Green Dot: How Millions Pay For Things

It’s rare that you hear about a company that makes money by offering services to average to below average income people – without screwing them over. Yes, check cashing services make lots of dough, but their service fees and commissions can be nothing short of extortionate.

But here’s the challenge. Tens of millions of Americans have screwed up credit, or are suspicious of banks, or are compulsive spenders that may not trust themselves with revolving debt. And for people like that there is Green Dot, an outfit that offers reloadable debit cards you can use anywhere that credit cards are accepted.

For as little as $5 a month, GreenDot offers consumers the convenience and safety of debit payments without having to have a bank account. Reloading at a retailer is another $5, or fee through direct deposit.



That’s pretty darned reasonable in comparison to predatory services that charge as much as 10% of their face value of a check as a processing fee, for example. Yes, 10%. An $800 payroll check costs $80 to cash. Or free with direct deposit to Green Dot.

As with all financial instruments, you get money from two sides – from consumer fees and through the sales commissions that retailers must pay when people to choose to pay with plastic. This makes Green Dot a strong business opp, while at the same time a highly ethical one.

I definitely like this model.

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