GoBank launched an account for the “gig economy” in March, and its first test case was the rideshare giant Uber. Yesterday, for the first time, Green Dot, which owns and operates GoBank, revealed some usage numbers on the accounts.
The program is used by 80 thousand drivers, Green Dot CEO Steve Streit said, and those drivers have deposited $80 million in their accounts. Streit referred to the service as a 1099 payroll account, and said its purpose was to expand the customer base by extending a product out into the on-demand economy.
Green Dot also introduced Instant Pay for drivers in May, which allowed Uber drivers to be paid “ride by ride in near realtime,” according to Streit. This program allows users to send funds to most debit cards issued by U.S. banks, and has only been running for a short amount of time, Streit said. The service has seen 60 thousand transactions.
Streit also discussed Green Dot Money, the company’s lending marketplace. The company has approved six or seven lending partners, but only two or three are live on the platform and reviewing applications. Streit said the company wanted to reach 10 lenders, but pointed out that, given Green Dot customers’ low FICO stores, lenders were understandably cautious.
Green Dot is also launching a new MoneyPak reload product, which, Streit said, has better anti-fraud controls
Walmart remains Green Dot’s most important market — 46% of the company’s revenue flows through Walmart.