's earnings releases and
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which is available on Green Dot's
investor relations website at http://ir.greendot.com
and on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov.
All information provided in this release is as of January 15, 2013, and
Green Dot assumes no obligation to update this information as a result
of future events or developments.
1 Refers to Americans who have a checking account and whose
household income is less than $100K.
2 Source: Chase.com
and BankofAmerica.com,
as of Jan 9, 2013
3 The Pew Charitable Trust’s October 2012 report “Still
Risky: An Update on the Safety and Transparency of Checking Accounts
from the Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130115006371/en/
Source: Green Dot Corporation
GoBank
Quinn Daly, Press Relations
press@gobank.com
310-600-8005
or
Green
Dot
Chris Mammone, Investor Relations
ir@greendot.com
626-765-2427