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Green Dot Corporation
Annual Report 2012

GDOT · NYSE Financial Services
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FY2012 Annual Report · Green Dot Corporation
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GREEN DOT CORPORATION2012 ANNUAL REPORTCORPORATE HEADQUARTERS3465 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena CA 91107Telephone: (626) 765-2000www.greendot.com BOARD OF DIRECTORSSteven W. Streit, Chairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerKenneth C. Aldrich, DirectorSamuel Altman, DirectorTimothy R. Greenleaf, DirectorVirginia L. Hanna, DirectorRoss E. Kendell, DirectorMichael J. Moritz, DirectorWilliam H. Ott, Jr., Director EXECUTIVE OFFICERSSteven W. Streit, Chairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerJohn L. Keatley, Chief Financial OfficerKonstantinos Sgoutas, Chief Revenue OfficerLewis B. Goodwin, CEO, Green Dot BankJohn C. Ricci, General Counsel INVESTOR RELATIONSChris Mammone(626) 765-2427ir@greendot.com INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMErnst & Young, LLP Los AngelesSTOCK LISTING & SYMBOLNew York Stock Exchange Symbol: GDOT©2013 Green Dot Corporation. MoneyPak is provided by Green Dot Corporation. Green Dot and MoneyPak are registered trademarks of Green Dot CorporationANNUAL REPORT2012Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresOur consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). To supplement these financial statements, we use measures of operating results that are adjusted to exclude, among other things, stock-based retailer incentive compensation expense. The letter to stockholders contained in this annual report (the stockholder letter) includes non-GAAP total operating revenues. This non-GAAP financial measure is not calculated or presented in accordance with, and is not an alternative or substitute for, a financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and should be read only in conjunction with our financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.We believe that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding underlying trends in our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. We also believe that the non-GAAP financial measure contained in the stockholder letter is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance for the following reason:• Stock-based retailer incentive compensation is a non-cash GAAP accounting charge that is an offset to our actual revenues from operations as we have historically calculated them. This charge results from the monthly lapsing of our right to repurchase a portion of the 2,208,552 shares we issued to our largest retail distributor, Walmart, in May 2010. By adding back this charge to our GAAP 2010 and future total operating revenues, investors can make direct comparisons of our revenues from operations prior to and after May 2010 and thus more easily perceive trends in our core operations. Further, because the monthly charge is based on the then-current fair market value of the shares as to which our repurchase right lapses, adding back this charge eliminates fluctuations in our operating revenues caused by variations in our month-end stock prices and thus provides insight on the operating revenues directly associated with those core operations.Our management regularly uses this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business and make operating decisions. For additional information regarding our use of non-GAAP financial measures and the items excluded by us from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures, investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which can be found by clicking on "Financial Information" in the Investor Relations section of our website at ir.greendot.com.Reconciliation Of Total Operating Revenues To Non-GAAP Total Operating Revenues(Unaudited) $ 546,2858,251$ 554,536 $ 467,39817,337$ 484,735 $ 363,88813,369$ 377,257Total operating revenues   Stock-based retailer incentive compensation *Non-GAAP total operating revenues* We do not include any income tax impact of the associated non-GAAP adjustment to non-GAAP total operating revenues because this non-GAAP financial measure is provided before income tax expense.Years Ended December 31,(In thousands)201220112010ANNUAL REPORT2012FY 2005CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012GAAP total operating revenuesNon-GAAP total operating revenues2$343.426.534.341.8$10.4$16.1$17.2$7.8$11.1$12.64.24.4$67$84$168$259$364$467$546FY 2006FY 2007FY 2008CY 2009CY 2010$377$485$555CY 2011CY 2012Total operatings revenues1  (In millions)Customer adoption and usageActive cards(In millions)Cash transfers(In millions)Gross dollar volume(In billions)Purchase volume(In billions)To highlight some of Green Dot’s many accomplishments in 2012:• We successfully integrated the acquisition of Green Dot Bank, giving us the ability to more effectively roll out new banking products, realize cost efficiencies by not having to pay a third party bank, generate new revenue streams in the form of interest income on outstanding balances held at our bank and achieve a level of regulatory sustainability that we believe is key to the long term success of any large-scale prepaid card provider.• We successfully completed the integration of Loopt, delivering what we believe to be the most advanced mobile banking technology capabilities of any bank in America.  The recent beta launch of GoBank is an example of that.  We believe GoBank serves a new segment of customers compared to those we have reached with our prepaid products, and it provides us with an opportunity to develop new sales channels that would not have been available to our prepaid products.• We successfully renewed all retailer agreements that were set to expire in 2012 for multi-year terms.Forward-Looking StatementsWe have included in this letter “forward-looking statements,” which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “will,” “expect,” “believe” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements.  For example, statements regarding the key strategic benefits that Green Dot expects from becoming a bank holding company are all forward-looking statements.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.  Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in these forward-looking statements.  Risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on Green Dot’s investor relations website at ir.greendot.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov . All information provided in this letter speaks only as of the date of this, and Green Dot assumes no obligation to update this information as a result of future events or developments.DEAR GREEN DOT STOCKHOLDERS1 In periods prior to 2010, our GAAP total operating revenues represent both our GAAP and non-GAAP total operating revenues, as they were the same in those periods.2 Reconciliation of total operating revenues to non-GAAP total operating revenues is provided in the table on the inside of the back cover.While uncertainties and challenges still remain in the near term business outlook for Green Dot as a result of the new competitive environment and the impact of new risk controls, Green Dot not only experienced a solid 2012, but more importantly, succeeded in completing its strategic goals for the year and established the opportunity for expanded growth heading into the future.Here’s to a prosperous 2013,Steven W. StreitChairman, President and Chief Executive Officer2012 was another year of double-digit top-line growth and strong cash generation for Green Dot Corporation.  In terms of top-line growth, revenue, earnings, active cards and dollars deposited to accounts, Green Dot remained the largest prepaid card provider in America and we believe the largest bank holding company in America specializing in serving financially underserved consumers.  These achievements came despite unprecedented competition from our nation's largest banks and financial services firms, in addition to new direct competition from multiple entrants in formerly exclusive retail distributors.Of course, revenue growth is the result of growing customer adoption and usage of our products and services.  In this regard, our active portfolio achieved record levels of direct deposit penetration, cash reloading, spend and revenue per card.  These metrics provide a picture of a customer portfolio that is not only growing in size, but improving in quality as well.FY 2005CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012CY 2010CY 2011CY 2012GAAP total operating revenuesNon-GAAP total operating revenues2$343.426.534.341.8$10.4$16.1$17.2$7.8$11.1$12.64.24.4$67$84$168$259$364$467$546FY 2006FY 2007FY 2008CY 2009CY 2010$377$485$555CY 2011CY 2012Total operatings revenues1  (In millions)Customer adoption and usageActive cards(In millions)Cash transfers(In millions)Gross dollar volume(In billions)Purchase volume(In billions)To highlight some of Green Dot’s many accomplishments in 2012:• We successfully integrated the acquisition of Green Dot Bank, giving us the ability to more effectively roll out new banking products, realize cost efficiencies by not having to pay a third party bank, generate new revenue streams in the form of interest income on outstanding balances held at our bank and achieve a level of regulatory sustainability that we believe is key to the long term success of any large-scale prepaid card provider.• We successfully completed the integration of Loopt, delivering what we believe to be the most advanced mobile banking technology capabilities of any bank in America.  The recent beta launch of GoBank is an example of that.  We believe GoBank serves a new segment of customers compared to those we have reached with our prepaid products, and it provides us with an opportunity to develop new sales channels that would not have been available to our prepaid products.• We successfully renewed all retailer agreements that were set to expire in 2012 for multi-year terms.Forward-Looking StatementsWe have included in this letter “forward-looking statements,” which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “will,” “expect,” “believe” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements.  For example, statements regarding the key strategic benefits that Green Dot expects from becoming a bank holding company are all forward-looking statements.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.  Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in these forward-looking statements.  Risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on Green Dot’s investor relations website at ir.greendot.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov . All information provided in this letter speaks only as of the date of this, and Green Dot assumes no obligation to update this information as a result of future events or developments.DEAR GREEN DOT STOCKHOLDERS1 In periods prior to 2010, our GAAP total operating revenues represent both our GAAP and non-GAAP total operating revenues, as they were the same in those periods.2 Reconciliation of total operating revenues to non-GAAP total operating revenues is provided in the table on the inside of the back cover.While uncertainties and challenges still remain in the near term business outlook for Green Dot as a result of the new competitive environment and the impact of new risk controls, Green Dot not only experienced a solid 2012, but more importantly, succeeded in completing its strategic goals for the year and established the opportunity for expanded growth heading into the future.Here’s to a prosperous 2013,Steven W. StreitChairman, President and Chief Executive Officer2012 was another year of double-digit top-line growth and strong cash generation for Green Dot Corporation.  In terms of top-line growth, revenue, earnings, active cards and dollars deposited to accounts, Green Dot remained the largest prepaid card provider in America and we believe the largest bank holding company in America specializing in serving financially underserved consumers.  These achievements came despite unprecedented competition from our nation's largest banks and financial services firms, in addition to new direct competition from multiple entrants in formerly exclusive retail distributors.Of course, revenue growth is the result of growing customer adoption and usage of our products and services.  In this regard, our active portfolio achieved record levels of direct deposit penetration, cash reloading, spend and revenue per card.  These metrics provide a picture of a customer portfolio that is not only growing in size, but improving in quality as well.Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresOur consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). To supplement these financial statements, we use measures of operating results that are adjusted to exclude, among other things, stock-based retailer incentive compensation expense. The letter to stockholders contained in this annual report (the stockholder letter) includes non-GAAP total operating revenues. This non-GAAP financial measure is not calculated or presented in accordance with, and is not an alternative or substitute for, a financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and should be read only in conjunction with our financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.We believe that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding underlying trends in our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. We also believe that the non-GAAP financial measure contained in the stockholder letter is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance for the following reason:• Stock-based retailer incentive compensation is a non-cash GAAP accounting charge that is an offset to our actual revenues from operations as we have historically calculated them. This charge results from the monthly lapsing of our right to repurchase a portion of the 2,208,552 shares we issued to our largest retail distributor, Walmart, in May 2010. By adding back this charge to our GAAP 2010 and future total operating revenues, investors can make direct comparisons of our revenues from operations prior to and after May 2010 and thus more easily perceive trends in our core operations. Further, because the monthly charge is based on the then-current fair market value of the shares as to which our repurchase right lapses, adding back this charge eliminates fluctuations in our operating revenues caused by variations in our month-end stock prices and thus provides insight on the operating revenues directly associated with those core operations.Our management regularly uses this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business and make operating decisions. For additional information regarding our use of non-GAAP financial measures and the items excluded by us from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures, investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which can be found by clicking on "Financial Information" in the Investor Relations section of our website at ir.greendot.com.Reconciliation Of Total Operating Revenues To Non-GAAP Total Operating Revenues(Unaudited) $ 546,2858,251$ 554,536 $ 467,39817,337$ 484,735 $ 363,88813,369$ 377,257Total operating revenues   Stock-based retailer incentive compensation *Non-GAAP total operating revenues* We do not include any income tax impact of the associated non-GAAP adjustment to non-GAAP total operating revenues because this non-GAAP financial measure is provided before income tax expense.Years Ended December 31,(In thousands)201220112010UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
__________________________________________________

FORM 10-K

  ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 
OR

  TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from            to

Commission file number 001-34819

GREEN DOT CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

95-4766827
(IRS Employer Identification No.)

