Greenlight (financial technology company)

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Short description: Financial technology company
Greenlight Financial Technology Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial technology
Founded2014
Founder
  • Tim Sheehan
  • Johnson Cook
HeadquartersAtlanta, Georgia
Key people
Tim Sheehan (CEO)

Greenlight is an American financial technology company focused on financial education that operates a service providing a Mastercard debit card and financial education app targeted towards families and children.

History

Tim Sheehan and Johnson Cook founded the Greenlight company in 2014.[1] In 2017, the Greenlight debit card was launched. The company had over 10,000 users and raised US$7.5 million in funding from investors at the time of its official launch, and the service was also targeted at children aged 10 through 18.[2]

By 2019, Greenlight had over half a million users, and the company's investors included JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. It raised US$54 million in Series B funding led by other investors.[3][4]

In January 2021, Greenlight introduced plans for accounts; Greenlight + Invest and Greenlight Max. Using both added plans allow children to invest in stocks and ETFs, while Greenlight Max contains more benefits than Invest.[5] That year, Greenlight also raised US$260 million in funding from newer investors and was valued at $2.3 billion.[6]

In February 2022, during Super Bowl LVI, the company aired a commercial promoting the app, with Ty Burrell starring in it.[7]

In May 2022, the company announced the Greenlight Family Cash Card for parents, designed to reward benefits with the Greenlight service.[8][9] As of June 2022, Greenlight currently has over 5 million users.[10]

Services

Greenlight offers a Mastercard debit card and an app for families, and offers three membership plans; Greenlight Core, Greenlight + Invest, and Greenlight Max, with Greenlight being the standard membership, costing US$4.99/month, Greenlight + Invest costing US$7.98/month, and Greenlight Max with a cost of $9.98/month as of July 2022.[11]

Using the app, parents can set spending limits[12] and restrict stores.[13]

Reception

In July 2021, Greenlight was criticized for reserving their right to share personal information to agencies, as stated in their privacy policy. In a response to Vice Media, Greenlight stated that they "do not monetize or sell customer data in any way" and that the information in the privacy policy was inserted “in case we ever decide to offer merchant-funded offers to parents in the future based on aggregated and anonymous information.”.[14]

References

  1. "Leadership | Greenlight" (in en). https://greenlight.com/leadership/. 
  2. "Greenlight is a debit card for kids that parents manage from their phones" (in en-US). https://social.techcrunch.com/2017/02/03/greenlight-is-a-debit-card-for-kids-that-parents-manage-from-their-phones/. 
  3. "The Greenlight Card Teaches Young Adults How to Manage Money" (in en-US). 2019-09-17. https://www.paymentsjournal.com/the-greenlight-card-teaches-young-adults-how-to-manage-money/. 
  4. "Greenlight raises $54 million for a debit card that teaches kids financial literacy" (in en-US). 2019-09-16. https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/16/greenlight-raises-54-million-for-a-debit-card-that-teaches-kids-financial-literacy/. 
  5. "Greenlight introduces Greenlight Max, an educational investing platform for kids" (in en-US). https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/greenlight-introduces-greenlight-max-an-educational-investing-platform-for-kids/. 
  6. "They want to hand your kid a debit card. What do you do?" (in en-US). 2021-10-10. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/they-want-to-hand-your-kid-a-debit-card-what-do-you-do/. 
  7. "Ad Meter 2022: Greenlight" (in en-US). https://www.usatoday.com/videos/sports/Ad-Meter/2022/02/10/ad-meter-2022-greenlight/6743225001/. 
  8. "Greenlight adds a cash-back credit card to its lineup" (in en-US). https://social.techcrunch.com/2022/05/17/greenlight-fintech-focused-on-kids-launches-cash-back-credit-card-for-parents-education-savings/. 
  9. DeJohn, Jaclyn. "Greenlight Family Cash Mastercard: Parents Can Automatically Invest Rewards Into Stocks" (in en). https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/greenlight-family-cash-mastercard-review/. 
  10. "Main page". https://greenlight.com/. 
  11. "Compare Plans | Greenlight" (in en). https://greenlight.com/plans/. 
  12. "Greenlight Review Debit Card for Kids – Forbes Advisor". https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/greenlight-card-review/. 
  13. Zimmer, Evan. "Greenlight Debit Card for Kids: Teach Kids and Teens How to Handle Money" (in en). https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/greenlight-debit-card-for-kids-review/. 
  14. "Debit Card Apps for Kids Are Collecting a Shocking Amount of Personal Data" (in en). https://www.vice.com/en/article/4avqx3/debit-card-apps-for-kids-are-collecting-a-shocking-amount-of-personal-data. 





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