Wondering what happened to GoBank? It turns out Walmart happened.
Investors have expressed anxiety over Green Dot’s future lately. The prepaid leader was set to renew its contract with notoriously tough negotiator WalMart in 2015. At the same time, Green Dot’s mobile bank account, GoBank, appeared to be foundering, changing its terms and conditions and going dark on its social media channels.
Now much is made clear. The New York Times reports that GoBank will be WalMart’s bank, offering checking accounts “to almost anyone over 18 who passes an ID check.”That’s quite a turnaround for GoBank, which has restricted access to its accounts all summer.
The accounts, currently being piloted in Texas, will be available nationwide by the end of October, according to Walmart.
It’s not clear what this will mean for Walmart’s own Bluebird prepaid account, offered with American Express.
From the Times:
Walmart has been eyeing financial services for some time. Two years ago, the company announced a partnership with American Express to offer a prepaid card and debit accounts. Retailers like Target and 7-Eleven also offer prepaid cards.
But the new Walmart initiative will be the first full-blown, off-the-shelf checking account. To help attract customers, Walmart and Green Dot will forgo a screening system many banks use to vet potential customers and rely instead on a proprietary system. The model is expected to allow almost any consumer who passes an identification check to open an account in minutes, according to Green Dot.
In the past, Walmart has tried to secure a federal bank charter to become a deposit-taking bank, but abandoned that effort in 2007 in the face of opposition from the banking industry. Since then, the retailer has assembled an array of services that could be offered without a charter, as well as partnerships with financial service companies like Green Dot.