3465 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, California 91107
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(626) 765-2000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Class A Common Stock, $0.001 par value
(Title of each class)

New York Stock Exchange
(Name of each exchange on which registered)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
__________________________________________________

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has 
been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive 
Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 
months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained 
herein,  and  will  not  be  contained,  to  the  best  of  registrant’s  knowledge,  in  definitive  proxy  or  information  statements  incorporated  by 
reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting 
company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 
(Check one):

     Large accelerated filer 

Accelerated filer 

Non-accelerated filer 

  Smaller reporting company 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes 

 No 

The  aggregate  market  value  of  the  common  equity  held  by  non-affiliates  of  the  registrant  (assuming  for  these  purposes,  but  without 
conceding, that all executive officers, directors and 10% or greater stockholders are "affiliates" of the registrant) as of June 30, 2012, the 
last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $694.7 million (based on the closing 
sale price of the registrant's common stock on that date as reported on the New York Stock Exchange).

There were 31,801,422 shares of Class A common stock, par value $.001 per share (which number does not include 6,859,000 shares of 
Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Series A Convertible Junior Participating Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock), 
and 4,192,974 shares of Class B common stock, par value $.001 per share, outstanding as of January 31, 2013.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement relating to the registrant’s 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be held on or about May 
22, 2013, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated.

 
 
 
 
 
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GREEN DOT CORPORATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I.
Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 1.
Item 1A. Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 2.
Legal Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 3.
Mine Safety Disclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Item 4.

Item 5.

Item 6.
Item 7.

PART II.
Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases 
of Equity Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Selected Financial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations . .

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 8.

Item 9.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure . .

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 9B. Other Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART III.

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 11.

Executive Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related 
Stockholder Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 14.

Principal Auditor Fees and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 15.

PART IV.
Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exhibit Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to 
the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed 
to  be  forward-looking  statements. These  statements  are  based  on  current  expectations,  estimates,  forecasts  and 
projections about the industries in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such 
as “expects,” “anticipates,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “continues,” 
“endeavors,” “strives,” “may” and “assumes,” variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify 
forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, 
our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances 
are forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, 
uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those identified below, under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk 
Factors,” and elsewhere herein. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed 
in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for 
any reason.

In this report, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, “Green Dot,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer 
to Green Dot Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, the term “GPR cards” refers to general purpose reloadable 
prepaid debit cards, the term “prepaid cards” refers to prepaid debit cards and the term “our cards” refers to our Green 
Dot-branded and co-branded GPR cards. In addition, “prepaid financial services” refers to GPR cards and associated 
reload services, a segment of the prepaid card industry.

ITEM 1. Business

Overview

PART I

Green Dot is a leading financial services company providing simple, low-cost and convenient money management 
solutions to a broad base of U.S. consumers. We believe that we are the leading provider of general purpose reloadable, 
or GPR, prepaid debit cards in the United States and that our Green Dot Network is the leading reload network for 
prepaid cards in the United States. Other products and services include GoBank, an innovative checking account 
developed for distribution and use via mobile phones, which is expected to be available to U.S. consumers generally 
during the second or third quarter of 2013. We distribute our products and services nationwide at more than 60,000 
retail store locations and on the Internet. The combination of our innovative products, broad retail distribution and 
proprietary  technology  creates  powerful  network  effects,  which  we  believe  enhance  the  value  we  deliver  to  our 
customers, our retail distributors and other participants in our network.

We were incorporated in Delaware in October 1999 as Next Estate Communications, Inc. and changed our name 
to Green Dot Corporation in October 2005. We completed our initial public offering of Class A common stock in July 
2010. In December 2011, we became a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as 
amended, or the BHC Act, as a result of our acquisition of Bonneville Bancorp, the holding company of Bonneville 
Bank, a state-chartered Utah bank, which was renamed Green Dot Bank and became a member bank of the Federal 
Reserve System after the acquisition. In November 2012, we completed the process of transitioning our card issuing 
program with Synovus Bank to Green Dot Bank.  Upon this transition, all Green Dot-branded GPR cards are now 
issued by Green Dot Bank.

We manage our operations and allocate resources as a single operating segment. Financial information regarding 
our  operations,  assets  and  liabilities,  including  our  total  operating  revenues  and  net  income  for  the  years  ended 
December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 and our total assets as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 are included in our 
consolidated financial statements and related notes in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

Our principal executive offices are located at 3465 East Foothill Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91107, and our 
telephone number is (626) 765-2000. We maintain a website at www.greendot.com. We make available free of charge, 
on or through our website via the Investor Relations section at http://ir.greendot.com, our annual report on Form 10-
K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished 
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material 
electronically or otherwise furnishing it to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. References to website 
addresses in this report are intended to be inactive textual references only, and none of the information contained on 
our website is part of this report or incorporated in this report by reference.

Our Business Model

Our business model focuses on three major elements: our consumers; our distribution; and our products and 

services.

Our Consumers

We have designed our products and services to appeal primarily to consumers living in households that earn less 

than $75,000 annually across the following four consumer segments:

•  Never-banked — households in which no one has ever had a bank account;

•  Previously-banked — households in which at least one member has previously had a bank account, but no 

one has one currently;

•  Underbanked — households in which at least one member currently has a bank account, but that also use 

non-bank financial service providers to conduct routine transactions like check cashing or bill payment; and

•  Fully-banked — households that primarily rely on traditional financial services.

Based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, the Federal Reserve Bank, the U.S. 
Census and the Center for Financial Services Innovation and our proprietary data, we believe the addressable portions 
of these four consumer segments collectively represent a market opportunity of approximately 160 million people in 
the United States for our products and services.

Customers in these different segments tend to purchase and use our products for different reasons and in different 
ways. For example, we believe never-banked consumers use our products as a safe, controlled way to spend cash 
and as a means to access channels of trade, such as online purchases, where cash cannot be used. We believe 
1

previously-banked consumers use our products as a convenient and affordable substitute for a traditional checking 
account by depositing payroll checks (via direct or in-store deposit) on a Green Dot GPR card and using our products 
to pay bills, shop online, monitor spending and withdraw cash from ATMs.

We believe underbanked consumers use our products in ways similar to those of the never- and previously-banked 
segments, but additionally view our products as a credit card and debit card substitute. For example, underbanked 
consumers use our products to make purchases at physical and online merchants, pay bills, make travel arrangements 
and guarantee reservations. 

We believe fully-banked consumers use our products as companion products to their bank checking account, 
segregating funds into separate accounts for a variety of uses. For example, fully-banked consumers may use our 
cards to shop on the Internet without providing their bank debit card account information online. These consumers 
also  use  our  products  to  control  spending,  designate  funds  for  specific  uses,  prevent  overdrafts  in  their  checking 
accounts, or load funds into specific accounts, such as a PayPal account.  As our new GoBank product gains adoption, 
we believe that fully-banked consumers will use it in the same way that other fully-banked customers use their bank 
checking accounts.

Our Distribution

We  achieve  broad  distribution  of  our  products  and  services  through  our  retail  distributors,  the  Internet  and 
relationships with other businesses. In addition, our distribution is enhanced by businesses that accept reloads or 
payments through the Green Dot Network, which we refer to as our network acceptance members, because they 
encourage their customers to use our prepaid financial services.

Retail Distributors. Our prepaid financial services are sold in more than 60,000 retail store locations, including 
those of major national mass merchandisers, national and regional drug store and convenience store chains, and 
national and regional supermarket chains. Our retail distributors include:

Type of Distributor
Mass merchandise retailers

Drug store retailers

Representative Distributors
Walmart, Kmart

Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid

Convenience store retailers

7-Eleven, The Pantry (Kangaroo Express), Circle K

Supermarket retailers

Kroger, Blackhawk Network, Inc.

Other

Radio Shack

Most  of  these  retailers  have  been  our  distributors  for  several  years  and  all  have  contracts  with  us,  subject  to 
termination rights, which expire at various dates from 2014 to 2015. In general, our agreements with our retail distributors 
give us the right to provide Green Dot-branded and/or co-branded GPR cards and reload services in their retail locations 
and require us to share with them by way of commissions the revenues generated by sales of these cards and reload 
services. We and the retail distributor generally also agree to certain marketing arrangements, such as promotions 
and advertising. Our operating revenues derived from products and services sold at the store locations of Walmart 
and our three other largest retail distributors, as a group, represented the following percentages of our total operating 
revenues:  approximately  64%  and  20%,  respectively,  for  the  year  ended  December 31,  2012,  61%  and  20%, 
respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2011, 63% and 20%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 
2010.

Our Relationship with Walmart. Walmart is our largest retail distributor. We have been the exclusive provider of 
Walmart-branded GPR cards sold at Walmart since Walmart initiated its Walmart MoneyCard program in 2007. In 
October 2006, we entered into agreements with Walmart and GE Capital Retail Bank, formerly GE Money Bank (the 
card issuing bank), which set forth the terms and conditions of our relationship with Walmart. Pursuant to the terms of 
these agreements, Green Dot designs and delivers the Walmart MoneyCard product and provides all ongoing program 
support,  including  network  IT,  regulatory  and  legal  compliance,  website  functionality,  customer  service  and  loss 
management. Walmart displays and sells the cards and GE Capital Retail Bank serves as the issuer of the cards and 
holds the associated FDIC-insured deposits. All Walmart MoneyCard products are reloadable exclusively on the Green 
Dot Network.

In May 2010, the term of the agreement among Green Dot, Walmart and GE Capital Retail Bank was extended 
through May 2015. The parties also agreed to various other changes to the terms of the agreement. In particular, the 
sales commission percentages that we pay to Walmart for the Walmart MoneyCard program increased significantly 
in May 2010 and will increase by a smaller amount in May 2013. Walmart has the right to terminate this agreement 
prior to its expiration or renewal, but subject to notice periods of varying lengths and for a number of specified reasons, 

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including, among others: our failure to meet agreed-upon service levels, certain changes in control of GE Capital Retail 
Bank or us, or GE Capital Retail Bank's or our inability or unwillingness to agree to requested pricing changes.

Network Acceptance Members. A large number of institutions accept funds through our reload network, using our 
MoneyPak product. We provide reload services to over 120 third-party prepaid card programs, including programs 
offered by UniRush, LLC, H&R Block, and AccountNow. MasterCard’s RePower Reload Network also uses the Green 
Dot Network to facilitate cash reloads for its own member programs. In addition, we provide reload services to other 
kinds of institutions and their customers. For example, we enable PayPal customers to use a MoneyPak to fund a new 
or existing PayPal account.

Other Channels. An increasing portion of our card sales are generated from our and Walmart's online distribution 
channels and other non-retail channels. We offer Green Dot-branded cards through our website, www.greendot.com 
and the Walmart MoneyCard through www.walmartmoneycard.com. We promote these distribution channels through 
television  and  online  advertising.  Customers  who  activate  their  cards  through  these  channels  typically  receive  an 
unfunded card in the mail and then can reload the card either through a cash reload or a payroll or other direct deposit 
transaction. Our GoBank product is offered as a mobile application on smartphones and other mobile devices.

