Technology / Fintech
Start up innovation

Meet the new bank ... Walgreens and New York-based fintech company Stash

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Meet the new bank Bloomberg Technology Unsubscribe Oct 23, 2018, 7:08 AM (9 days ago) to me Bloomberg / Fully Charged / Julie here From Bloomberg Hi all, Julie here. I've written before about how fintech startups are starting to look increasingly like traditional banks, offering products like high-yield checking and savings accounts. But they have consistently differed in one key area—the startups existed only in the digital world. For some consumers, that's a problem. Personally, while I might love the higher interest rates on my checking account, I don't love the idea of losing the option to go to a brick-and-mortar bank branch. But that calculus could change if instead of going to a bank's storefront, I could just go to, say, a Walgreens or CVS instead, and make the same deposits or withdrawals. For one startup, that's already a reality. New York-based fintech company Stash recently announced a partnership with pre-paid card provider Green Dot Corp. that will give its customers access to low- to no-fee checking accounts, and customers will be able to make their cash deposits and withdrawals at Walgreens. I’m at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas this week, where one of Stash's co-founders told me that the partnership was a game changer for the company, pointing out that it had almost instantly added a network of 110,000 retail locations, where people can deposit or withdraw cash. Prior to the launch, the company was known primarily as a micro-investing platform. Stash isn't the only startup looking to connect with users offline. Startup Social Finance now lets customers use existing ATMs to make no-fee withdrawals from their accounts. Last week at a Bloomberg conference focused on the future of money, Social Finance’s CEO Anthony Noto told me that his company was focused on finding more ways to link the physical world to its digital one. Adding branches was of particular interest to customers, he said. Other companies are making similar moves. Chime, which has nearly two million accounts, also allows customers to use ATMs and is partnering with credit unions for deposits and withdrawals. Even Amazon lets you deposit money into your Amazon Cash account at 7-Elevens. Up next, as fintech startups use existing infrastructure to mimic big banks, look for big banks to start to mimic startups—offering higher interest rates and closing some branches. Banks are already shuttering their storefronts at a rapid pace, let's hope the high interest rates come next.—Julie VerHage