Core’s Summer Associate, Aaron Mercurio, got started before the summer and is more bullish on the mobile wallet than I am: The hype around the future of mobile payments and related services (e.g., real-time offers, P2P fund transfer, increased ‘one-to-one’ advertising) is focused on reaching the tech-savvy smartphone-carrying consumer. The…
Are you up to the Core Challenge?
We want to shine a spotlight on the most innovative teams serving the underbanked. You could be an app developer in a dorm-room in Beloit, WI or work for one of the largest financial technology companies on earth. If you have built a product or service that works (or will…
You Suze, you don’t lose: Approval for the Approved Card
Suze Orman today announced her new Approved Card, because in her words (and inflection), “You. Can. Always. Bank. On. Me.” The card is the latest in a long line of prepaid cards, a relatively new financial instrument that functions basically like a checkless checking account, needn’t be marketed by a bank, offers…
Welcome Green Dot Bank
On Freedom Boulevard in Provo, Utah, nestled between the mountains of Uinta National Forest and Lake Utah is a nice little one-branch bank, pictured above. It looks innocent enough. Its CEO, Doug Christensen, invites personal emails from his home page. Ping him quickly, as I assume he’s soon out of a…
Not Unbanked: Untapped. Underserved spend $45B on financial services
Most believe the underserved are large in numbers and small in market potential. Of course micro lenders around the world, such as Nobel laureate Grameen Bank, who serve the poor with small, market rate “business” loans have demonstrated it’s big business – and largely, good for the world. But here…
Is Financial Innovation an Oxymoron?
Since I started writing at Forbes, I’m unclear what to do with my “own” blog. So, for today, I’m reposting. If you have a better idea, let me know. The week before last I attended a show-and-tell event for adults in the crevice of the financial industry that calls itself…
The ol’ “Money In” Problem
Jack Dorsey just raised $100 million at a valuation of $1 billion for his new startup, Square, which allows smart phones to act as merchant credit card swipers. Western Union charges a pretty dime to accept cash and move it elsewhere. Green Dot’s reload network accounts for roughly one third of its…
Underbanked Inspire a Wealth of Services
My friend and colleague, founder and CEO of CFSI, Jennifer Tescher, writes a monthly column for the American Banker. This month it was on the Core Challenge (see my previous post), available here for those with a subscription. For those who don’t, here’s a long excerpt, and my encouragement to…
The Core Challenge Finalists
A couple months ago we announced the first Core Underbanked Innovation Challenge for the most innovative new products serving the unbanked and underbanked in America. Since our fund is the premiere venture fund targeting innovation for this segment, it seemed like a logical thing to do. Much to our…
Prepaid Banks (Post Prepaid Expo)
A month ago BB&T launched a prepaid account, a GPR program targeting the underbanked. It sports a $10 monthly fee (half that if you deposit $1k/mo) and free cash deposits from any branch or via the Visa ReadyLink Network. Several banks have approached Green Dot about managing GPR programs for them.…