Our Products and Services

Our  principal  products  and  services  consist  of  Green  Dot-branded  GPR  cards,  co-branded  GPR  cards  and 
MoneyPak and point-of-sale, or POS, swipe reload transactions facilitated by the Green Dot Network. We also offer 
our recently-introduced GoBank product and we service general purpose gift cards, which have historically represented 
only a small percentage of our operating revenues. The Green Dot-branded GPR cards and GoBank product we offer 
are issued by Green Dot Bank, our subsidiary bank, and certain of our co-branded cards are issued by GE Capital 
Retail Bank and The Bancorp Bank. Card balances are FDIC-insured and have either Visa or MasterCard zero liability 
card protection.

Card Products

Green Dot-Branded GPR Cards. Our Green Dot-branded GPR cards provide consumers with an affordable and 
convenient way to manage their money and make payments without undergoing a credit check or possessing a pre-
existing bank account. GPR cards are designed for general spending purposes, are reloadable for ongoing long-term 
use, and can be used anywhere their applicable payment network, such as Visa or MasterCard, is accepted. In addition 
to standard prepaid Visa- or MasterCard-branded GPR cards, we also offer GPR cards positioned for a specific use 
or market, such as our Online Shopping card, our Prepaid Student card and our Prepaid NASCAR card.

To purchase a GPR card in a retail store location, consumers typically select the temporary GPR card from an in-
store display and pay the cashier a one-time purchase fee plus the initial amount they would like to load onto their 
card. Consumers then go online or call a toll-free number to register their personal information with us so that we can 
activate their temporary prepaid card and mail them a personalized GPR card. As explained below, consumers can 
then reload their personalized GPR cards using a MoneyPak or, at enabled retailers, via an automated point-of-sale 
process, which we refer to as a POS swipe reload transaction. Funds can also be loaded on the card via direct deposit 
of various disbursements, such as a customer’s payroll check.

Our GPR cards are issued as Visa- or MasterCard-branded cards and can be used by consumers at the more 
than 30 million locations worldwide that accept these brands, including for bill payments, everyday store purchases, 
online shopping, ATM withdrawals and electronic payments through mobile devices. Our cardholders can conduct 
ATM transactions at approximately 1.9 million Visa PLUS or 2.1 million MasterCard Cirrus ATMs worldwide, including 
over 23,000 MoneyPass fee-free ATMs in all 50 states.

We have instituted a simple fee structure that includes a new card fee (if the card is purchased from one of our 
retail distributors), a monthly maintenance fee (which may be waived based on usage), a cash reload fee and an ATM 
withdrawal  fee  for  non-MoneyPass ATMs.  Most  of  the  features  and  functions  of  our  cards  are  provided  without 
surcharges. Our free services include direct deposit reloads, account management, and balance inquiry services via 
the Internet, telephone and mobile applications.

For regulatory compliance, risk management, operational and other reasons, our GPR cards and reload products 
have certain limitations and restrictions, including but not limited to maximum dollar reload amounts, maximum numbers 
of reloads in a given time period (e.g., per day), and limitations on uses of our temporary cards versus our permanent 
personalized cards.

Co-Branded  GPR  Cards.  We  provide  co-branded  GPR  cards  on  behalf  of  certain  retail  distributors  and  other 
business entities and affinity groups. Co-branded cards generally bear the trademarks or logos of the retail distributor 
or business entity or affinity group, and our trademark on the packaging and back of the card. These cards have the 

3

same features and characteristics as our Green Dot-branded GPR cards, and are accepted at the same locations. 
We typically are responsible for managing all aspects of these programs, including strategy, product design, marketing, 
customer service and operations/compliance. Representative co-branded cards include the Walmart MoneyCard, the 
Kmart Halogen Prepaid MasterCard cards, and the AARP Foundation Prepaid MasterCard.

GoBank. In January 2013, we launched a limited release of GoBank, an innovative new checking account product 
that allows customers to acquire and manage their checking account entirely through a mobile application available 
on smartphone devices. We expect our GoBank product to be distributed through our existing distribution channels, 
including at the store locations of many of our existing retail distributors, as well as new distribution channels with 
mobile partners.

Reload Services

We generate cash transfer revenues when consumers purchase our reload services. We offer consumers affordable 
and convenient ways to reload any of our GPR cards, over 120 third-party prepaid card programs and to conduct other 
cash loading transactions through our reload network, using our MoneyPak product or through retailers’ specially-
enabled POS devices. MoneyPak is offered in all of the retail locations where our GPR cards are sold. MoneyPak is 
a cash reload product that we market on a display like our Green Dot-branded GPR cards. Cash reloads using a 
MoneyPak involve a two-step process: consumers pay the cashier the desired amount to be added onto the MoneyPak, 
plus a service fee, generally ranging between $3.00 and $4.95, and then go online or call a toll-free number to submit 
the unique MoneyPak number and add the funds to a GPR card or other account, such as participating billers or a 
PayPal account. Alternatively, at many retail locations, consumers can add funds directly to their Green Dot- branded 
and co-branded cards at the point of sale through an automated POS swipe reload transaction. Unlike a MoneyPak, 
these POS swipe reload transactions involve a single-step process: consumers pay the cashier the desired amount 
to be reloaded, plus a service fee, and funds are reloaded onto the GPR card at the point of sale without further action 
required on the part of the consumer.

Sales and Marketing

The primary objective of our sales and marketing efforts is to educate consumers on the utility of our products and 
services  in  order  to  generate  demand,  and  to  instruct  consumers  on  where  they  may  purchase  our  products  and 
services. We also seek to educate existing customers on the use of our products and services to encourage increased 
usage and retention of our products. We accomplish these objectives through various types of consumer-oriented 
marketing and advertising and by expanding our group of retail and other distributors to gain access to additional 
customers.

Marketing to Consumers

We market our products to a broad group of consumers, ranging from never-banked to fully-banked consumers. 
We are focusing our current sales and marketing efforts on acquisition of long-term users of our products, enhancing 
our brands and image, building market adoption and awareness of our products, improving cardholder retention and 
increasing card usage. To achieve these objectives, we highlight to consumers the core benefits of our products, which 
we believe are affordability, access to funds, utility, convenience, transparency and security.

Our marketing campaigns for our prepaid financial services involve creating a compelling in-store presence and 
conducting television advertising, retailer promotions such as newspaper inserts and circulars, online advertisements, 
and co-op advertising with select retail distributors. We expect that the marketing strategy for our new GoBank product 
will include a heavier reliance on social media and digital channels such as popular destinations for mobile application 
downloads.  We focus on raising brand awareness while educating our customers.

We also design, and provide to our retail distributors for use in their stores, innovative packaging and in-store 
displays that we believe generate consumer interest and differentiate our products from other card products on their 
racks. Our packaging and displays help ensure that our products are promoted in a consistent, visual manner that is 
designed to invite consumers to browse and learn about our products, and thus to increase our sales opportunities.

We employ a number of strategies to improve cardholder retention and increase card usage. These strategies are 
based on research we conduct on an ongoing basis to understand consumer behavior and improve consumer loyalty 
and satisfaction. For example, we use our points of contact with customers (e.g., our website, email, interactive voice 
response system, or IVR, and mobile applications) to educate our customers and promote new card features. We also 
provide  incentives  for  behaviors,  such  as  cash  reloading,  establishing  payroll  direct  deposit  and  making  frequent 
purchases with our cards, that we believe increase cardholder retention. In particular, we believe that our fee waiver 
program, which eliminates monthly maintenance fees for customers who deposit $1,000 or more to the card or conduct 
at least 30 transactions with the card during a monthly billing cycle, contributes significantly to cardholder retention 
within certain of our customer segments. 

4

Marketing to Retail Distributors

When marketing our prepaid financial services to potential new retail distributors, we highlight several key benefits, 
including our leading national brand, our in-store presence and merchandising expertise, our cash reload network, the 
profitability to them of our products and our commitment to national television and other advertising. In addition, we 
communicate the peripheral benefits of our products, such as their ability to generate additional foot traffic and sales 
in their stores and higher average purchase amount per transaction.

Marketing to Our Network Acceptance Members

We market our reload network to a broad range of banks, third-party processors, program managers and others 
that have uses for our reload network’s cash transfer technology. When marketing to potential network acceptance 
members, we highlight the key benefits of our cash loading network, including the breadth of our distribution capabilities, 
our leadership position in the industry, the profitability to them of our products, consumer satisfaction owing to the 
consistency in the user experience and our commitment to national television and other advertising and marketing 
support.

Customer Service

We provide customer service for all GPR card and gift card programs that we manage and for MoneyPak on a 24-
hour per day, 365-day per year basis, primarily through third-party service providers in Guatemala and the Philippines, 
and  also  through  our  staff  in  the  United  States. All  card  activations,  reloads,  support  and  lost/stolen  inquiries  are 
handled online and through various toll-free numbers at these locations. We also operate our own call center at our 
headquarters  for  handling  customer  and  corporate  escalations.  Customer  service  is  provided  in  both  English  and 
Spanish.

Competition

We operate in highly competitive and developing markets, which we expect to become increasingly competitive 
in the future. In addition to the direct competitors described below, we compete for access to retail distribution channels 
and for the attention of consumers at the retail level.

Prepaid Card Issuance and Program Management

We compete against the full spectrum of providers of GPR cards. We also compete with traditional providers of 
financial services, such as banks that offer demand deposit accounts and card issuers that offer credit cards, private 
label retail cards and gift cards. Many of these institutions are substantially larger and have greater resources, larger 
and more diversified customer bases and greater brand recognition than we do. Many of these companies can also 
leverage their extensive customer bases and adopt aggressive pricing policies to gain market share. Our primary 
competitors in the prepaid card issuance and program management market are traditional credit, debit and prepaid 
card account issuers and prepaid card program managers like American Express, First Data, NetSpend, AccountNow, 
PreCash, UniRush, LLC, Western Union and MoneyGram. In addition, from time to time, new entrants, such as PayPal, 
introduce prepaid card products that could increase competition in this market. Our Green Dot-branded cards also 
compete with our co-branded GPR cards, such as the Walmart MoneyCard.

We believe that the principal competitive factors for the prepaid card issuance and program management market 

include:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

breadth of distribution;

brand recognition;

the ability to reload funds;

compliance and regulatory capabilities;

enterprise-class and scalable IT;

customer support capabilities; and

pricing.

We believe our products compete favorably on each of these factors.

5

Reload Networks

While we believe our Green Dot Network is the leading reload network for prepaid cards in the United States, a 
growing number of companies are attempting to establish and grow their own reload networks. In this market, new 
companies, or alliances among existing companies, may be formed that rapidly achieve a significant market position. 
Many of these companies are substantially larger than we are and have greater resources, larger and more diversified 
customer bases and greater name recognition than we do. Our primary competitors in the reload network services 
market are: Visa, Western Union, MoneyGram, Blackhawk Network, Inc., and Incomm. Visa has broad brand recognition 
and a large base of merchant acquiring and card issuing banks. Western Union, MoneyGram, Blackhawk Network, 
Inc., and Incomm each have a national network of retail and/or agent locations. In addition, we compete for consumers 
and billers with financial institutions that provide their retail customers with billing, payment and funds transfer services. 
Many of these institutions are substantially larger and have greater resources, larger and more diversified customer 
bases and greater brand recognition than we do.

We believe that the principal competitive factors for reload network services include:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the number and quality of retail locations;

brand recognition;

product and service functionality;

number of cardholders and customers using the service;

reliability of the service;

consistency of the user experience

retail price;

enterprise-class and scalable IT;

ability to integrate quickly with multiple payment platforms and distributors;

customer support capabilities; and

compliance and regulatory capabilities.

We believe the Green Dot Network competes favorably on each of these factors.

Prepaid Card Distribution

We compete against the full spectrum of prepaid card distributors and third-party processors that sell competing 
prepaid card programs through retail and online channels. Many of these institutions are substantially larger and have 
greater resources, larger and more diversified customer bases and greater brand recognition than we do. Many of 
these  companies  can also  leverage  their  extensive  customer  bases  and adopt  aggressive  pricing  policies  to  gain 
market share. As new payment methods are developed, we also expect to encounter competition from new entrants. 
Our primary competitors in the prepaid card distribution market are: InComm, Blackhawk Network, Inc., First Data, 
NetSpend, and American Express.  In addition, we face potential competition from Western Union, MoneyGram and 
a number of retail banks if they enter this market.

We believe that the principal competitive factors for the prepaid card distribution market include:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

brand recognition with consumers and retailers;

the ability to reload funds;

ability to develop and maintain strong relationship with retail distributors;

compliance and regulatory capabilities;

pricing; and

large customer base.

We believe our products compete favorably on each of these factors.

Personal Banking Services

With the recent Beta launch of GoBank, we are entering the market for consumer checking accounts.  In this 
market we compete against a wide range of both traditional and non-traditional banks, including the largest banks.  
Many of these banks have greater resources, larger and more diversified customer bases and greater brand recognition 

6

than we do.  Many of these banks also have other assets that could give them an advantage, including broader ranges 
of product offerings and/or retail branch networks.  We believe that our consumer checking account products will be 
differentiated by their innovative technological features, innovative distribution model, consumer-friendly pricing, and 
branding.

We believe that the principal competitive factors for personal banking services include:

• 

brand recognition with consumers and distribution partners;

•  marketing capabilities;

• 

• 

• 

• 

product features;

ability to develop and maintain strong relationship with distributors;

compliance and regulatory capabilities; and

pricing.

We believe that our GoBank product will compete favorably on each of these factors.  However, investments in 
new products such as GoBank are speculative.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that GoBank will be adopted 
by consumers or otherwise achieve commercial success.

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark and copyright laws and trade secret protection in the United States, 
as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions, to protect the intellectual property rights related to 
our products and services.

We own several trademarks, including Green Dot, MoneyPak, GoBank, and the Green Dot logo. These assets 
are  essential  to  our  business. Through  agreements  with  our  network  acceptance  members,  retail  distributors  and 
customers, we authorize and monitor the use of our trademarks in connection with their activities with us.

Our patent portfolio currently consists of four patents and seven patent applications.  The term of the patents we 
hold is, on average, twenty years. We feel our patents and applications are essential to our business and help to 
differentiate our products and services from those of our competitors.

The industry in which we compete is characterized by rapidly changing technology, a large number of patents, 
and  frequent  claims  and  related  litigation  regarding  patent  and  other  intellectual  property  rights. There  can  be  no 
assurance that our patents and other proprietary rights will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented; that others 
will not assert intellectual property rights to technologies that are relevant to us; or that our rights will give us a competitive 
advantage. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent 
as the laws of the United States. The risks associated with patents and intellectual property are more fully discussed 
in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” including the risk factors entitled “We must adequately protect our brand and the intellectual 
property rights related to our products and services and avoid infringing on the proprietary rights of others,” and “We 
must be able to operate and scale our technology effectively to manage any future growth.”

Regulation

Compliance  with  legal  and  regulatory  requirements  is  a  highly  complex  and  integral  part  of  our  day-to-day 
operations. Our products and services are generally subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations, including:

• 

anti-money laundering laws;

•  money transfer and payment instrument licensing regulations;

• 

• 

• 

• 

escheatment laws;

privacy and information safeguard laws;

banking regulations; and

consumer protection laws.

These laws are often evolving and sometimes ambiguous or inconsistent, and the extent to which they apply to 
us, our subsidiary bank or the banks that issue our cards, our retail distributors, our network acceptance members or 
our third-party processors is at times unclear. Any failure to comply with applicable law — either by us or by the card 
issuing banks, retail distributors, network acceptance members or third-party processors, over which we have limited 
legal and practical control — could result in restrictions on our ability to provide our products and services, as well as 

7

the imposition of civil fines and criminal penalties and the suspension or revocation of a license or registration required 
to sell our products and services.

We  continually  monitor  and  enhance  our  compliance  program  to  stay  current  with  the  most  recent  legal  and 
regulatory changes. We also continue to implement policies and programs and to adapt our business practices and 
strategies to help us comply with current legal standards, as well as with new and changing legal requirements affecting 
particular services or the conduct of our business generally. These programs include dedicated compliance personnel 
and training and monitoring programs, as well as support and guidance to our retail distributors and network acceptance 
members on compliance programs.

Anti-Money Laundering Laws

Our products and services are generally subject to federal anti-money laundering laws, including the Bank Secrecy 
Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act, and similar state laws. On an ongoing basis, these laws require us, among 
other things, to:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

report large cash transactions and suspicious activity;

screen transactions against the U.S. government’s watch-lists, such as the Specially Designated Nationals 
and Blocked Persons List maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control;

prevent the processing of transactions to or from certain countries, individuals, nationals and entities;

identify the dollar amounts loaded  or transferred at  any one time or over specified periods of time, which 
requires the aggregation of information over multiple transactions;

gather and, in certain circumstances, report customer information;

comply with consumer disclosure requirements; and

register or obtain licenses with state and federal agencies in the United States and seek registration of our 
retail distributors and network acceptance members when necessary.

Anti-money laundering regulations are constantly evolving. We continuously monitor our compliance with anti-
money laundering regulations and implement policies and procedures in order to comply with the most current legal 
requirements. We cannot predict how these future regulations might affect us. Complying with future regulation could 
be expensive or require us to change the way we operate our business. For example, in July 2011, the Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, of the U.S. Department of Treasury published final rules regarding, among other 
things, the applicability of the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money laundering provisions to prepaid products such as ours. 
Although we believe these regulations have not adversely impacted prepaid products such as ours or required material 
operational  changes  by  prepaid  financial  services  providers  such  as  us  or  our  retail  distributors,  there  can  be  no 
assurance that the interpretation or enforcement of these regulations will not adversely impact our products or require 
operational changes by us or our retail distributors.

We  are  registered  with  FinCEN  as  a  money  services  business. As  a  result  of  being  so  registered,  we  have 
established anti-money laundering compliance programs that include: (i) internal policies and controls; (ii) designation 
of a compliance officer; (iii) ongoing employee training and (iv) an independent review function. We have developed 
and implemented compliance programs comprised of policies, procedures, systems and internal controls to monitor 
and address various legal requirements and developments. To assist in managing and monitoring money laundering 
risks, we continue to enhance our anti-money laundering compliance program. We offer our services largely through 
our retail distributor and network acceptance member relationships. We have developed an anti-money laundering 
training manual and a program to assist in educating our retail distributors on applicable anti-money laundering laws 
and regulations.

Money Transfer and Payment Instrument Licensing Regulations

We are subject to money transfer and payment instrument licensing regulations. We have obtained licenses to 
operate as a money transmitter in 41 states. The remaining U.S. jurisdictions either do not currently regulate money 
transmitters or have rendered a regulatory determination or a legal interpretation that the money services laws of that 
jurisdiction do not require us to obtain a license in connection with the conduct of our business. As a licensee, we are 
subject to certain restrictions and requirements, including reporting, net worth and surety bonding requirements and 
requirements for regulatory approval of controlling stockholders, agent locations and consumer forms and disclosures. 
We are also subject to inspection by the regulators in the jurisdictions in which we are licensed, many of which conduct 
regular examinations.

8

In addition, we must at all times maintain “permissible investments” in an amount equivalent to all “outstanding 
payment obligations.” While, technically, the outstanding payment obligations represented by the balances on our card 
products  are  liabilities  of  the  issuing  bank,  it  is  possible  that  some  states  will  require  us  to  maintain  permissible 
investments in an amount equal to the outstanding payment obligations of the bank that issues our cards. The types 
of securities that are considered “permissible investments” vary from state to state, but generally include cash and 
cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other highly rated debt instruments.

Escheatment Laws

Unclaimed property laws of every U.S. jurisdiction require that we track certain information on our card products 
and services and that, if customer funds are unclaimed at the end of an applicable statutory abandonment period, the 
proceeds of the unclaimed property be remitted to the appropriate jurisdiction. We have agreed with the banks that 
issue our cards to manage escheatment law compliance with respect to our card products and services and have an 
ongoing  program  to  comply  with  those  laws.  Statutory  abandonment  periods  applicable  to  our  card  products  and 
services typically range from three to seven years.

Privacy and Information Safeguard Laws

In the ordinary course of our business, we collect certain types of data, which subjects us to certain privacy and 
information security laws in the United States, including, for example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, or the GLB 
Act, and other laws or rules designed to regulate consumer information and mitigate identity theft. We are also subject 
to  privacy  laws  of  various  states. These  state  and  federal  laws  impose  obligations  with  respect  to  the  collection, 
processing, storage, disposal, use and disclosure of personal information, and require that financial institutions have 
in place policies regarding information privacy and security. In addition, under federal and certain state financial privacy 
laws, we must provide notice to consumers of our policies and practices for sharing nonpublic information with third 
parties, provide advance notice of any changes to our policies and, with limited exceptions, give consumers the right 
to prevent use of their nonpublic personal information and disclosure of it to unaffiliated third parties. Certain state 
laws may, in some circumstances, require us to notify affected individuals of security breaches of computer databases 
that contain their personal information. These laws may also require us to notify state law enforcement, regulators or 
consumer reporting agencies in the event of a data breach, as well as businesses and governmental agencies that 
own data. In order to comply with the privacy and information safeguard laws, we have confidentiality/information 
security standards and procedures in place for our business activities and with network acceptance members and our 
third-party vendors and service providers. Privacy and information security laws evolve regularly, requiring us to adjust 
our compliance program on an ongoing basis and presenting compliance challenges.

Banking Regulations

We became a bank holding company in December 2011, as a result of our acquisition of Bonneville Bancorp, the 
holding company of Bonneville Bank, a state-chartered Utah bank, which was renamed Green Dot Bank after the 
acquisition.  We and our subsidiary bank are extensively regulated under federal and state laws, which, in general, 
results in increased compliance costs and other expenses, as we and our subsidiary bank are required to undergo 
regular on-site examinations and to comply with additional reporting requirements. As a bank holding company, we 
are subject to the supervision of, and inspection by, the Federal Reserve Board and are subject to certain regulations 
which, among other things, restrict our business and the activities in which we may engage. Our existing business 
activities and currently proposed business activities are not materially restricted by these regulations.

Activities. Federal laws restrict the types of activities in which bank holding companies may engage, and subject 
them  to  a  range  of  supervisory  requirements,  including  regulatory  enforcement  actions  for  violations  of  laws  and 
policies. Bank holding companies may engage in the business of banking and managing and controlling banks, as 
well  as  closely  related  activities.  In  addition,  financial  holding  companies  may  engage  in  a  wider  set  of  activities, 
including with respect to securities activities and investments in companies engaged in nonbanking activities. The 
business activities that we currently conduct are permissible activities for bank holding companies under U.S. law, and 
we do not expect the limitations described above will adversely affect our current operations or materially restrict us 
from engaging in activities that are currently contemplated by our business strategies. It is possible, however, that 
these restrictions could limit our ability to enter other businesses in which we may wish to engage at some time in the 
future. It is also possible that in the future these laws may be amended in ways, or new laws or regulations may be 
adopted, that adversely affect our ability to engage in our current or additional businesses.

Even if our activities are permissible for a bank holding company, as discussed under “— Capital Adequacy” below, 
the Federal Reserve Board has the authority to order a bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any 
activity or to require divestiture of ownership or control of a subsidiary in the event that it has reasonable cause to 
believe that the activity or continued ownership or control poses a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness or 
stability of the bank holding company or any of its bank subsidiaries.

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Dividend Restrictions. Bank holding companies are subject to various restrictions that may affect their ability to 
pay  dividends.  Federal  and  state  banking  regulations  applicable  to  bank  holding  companies  and  banks  generally 
require that dividends be paid from earnings and, as described under “— Capital Adequacy” below, require minimum 
levels of capital, which limits the funds available for payment of dividends. Other restrictions include the Federal Reserve 
Board’s general policy that bank holding  companies  should pay cash dividends  on common stock only out of net 
income available to stockholders for the preceding year or four quarters and only if the prospective rate of earnings 
retention is consistent with the organization’s expected future needs and financial condition, including the needs of 
each of its bank subsidiaries. In the current financial and economic environment, the Federal Reserve Board has 
indicated that bank holding companies should carefully review their dividend policies and has discouraged dividend 
pay-out ratios that are at the 100% level unless both their asset quality and capital are very strong. A bank holding 
company also should not maintain a dividend level that places undue pressure on the capital of its bank subsidiaries, 
or that may undermine the bank holding company’s ability to serve as a source of strength for its bank subsidiaries. 
See “— Source of Strength” below.

As part of our financial commitments to the Federal Reserve Board and Utah Department of Financial Institutions, 

our subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, is restricted from paying dividends for 3 years from the date of acquisition. 

Capital Adequacy.  Bank  holding  companies  and  banks  are  subject  to  various  requirements  relating  to  capital 
adequacy, including limitations on leverage. As a bank holding company that is a financial holding company, we are 
required to be “well-capitalized,” meaning we must maintain a ratio of Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 
6% and a ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 10%. In addition, we are also subject to the generally 
applicable bank holding company minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4%, which is the ratio of Tier 1 capital to average 
total consolidated assets. Tier 1 capital, or “core” capital, generally consists of common stockholders’ equity, perpetual 
non-cumulative preferred stock and, up to certain limits, other capital elements. Tier 2 capital consists of supplemental 
capital items such as the allowance for loan and lease losses, certain types of preferred stock, hybrid capital securities 
and certain types of debt, all subject to certain limits. Total capital is the sum of Tier 1 capital plus Tier 2 capital.

Our subsidiary bank is also subject to separate capital and leverage requirements that we have committed to with 
the Federal Reserve Board and Utah Department of Financial Institutions. As of December 31, 2012, we and our 
subsidiary bank are each “well-capitalized” under the above standards and presently exceed our respective capital 
and leverage commitments. 

In December 2010, the international Basel Committee on Banking Supervision reached an agreement on new 
risk-based capital, leverage and liquidity standards, known as “Basel III.” In June 2012, the Federal Reserve and other 
U.S. banking regulators proposed rules to implement many aspects of Basel III in the United States. The U.S. Basel 
III proposals contain new capital standards that would raise the quality of capital, increase minimum capital ratios and 
strengthen counterparty credit risk capital requirements. The U.S. Basel III proposals also include a new definition of 
common equity Tier 1 capital and would require that certain levels of such common equity Tier 1 capital be maintained. 
The proposals also include a new capital conservation buffer, which would impose a common equity requirement above 
the  new  minimum  that  can  be  depleted  under  stress,  and  could  result  in  restrictions  on  capital  distributions  and 
discretionary  bonuses  under  certain  circumstances,  as  well  as  a  new  standardized  approach  for  calculating  risk-
weighted assets.

Under the U.S. Basel III proposals, many of the new capital requirements were scheduled to take effect on January 
1, 2013 and would be phased in over several years. The Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking regulators announced 
in November 2012 that the U.S. Basel III proposals would not become effective on January 1, 2013. That announcement 
did not state when the U.S. Basel III proposals would take effect.

Under the regulatory framework that Congress has established and bank regulators have implemented, banks 
are either “well-capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” or “critically 
undercapitalized.” Banks are generally subject to greater restrictions and supervision than bank holding companies, 
and these restrictions increase as the financial condition of the bank worsens. For instance, a bank that is not well-
capitalized may not accept, renew or roll over brokered deposits without the consent of the FDIC. If our subsidiary 
bank were to become less than adequately capitalized, the bank would need to submit to bank regulators a capital 
restoration plan that was guaranteed by us, as its bank holding company. The bank would also likely become subject 
to further restrictions on activities, including entering into new lines of business or conducting activities that have the 
effect of limiting asset growth or preventing acquisitions. A bank that is undercapitalized would also be prohibited from 
making capital distributions, including dividends, and from paying management fees to its bank holding company if 
the  institution  would  be  undercapitalized  after  any  such  distribution  or  payment. A  significantly  undercapitalized 
institution would be subject to mandatory capital raising activities, restrictions on interest rates paid and transactions 
with affiliates, removal of management and other restrictions. The FDIC has only very limited discretion in dealing with 
a critically undercapitalized institution and is virtually required to appoint a receiver or conservator.

10

Source of Strength. Under Federal Reserve Board policy, bank holding companies are expected to act as a source 
of strength to their bank subsidiaries. This support may theoretically be required by the Federal Reserve Board at 
times when the bank holding company might otherwise determine not to provide it. As noted above, if a bank becomes 
less than adequately capitalized, it would need to submit an acceptable capital restoration plan that, in order to be 
acceptable, would need to be guaranteed by the parent holding company. In the event of a bank holding company’s 
bankruptcy, any commitment by the bank holding company to a federal bank regulator to maintain the capital of a 
subsidiary bank would be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to a priority of payment. In addition, under 
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve 
Board is required to adopt new regulations formally requiring bank holding companies to serve as a source of strength 
to their subsidiary depository institutions.  The Federal Reserve Board has not yet proposed rules to implement this 
requirement.

Acquisitions  of  Bank  Holding  Companies.  Under  the  BHC Act  and  the  Change  in  Bank  Control Act,  and  their 
respective implementing regulations, Federal Reserve Board approval is necessary prior to any person or company 
acquiring control of a bank or bank holding company, subject to certain exceptions. Control is conclusively presumed 
to exist if an individual or company acquires 25% or more of any class of voting securities, and may be presumed to 
exist if a person acquires 10% or more of any class of voting securities. These restrictions could affect the willingness 
or ability of a third party to acquire control of us for so long as we are a bank holding company particularly if the third 
party was not also a bank holding company.

Deposit  Insurance  and  Deposit  Insurance Assessments.  Deposits  accepted  by  banks,  such  as  our  subsidiary 
bank, have the benefit of FDIC insurance up to the applicable limits. The FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund is funded by 
assessments on insured depository institutions, the level of which depends on the risk category of an institution and 
the amount of insured deposits that it holds. These rates currently range from 2.5 to 45 basis points on deposits. The 
FDIC may increase or decrease the assessment rate schedule semi-annually, and has in the past required and may 
in the future require banks to prepay their estimated assessments for future periods. The Dodd-Frank Act changes 
the method of calculating deposit assessments, requiring the FDIC to assess premiums on the basis of assets less 
tangible stockholders’ equity. The FDIC has indicated that this change will likely result in a lower assessment rate 
because of the larger assessment base. Because of the current stress on the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund resulting 
from the banking crisis, those fees have increased and are likely to stay at a relatively high level.

Community Reinvestment Act. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, or CRA, and the regulations promulgated 
by the FDIC to implement the CRA are intended to ensure that banks meet the credit needs of their respective service 
areas,  including  low  and  moderate  income  communities  and  individuals,  consistent  with  safe  and  sound  banking 
practices. The CRA regulations also require the banking regulatory authorities to evaluate a bank’s record in meeting 
the needs of its service area when considering applications to establish new offices or consummate any merger or 
acquisition transaction. The federal banking agencies are required to rate each insured institution’s performance under 
the CRA and to make that information publicly available. Our subsidiary bank currently complies with the CRA through 
investments and other activities that are designed to benefit the needs of low and moderate income communities.

Restrictions on Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders. Transactions between a bank and its nonbanking affiliates 
are regulated by the Federal Reserve Board. These regulations limit the types and amount of these transactions, 
require certain levels of collateral for loans to affiliated parties and generally require those transactions to be on an 
arm’s-length  basis. As  a  bank  holding  company,  our  transactions  with  our  subsidiary  bank  are  limited  by  these 
regulations, although we do not anticipate that these restrictions will adversely affect our ability to conduct our current 
operations or materially prohibit us from engaging in activities that are currently contemplated by our business strategies.

Issuing Banks. All of the GPR cards that we provide and the Walmart gift cards we service are issued by either a 
federally- or state-chartered bank. Thus, we are subject to the oversight of the regulators for, and certain laws applicable 
to, these card issuing banks. These banking laws require us, as a servicer to the banks that issue our cards, among 
other things, to undertake compliance actions similar to those described under “Anti-Money Laundering Laws” above 
and to comply with the privacy regulations promulgated under the GLB Act as discussed under “Privacy and Information 
Safeguard Laws” above.  Our subsidiary bank is subject to the additional regulatory oversight and legal obligations 
described above, in its capacity as issuing bank of our GPR cards.

Other. The policies of regulatory authorities, including the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve Board, have a 
significant  effect  on  the  operating  results  of  bank  holding  companies  and  their  subsidiaries.  Moreover,  additional 
changes to banking laws and regulations are possible in the near future. The Dodd-Frank Act made numerous changes 
to the regulatory framework governing banking organizations, and many of these changes require rulemakings by 
regulators, only a portion of which have been completed. These regulations could likewise substantially affect our 
business and operations. In addition, the U.S. Congress is considering various proposals relating to the activities and 
supervision of banks and bank holding companies, some of which could materially affect our operations and those of 

11

our subsidiary bank. Although there can be no assurance regarding the ultimate impact that adoption of these proposals 
will have on us, if the proposals are enacted, we expect that the benefits we seek to realize from our recent bank 
acquisition will be reduced.

Consumer Protection Laws

We are subject to state and federal consumer protection laws, including laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive 
practices, regulating electronic fund transfers and protecting consumer nonpublic information. We believe that we have 
appropriate procedures in place for compliance with these consumer protection laws, but many issues regarding our 
service have not yet been addressed by the federal and state agencies charged with interpreting the applicable laws.

In order to permit the direct deposit of Federal benefits and other Federal funds to our products, we comply with 
the requirements of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of the Federal Reserve Board, or Regulation E, as they relate to 
payroll cards, including disclosure of the terms of our electronic fund transfer services to consumers prior to their use 
of the service, 21 days' advance notice of material changes, specific error resolution procedures and timetables, and 
limits on customer liability for transactions that are not authorized by the consumer.

In June 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, issued a notice and request for comment on 
defining what kinds of companies should be included as “larger participants” for its nonbank supervision program.  The 
CFPB subsequently published its first "larger participant" proposed rule, in February 2012, defining nonbank “larger 
participants” as entities engaged in consumer debt collection and consumer reporting. The CFPB published final rules 
regarding “larger participants” engaged in consumer reporting and consumer debt collection in, respectively, July 2012 
and October 2012. Although the CFPB did not include prepaid card issuers in these rules, the CFPB may take actions 
in the future, including other rulemakings, that subject us or our products and services to its oversight and regulation.

In May 2012, the CFPB issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking information from the public 
regarding GPR cards. Although rules were not published in the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the CFPB 
is focused on whether some or all of the provisions of Regulation E should apply to GPR cards and on the product 
fees, disclosures and product features of GPR cards. 

Payment Networks

In order to provide our products and services, we, as well as the banks that issue our cards, must register with 
Visa and MasterCard and, as a result, are subject to payment network rules that could subject us to a variety of fines 
or penalties that may be levied by the payment networks for certain acts or omissions. The banks that issue our cards 
are specifically registered as “members” of the Visa and/or MasterCard payment networks. Visa and MasterCard set 
the standards with which we and the card issuing banks must comply.

Employees

As of December 31, 2012, we had 596 employees, including 431 in general and administrative, 67 in sales and 
marketing, and 98 in research and product development.  None of our employees is represented by a labor union or 
is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have never experienced any employment-related work stoppages 
and consider relations with our employees to be good.  As of December 31, 2012, we also had arrangements with 
third-party call center providers in Guatemala and the Philippines that provided us with approximately 1,465 contractors 
for customer service and similar functions.

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business

Our operating results may fluctuate in the future, which could cause our stock price to decline.

Our quarterly and annual results of operations may fluctuate in the future as a result of a variety of factors, many 
of which are outside of our control. If our results of operations fall below the expectations of investors or any securities 
analysts  who  follow  our  Class A  common  stock,  the  trading  price  of  our  Class A  common  stock  could  decline 
substantially.    Fluctuations  in  our  quarterly  or  annual  results  of  operations  might  result  from  a  number  of  factors, 
including, but not limited to:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the timing and volume of purchases, use and reloads of our prepaid cards and related products and services;

the timing and success of new product or service introductions by us or our competitors;

seasonality in the purchase or use of our products and services;

reductions in the level of interchange rates that can be charged;

fluctuations in customer retention rates;

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• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

changes in the mix of products and services that we sell;

changes in the mix of retail distributors through which we sell our products and services;

the timing of commencement, renegotiation or termination of relationships with significant retail distributors 
and network acceptance members;

the timing of commencement of new product development and initiatives that cause us to expand into new 
distribution channels, such as our GoBank product, and the length of time we must invest in those new products 
or channels before they generate material operating revenues;

changes in our or our competitors’ pricing policies or sales terms;

significant changes in our risk policies and controls;

the timing of commencement and termination of major advertising campaigns;

the timing of costs related to the development or acquisition of complementary businesses;

the timing of costs of any major litigation to which we are a party;

the amount and timing of operating costs related to the maintenance and expansion of our business, operations 
and  infrastructure,  including  our  investments  in  an  in-house  processing  solution  to  eventually  replace  the 
processing services provided by Total System Services, Inc.;

our ability to control costs, including third-party service provider costs and sales and marketing expenses in 
an increasingly competitive market;

volatility in the trading price of our Class A common stock, which may lead to higher or lower stock-based 
compensation expenses or fluctuations in the valuations of vesting equity that cause variations in our stock-
based retailer incentive compensation; and

changes  in  the  political  or  regulatory  environment  affecting  the  banking  or  electronic  payments  industries 
generally or prepaid financial services specifically.

The loss of operating revenues from Walmart and our three other largest retail distributors would adversely 

affect our business.

Most of our operating revenues are derived from prepaid financial services sold at our four largest retail distributors. 
As a percentage of total operating revenues, operating revenues derived from products and services sold at the store 
locations  of  Walmart  and  from  products  and  services  sold  at  the  store  locations  of  our  three  other  largest  retail 
distributors, as a group, were approximately 64% and 20%, respectively, in the year ended December 31, 2012. We 
do not expect the percentage of our 2013 total operating revenues derived from products and services sold at Walmart 
stores to change significantly from the percentage in the year ended December 31, 2012, and expect that Walmart 
and our other three largest retail distributors will continue to have a significant impact on our operating revenues in 
future years. It would be difficult to replace any of our large retail distributors, particularly Walmart, and the operating 
revenues derived from sales of our products and services at their stores. Accordingly, the loss of Walmart or any of 
our other three largest retail distributors would have a material adverse effect on our business, and might have a 
positive impact on the business of one of our competitors if it were able to replace us. In addition, any publicity associated 
with the loss of any of our large retail distributors could harm our reputation, making it more difficult to attract and retain 
consumers and other retail distributors, and could lessen our negotiating power with our remaining and prospective 
retail distributors.

Our contracts with these retail distributors have terms that expire at various dates between 2014 and 2015, but 
they can in limited circumstances, such as our material breach or insolvency or, in the case of Walmart, our failure to 
meet agreed-upon service levels, certain changes in control of GE Capital Retail Bank or us, GE Capital Retail Bank's 
or our inability or unwillingness to agree to requested pricing changes, be terminated by these retail distributors on 
relatively short notice. Walmart also has the right to terminate its agreement prior to its expiration or renewal for a 
number of other specified reasons, including: a change by GE Capital Retail Bank in its card operating procedures 
that  Walmart  reasonably  believes  will  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  Walmart's  operations;  our  inability  or 
unwillingness to make Walmart MoneyCards reloadable outside of our reload network in the event that our reload 
network does not meet particular size requirements in the future; and in the event Walmart reasonably believes that 
it is reasonably possible, after the parties have explored and been unable to agree on any alternatives, that the Federal 
Reserve Board may determine that Walmart exercises a controlling influence over our management or policies. There 
can be no assurance that we will be able to continue our relationships with our largest retail distributors on the same 
or more favorable terms in future periods or that our relationships will continue beyond the terms of our existing contracts 
with them. Our operating revenues and operating results could suffer if, among other things, any of our retail distributors 
13

renegotiates, terminates or fails to renew, or to renew on similar or favorable terms, its agreement with us or otherwise 
chooses to modify the level of support it provides for our products.

Our future success depends upon our retail distributors’ active and effective promotion of our products 

and services, but their interests and operational decisions might not always align with our interests.

Most of our operating revenues are derived from our products and services sold at the stores of our retail distributors. 
Revenues from our retail distributors depend on a number of factors outside our control and may vary from period to 
period. Because we compete with many other providers of consumer products, including competing prepaid cards, 
for placement and promotion of products in the stores of our retail distributors, our success depends on our retail 
distributors and their willingness to promote our products and services successfully. In general, our contracts with 
these third parties allow them to exercise significant discretion over the placement and promotion of our products in 
their stores; they could give higher priority to the products and services of other companies for a variety of reasons, 
and this risk is expected to become greater as we enter an environment in which our competitors are bringing to market 
at the stores of our retail distributors products and services that are, or that may be perceived to be, substantially 
similar to or better than ours. Accordingly, losing the support of our retail distributors might limit or reduce the sales of 
our  cards  and  MoneyPak  reload  product.  Our  operating  revenues  may  also  be  negatively  affected  by  our  retail 
distributors’ operational decisions. For example, as retail distributors introduce and promote competing products at 
their store locations, as Walmart began to do in October 2012, the growth of our product sales may decline at those 
stores. Similarly, if a retail distributor reduces shelf space for our products or implements changes in its systems that 
disrupt the integration between its systems and ours, our product sales could be reduced or decline. Even if our retail 
distributors actively and effectively promote our products and services, there can be no assurance that their efforts 
will maintain or result in growth of our operating revenues.

Our  operating  revenues  for  a  particular  period  are  difficult  to  predict,  and  a  shortfall  in  our  operating 

revenues may harm our results of operations.

Our operating revenues for a particular period are difficult to predict, especially in light of recent developments in 
the competitive environment of our market and related uncertainty. Our card revenues and other fees, cash transfer 
revenues and interchange revenues, collectively, may grow at a slower rate than in prior periods, as it did in 2012, or 
may decline, as we currently estimate it will in 2013. Our ability to meet financial expectations could be adversely 
affected  by  various  factors  such  as  increasing  competition  within  the  store  locations  of  many  of  our  largest  retail 
distributors, and our continued implementation of voluntary risk control factors, which we believe is likely to, among 
other things, continue to adversely affect our new card activations from legitimate customers for the foreseeable future.  
We  also  expect  seasonal  or  other  influences,  including  potential  fluctuations  in  stock-based  retailer  incentive 
compensation caused by variations in our stock price, to cause sequential quarterly fluctuations and periodic declines 
in our operating revenues, operating income and net income. For example, in recent years, our results for each of the 
first three quarters have been favorably affected by large numbers of taxpayers electing to receive their tax refunds 
via direct deposit on our cards, which caused our operating revenues to be typically higher in the first halves of those 
years than they were in the corresponding second halves of those years.

Our ability to increase card usage and cardholder retention and to attract new long-term users of our products can 
also have a significant effect on our operating revenues. We may be unable to generate increases in card usage, 
cardholder retention or attract new long-term users of our products for a number of reasons, including our inability to 
maintain our existing distribution channels, the failure of our cardholder retention and usage incentives to influence 
cardholder behavior, our inability to predict accurately consumer preferences or industry changes and to modify our 
products and services on a timely basis in response thereto, and our inability to produce new features and services 
that appeal to existing and prospective cardholders.  As a result, our operating results could vary materially from period 
to period based on the degree to which we are successful in increasing card usage and cardholder attention and 
attracting long-term users of our products. 

Any of the above factors could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial 

condition.

The industry in which we compete is highly competitive, which could adversely affect our operating results.

The prepaid financial services industry is highly competitive and includes a variety of financial and non-financial 
services vendors. We expect competition to intensify even further in 2013 as existing competitors and new market 
entrants are bringing to market products and services that are, or that may be perceived to be, substantially similar to 
or better than ours. For example, Walmart began selling an American Express-branded checking account alternative 
product at its store locations in October 2012. This competition is expected to negatively impact our operating revenues, 
excluding stock-based retailer incentive compensation, and could cause us to compete on the basis of price or increase 

14

our  sales  and  marketing  expenses,  any  of  which  would  likely  seriously  harm  our  business,  operating  results  and 
financial condition. Our current and potential competitors include:

• 

• 

prepaid card program managers, such as American Express Company, First Data Corporation, NetSpend 
Holdings, Inc., AccountNow, Inc., PreCash Inc. and other traditional banks, such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 
that have recently entered the prepaid card market;

reload  network  providers,  such  as  Visa,  Inc.  (or  Visa),  The  Western  Union  Company  and  MoneyGram 
International, Inc.; and

• 

prepaid card distributors, such as InComm and Blackhawk Network, Inc.

Some of these vendors compete with us in more than one of the vendor categories described above, while others 
are primarily focused in a single category. In addition, competitors in one category have worked or are working with 
competitors in other categories to compete with us. A portion of our cash transfer revenues is derived from reloads to 
cards managed by companies that compete with us as program managers. We also face actual and potential competition 
from retail distributors or from other companies, such as PayPal and Visa, that have decided or may in the future 
decide to compete, or compete more aggressively, in the prepaid financial services industry.

We also compete with businesses outside of the prepaid financial services industry, including traditional providers 
of financial services, such as banks that offer demand deposit accounts and card issuers that offer credit cards, private 
label retail cards and gift cards. In particular, our recently-introduced GoBank product is designed to compete directly 
with banks by providing products and services that they have traditionally provided. These and other competitors in 
the  larger  electronic  payments  industry  are  introducing  new  and  innovative  products  and  services,  such  as  those 
involving  radio  frequency  and  proximity  payment  devices  (such  as  contactless  cards),  e-commerce  and  mobile 
commerce, that compete with ours. We expect that this competition will intensify as the prepaid financial services 
industry and the larger banking and electronic payments industry continues to rapidly evolve.

Many existing and potential competitors have longer operating histories and greater name recognition than we 
do. In addition, many of our existing and potential competitors are substantially larger than we are, may already have 
or could develop substantially greater financial and other resources than we have, may offer, develop or introduce a 
wider range of programs and services than we offer or may use more effective advertising and marketing strategies 
than we do to achieve broader brand recognition, customer awareness and retail penetration.  We could experience 
increased price competition as we are facing increased competition with a greater number of offerings from existing 
competitors and new market entrants at the stores of many of our retail distributors. If this happens, we expect that 
the purchase and use of our products and services would decline in the near term and farther into the future. If price 
competition materially intensifies, we may have to increase the incentives that we offer to our retail distributors and 
decrease the prices of our products and services, any which would likely adversely affect our operating results.

Our long-term success depends on our ability to compete effectively against existing and potential competitors 
that seek to provide prepaid cards or other electronic payment products and services. If we fail to compete effectively 
against any of the foregoing threats, our revenues, operating results, prospects for future growth and overall business 
could be materially and adversely affected.

We make significant investments in new products and services that may not be successful. 

Our prospects for growth depend on our ability to innovate by offering new, and adding value to our existing, 
product and service offerings and on our ability to effectively commercialize such innovations. We will continue to make 
significant investments in research, development, and marketing for new products and services, including GoBank 
and other mobile or banking products arising out of our acquisitions or otherwise. Investments in new products and 
services  are  speculative.  Commercial  success  depends  on  many  factors,  including  innovativeness,  price,  the 
competitive environment and effective distribution and marketing. If customers do not perceive our new offerings as 
providing significant value, they may fail to accept our new products and services, which would negatively impact our 
operating revenues. We may not achieve significant operating revenues from new product and service investments 
for  a  number  of  years,  if  at  all.  Moreover,  new  products  and  services  may  not  be  profitable,  and  even  if  they  are 
profitable, operating margins for new products and services may not be as high as the margins we have experienced 
in the past.

15

Fraudulent and other illegal activity involving our products and services could lead to reputational damage 
to us, reduce the use and acceptance of our cards and reload network, and may adversely affect our financial 
position and results of operations.

Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities involving prepaid cards or 
cardholder information, such as counterfeiting, fraudulent payment or refund schemes and identity theft. We rely upon 
third parties for some transaction processing services, which subjects us and our cardholders to risks related to the 
vulnerabilities of those third parties. A single significant incident of fraud, or increases in the overall level of fraud, 
involving our cards and other products and services, could result in reputational damage to us, which could reduce 
the use and acceptance of our cards and other products and services, cause retail distributors or network acceptance 
members to cease doing business with us or lead to greater regulation that would increase our compliance costs.  
Fraudulent activity could also result in the imposition of regulatory sanctions, including significant monetary fines, which 
could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.  Furthermore, we have accelerated the 
implementation of risk control mechanisms that have made it more difficult for legitimate customers to obtain and use 
our products and services. We believe it is likely that our risk control mechanisms will continue to adversely affect our 
new card activations from legitimate customers for the foreseeable future and that our operating revenues, excluding 
stock-based retailer incentive compensation, will be negatively impacted as a result.

As a bank holding company, we are subject to extensive and potentially changing regulation and may be 
required  to  serve  as  a  source  of  strength  for  Green  Dot  Bank,  which  may  adversely  affect  our  business, 
financial position and results of operations.

We  became  a  bank  holding  company  in  December  2011.  As  a  bank  holding  company,  we  are  subject  to 
comprehensive  supervision  and  examination  by  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  and  must  comply  with  applicable 
regulations and other commitments we have agreed to, including financial commitments in respect to minimum capital 
and leverage requirements. If we fail to comply with any of these requirements, we may become subject to formal or 
informal enforcement actions, proceedings, or investigations, which could result in regulatory orders, restrictions on 
our business operations or requirements to take corrective actions, which may, individually or in the aggregate, affect 
our results of operations and restrict our ability to grow. If we fail to comply with the applicable capital and leverage 
requirements, or if our subsidiary bank fails to comply with its applicable capital and leverage commitments, the Federal 
Reserve Board may limit our ability to pay dividends, or if we become less than adequately capitalized, require us to 
raise additional capital. In addition, as a bank holding company and a financial holding company, we are generally 
prohibited from engaging, directly or indirectly, in any activities other than those permissible for bank holding companies 
and financial holding companies. This restriction might limit our ability to pursue future business opportunities which 
we might otherwise consider but which might fall outside the scope of permissible activities.

Moreover, in response to the financial crisis of 2008 and the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or 
the Dodd-Frank Act, banking supervisors in the United States are presently in the process of implementing a variety 
of new requirements on banking entities. Some of these requirements apply or will apply directly to us or to our subsidiary 
bank, while certain requirements apply or will apply only to larger institutions. Although we cannot anticipate the final 
form of many of these regulations, how they will affect our business or results of operations, or how they will change 
the competitive landscape in which we operate, such regulations could have a material adverse impact on our business 
and financial condition, particularly if they make it more difficult for us or our retail distributors to sell our card products.

Changes in laws and regulations to which we are subject, or to which we may become subject, may increase 

our costs of operation, decrease our operating revenues and disrupt our business.

Changes in laws and regulations or the interpretation or enforcement thereof may occur that could increase our 
compliance and other costs of doing business, require significant systems redevelopment, or render our products or 
services less profitable or obsolete, any of which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. We could 
face  more  stringent  anti-money  laundering  rules  and  regulations,  as  well  as  more  stringent  licensing  rules  and 
regulations, compliance with which could be expensive and time consuming.

Changes in laws and regulations governing the way our products and services are sold or in the way those laws 
and regulations are interpreted or enforced could adversely affect our ability to distribute our products and services 
and the cost of providing those products and services. If onerous regulatory requirements were imposed on the sale 
of our products and services, the requirements could lead to a loss of retail distributors, which, in turn, could materially 
and  adversely  impact  our  operations.    In  addition,  if  our  products  are  adversely  impacted  by  the  interpretation  or 
enforcement of these regulations or we or any of our retail distributors were unwilling or unable to make any such 
operational changes to comply with the interpretation or enforcement thereof, we would no longer be able to sell our 
cards through that noncompliant retail distributor, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial 
position and results of operations.

16

State and federal legislators and regulatory authorities have become increasingly focused on the banking and 
consumer financial services industries, and continue to propose and adopt new legislation that could result in significant 
adverse changes in the regulatory landscape for financial institutions (including card issuing banks) and other financial 
services companies (including us). For example, federal legislation, such as the bill proposed by Senator Menendez, 
known as the Prepaid Card Consumer Protection Act of 2011, would limit the amount of fees, including monthly fees, 
that we would be able to charge and would impose operational requirements, such as closing and refunding certain 
dormant prepaid cards, which could decrease our operating revenues and increase our operating costs. Proposed 
legislation in New Jersey and Illinois could, if passed, also limit the types and amounts of fees that we would be able 
to charge, which could decrease our operating revenues. In addition, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or 
CFPB, issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in May 2012, requesting comment on topics including the 
scope of regulation of prepaid cards, fees and disclosures applicable to prepaid cards, product features and other 
information. If the CFPB's rulemaking results in changes in the way we or the banks that issue our cards are regulated, 
these  regulations  could  expose  us  and  the  banks  that  issue  our  cards  to  increased  regulatory  oversight,  more 
burdensome  regulation  of  our  business,  and  increased  litigation  risk,  each  of  which  could  increase  our  costs  and 
decrease our operating revenues. Additionally, changes to the limitations placed on fees or the disclosures that must 
be provided with respect to our products and services could increase our costs and decrease our operating revenues. 
However, as the CFPB has not yet proposed any such rules, it is difficult to determine with any certainty what obligations 
the final rules might impose or what impact they might have on our business.

We operate in a highly regulated environment, and failure by us, the banks that issue our cards or the 
businesses that participate in our reload network to comply with applicable laws and regulations could have 
an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

We operate in a highly regulated environment, and failure by us, the banks that issue our cards or the businesses 
that participate in our reload network to comply with the laws and regulations to which we are subject could negatively 
impact our business. We are subject to state money transmission licensing requirements and a wide range of federal 
and other state laws and regulations. In particular, our products and services are subject to an increasingly strict set 
of legal and regulatory requirements intended to protect consumers and to help detect and prevent money laundering, 
terrorist financing and other illicit activities.

Many of these laws and regulations are evolving, unclear and inconsistent across various jurisdictions, and ensuring 
compliance with them is difficult and costly. For example, with increasing frequency, federal and state regulators are 
holding  businesses  like  ours  to  higher  standards  of  training,  monitoring  and  compliance,  including  monitoring  for 
possible violations of laws by the businesses that participate in our reload network. Failure by us or those businesses 
to comply with the laws and regulations to which we are or may become subject could result in fines, penalties or 
limitations on our ability to conduct our business, or federal or state actions, any of which could significantly harm our 
reputation  with  consumers  and  other  network  participants,  banks  that  issue  our  cards  and  regulators,  and  could 
materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Changes in rules or standards set by the payment networks, such as Visa and MasterCard, or changes in 
debit network fees or products or interchange rates, could adversely affect our business, financial position 
and results of operations.

We and the banks that issue our cards are subject to association rules that could subject us to a variety of fines 
or penalties that may be levied by the card associations or networks for acts or omissions by us or businesses that 
work with us, including card processors, such as Total System Services, Inc. The termination of the card association 
registrations held by us or any of the banks that issue our cards or any changes in card association or other debit 
network rules or standards, including interpretation and implementation of existing rules or standards, that increase 
the cost of doing business or limit our ability to provide our products and services could have an adverse effect on our 
business,  operating  results  and  financial  condition.  In  addition,  from  time  to  time,  card  associations  increase  the 
organization and/or processing fees that they charge, which could increase our operating expenses, reduce our profit 
margin and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Furthermore, a substantial portion of our operating revenues is derived from interchange fees. For the year ended 
December 31,  2012,  interchange  revenues  represented  30.2%  of  our  total  operating  revenues,  and  we  expect 
interchange revenues to continue to represent a significant percentage of our total operating revenues in the near 
term. The amount of interchange revenues that we earn is highly dependent on the interchange rates that the payment 
networks set and adjust from time to time. The enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act required the Federal Reserve Board 
to  implement  regulations  that  have  substantially  limited  interchange  fees  for  many  issuers.  While  we  believe  the 
interchange rates that may be earned by us and our subsidiary bank are exempt from such limitations, in light of this 
legislation and recent attention generally on interchange rates in the United States, there can be no assurance that 
the interpretation or enforcement of interchange legislation or regulation will not impact our interchange revenues 

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substantially. If interchange rates decline, whether due to actions by the payment networks, the banks that issue our 
cards or existing or future legislation, regulation or the interpretation or enforcement thereof, we would likely need to 
change our fee structure to compensate for lost interchange revenues. However, our ability to make these changes 
is limited by the terms of our contracts and other commercial factors, such as price competition. To the extent we 
increase the pricing of our products and services, we might find it more difficult to acquire consumers and to maintain 
or grow card usage and customer retention, and we could suffer reputational damage and become subject to greater 
regulatory scrutiny.  We also might have to discontinue certain products or services. As a result, our operating revenues, 
operating results, prospects for future growth and overall business could be materially and adversely affected.

Our actual operating results may differ significantly from our guidance.

From time to time, we may issue guidance in our quarterly results conference calls, or otherwise, regarding our 
future  performance  that  represents  our  management’s  estimates  as  of  the  date  of  release. This  guidance,  which 
includes forward-looking statements, is based on projections prepared by our management. These projections are not 
prepared  with  a  view  toward  compliance  with  published  guidelines  of  the  American  Institute  of  Certified  Public 
Accountants, and neither our independent registered public accounting firm nor any other independent expert or outside 
party compiles or examines the projections. Accordingly, no such person expresses any opinion or any other form of 
assurance with respect to those projections.

Projections are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while presented with numerical specificity, 
are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of 
which are beyond our control, and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, 
some of which will change. We intend to state possible outcomes as high and low ranges that are intended to provide 
a sensitivity analysis as variables are changed but we can provide no assurances that actual results will not fall outside 
of the suggested ranges.

The principal reason that we release guidance is to provide a basis for our management to discuss our business 
outlook with analysts and investors. We do not accept any responsibility for any projections or reports published by 
any of these persons.

Guidance is necessarily speculative in nature, and it can be expected that some or all of the assumptions underlying 
the guidance furnished by us will prove to be incorrect or will vary significantly from actual results. Accordingly, our 
guidance is only an estimate of what management believes is realizable as of the date of release. Actual results will 
vary from our guidance and the variations may be material. In light of the foregoing, investors are urged not to rely 
upon our guidance in making an investment decision with respect to our Class A common stock.

Any failure to implement our operating strategy successfully or the occurrence of any of the events or circumstances 
set  forth  in  this  Item 1A.  could  result  in  our  actual  operating  results  being  different  from  our  guidance,  and  such 
differences may be adverse and material.

We rely on relationships with third-party card issuing banks to conduct our business, and our results of 
operations  and  financial  position  could  be  materially  and  adversely  affected  if  we  fail  to  maintain  these 
relationships or we maintain them under new terms that are less favorable to us.

All of our cards under the Walmart MoneyCard program are issued by GE Capital Retail Bank, formerly GE Money 
Bank. Our relationship with GE Capital Retail Bank will be for the foreseeable future, a critical component of our ability 
to conduct our business and to maintain our revenue and expense structure. We may be unable to maintain relationships 
with the third-party banks that issue our cards for a variety of reasons, including increased regulatory oversight, more 
burdensome regulation of our industry, increased compliance requirements or changes in business strategy. If we lose 
or do not maintain existing third-party banking relationships, we could incur significant switching and other costs and 
expenses and we and users of our products and services could be significantly affected, creating contingent liabilities 
for us. As a result, the failure to maintain adequate banking relationships could have a material adverse effect on our 
business, results of operations and financial condition. Our agreements with the third-party banks that issue our cards 
provide for revenue-sharing arrangements and cost and expense allocations between the parties. Changes in the 
revenue-sharing arrangements or the costs and expenses that we have to bear under these relationships could have 
a material impact on our operating expenses. In addition, we may be unable to maintain adequate banking relationships 
or, following its expiration in 2015, renew our agreements with GE Capital Retail Bank under terms at least as favorable 
to us as those existing before renewal.

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We receive important services from third-party vendors, including card processing from Total System 

Services, Inc.  Replacing them would be difficult and disruptive to our business.

Some services relating to our business, including fraud management and other customer verification services, 
transaction processing and settlement, card production and customer service, are outsourced to third-party vendors, 
such as Total System Services, Inc. for card processing and Genpact International, Inc. for call center services.  It 
would be difficult to replace some of our third-party vendors, particularly Total System Services, Inc., in a timely manner 
if they were unwilling or unable to provide us with these services during the term of their agreements with us and our 
business and operations could be adversely affected. In February 2013, we amended our card processing agreement 
with Total System Services, Inc. to extend the term of our agreement by sixteen months to December 31, 2015.

Our business could suffer if there is a decline in the use of prepaid cards as a payment mechanism or 

there are adverse developments with respect to the prepaid financial services industry in general.

As  the  prepaid  financial  services  industry  evolves,  consumers  may  find  prepaid  financial  services  to  be  less 
attractive than traditional or other financial services. Consumers might not use prepaid financial services for any number 
of reasons, including the general perception of our industry. For example, negative publicity surrounding other prepaid 
financial service providers could impact our business and prospects for growth to the extent it adversely impacts the 
perception of prepaid financial services among consumers. If consumers do not continue or increase their usage of 
prepaid cards, our operating revenues may remain at current levels or decline. Predictions by industry analysts and 
others concerning the growth of prepaid financial services as an electronic payment mechanism may overstate the 
growth of an industry, segment or category, and you should not rely upon them. The projected growth may not occur 
or may occur more slowly than estimated. If consumer acceptance of prepaid financial services does not continue to 
develop or develops more slowly than expected or if there is a shift in the mix of payment forms, such as cash, credit 
cards, traditional debit cards and prepaid cards, away from our products and services, it could have a material adverse 
effect on our financial position and results of operations.

A data security breach could expose us to liability and protracted and costly litigation, and could adversely 

affect our reputation and operating revenues.

We,  the  banks  that  issue  our  cards  and  our  retail  distributors,  network  acceptance  members  and  third-party 
processors receive, transmit and store confidential customer and other information in connection with the sale and 
use of our prepaid financial services. Our encryption software and the other technologies we use to provide security 
for storage, processing and transmission of confidential customer and other information may not be effective to protect 
against data security breaches by third parties. The risk of unauthorized circumvention of our security measures has 
been heightened by advances in computer capabilities and the increasing sophistication of hackers. The banks that 
issue  our  cards  and  our  retail  distributors,  network  acceptance  members  and  third-party  processors  also  may 
experience similar security breaches involving the receipt, transmission and storage of our confidential customer and 
other  information.  Improper  access  to  our  or  these  third  parties’  systems  or  databases  could  result  in  the  theft, 
publication, deletion or modification of confidential customer and other information.

A data security breach of the systems on which sensitive cardholder data and account information are stored could 
lead to fraudulent activity involving our products and services, reputational damage and claims or regulatory actions 
against us. If we are sued in connection with any data security breach, we could be involved in protracted and costly 
litigation. If unsuccessful in defending that litigation, we might be forced to pay damages and/or change our business 
practices  or  pricing  structure,  any  of  which  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  operating  revenues  and 
profitability. We would also likely have to pay (or indemnify the banks that issue our cards for) fines, penalties and/or 
other assessments imposed by Visa or MasterCard as a result of any data security breach. Further, a significant data 
security breach could lead to additional regulation, which could impose new and costly compliance obligations. In 
addition, a data security breach at one of the banks that issue our cards or at our retail distributors, network acceptance 
members or third-party processors could result in significant reputational harm to us and cause the use and acceptance 
of our cards to decline, either of which could have a significant adverse impact on our operating revenues and future 
growth prospects.

Litigation or investigations could result in significant settlements, fines or penalties.

We are currently subject to various litigation as described “Part I, Item 3. Legal Proceedings” of this report.  In 
addition, we are subject to regulatory oversight in the normal course of our business, and have been and from time to 
time may be subject to regulatory or judicial proceedings or investigations. The outcome of securities class actions 
and other litigation and regulatory or judicial proceedings or investigations is difficult to predict. Plaintiffs or regulatory 
agencies or authorities in these matters may seek recovery of very large or indeterminate amounts, seek to have 
aspects of our business suspended or modified or seek to impose sanctions, including significant monetary fines. The 
monetary  and  other  impact  of  these  actions,  litigations,  proceedings  or  investigations  may  remain  unknown  for 

19

substantial periods of time. The cost to defend, settle or otherwise resolve these matters may be significant. Further, 
an  unfavorable  resolution  of  litigation,  proceedings  or  investigations  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our 
business, operating results, or financial condition.  In this regard, such costs could make it more difficult to maintain 
the capital, leverage and other financial commitments at levels we have agreed to with the Federal Reserve Board 
and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions.

If regulatory or judicial proceedings or investigations were to be initiated against us by private or governmental 
entities, adverse publicity that may be associated with these proceedings or investigations could negatively impact 
our relationships with retail distributors, network acceptance members and card processors and decrease acceptance 
and use of, and loyalty to, our products and related services, and could impact the price of our Class A common stock.  
In addition, such proceedings or investigations could increase the risk that we will be involved in litigation. The outcome 
of any such litigation is difficult to predict and the cost to defend, settle or otherwise resolve these matters may be 
significant. For the foregoing reasons, if regulatory or judicial proceedings or investigations were to be initiated against 
us by private or governmental entities, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely 
affected or our stock price could decline.

We must adequately protect our brand and our intellectual property rights related to our products and 

services and avoid infringing on the proprietary rights of others.

The Green Dot brand is important to our business, and we utilize trademark registrations and other means to 
protect it. Our business would be harmed if we were unable to protect our brand against infringement and its value 
was to decrease as a result.

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark and copyright laws, trade secret protection and confidentiality and 
license agreements to protect the intellectual property rights related to our products and services. We currently have 
four patents outstanding and seven patents pending. Although we generally seek patent protection for inventions and 
improvements that we anticipate will be incorporated into our products and services, there is always a chance that our 
patents  or  patent  applications  could  be  challenged,  invalidated  or  circumvented,  or  that  an  issued  patent  will  not 
adequately cover the scope of our inventions or improvements incorporated into our products or services.  Additionally, 
our patents could be circumvented by third-parties.

Recent and proposed changes to U.S. patent laws and rules may also affect our ability to protect and enforce our 
intellectual property rights.  For example, the recently passed Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, would transition the 
manner in which patents are issued and change the way in which issued patents are challenged.  The long-term impact 
of these changes are unknown, but this law could cause a certain degree of uncertainty surrounding the enforcement 
and defense of our issued patents, as well as greater costs concerning new and existing patent applications.

We may unknowingly violate the intellectual property or other proprietary rights of others and, thus, may be subject 
to claims by third parties. These assertions may increase over time as a result of our growth and the general increase 
in the pace of patent claims assertions, particularly in the United States. Because of the existence of a large number 
of patents in the mobile technology field, the secrecy of some pending patents, and the rapid rate of issuance of new 
patents, it is not economically  practical or even possible  to determine in advance  whether a product or any of its 
elements infringes or will infringe on the patent rights of others. Regardless of the merit of these claims, we may be 
required to devote significant time and resources to defending against these claims or to protecting and enforcing our 
own rights. We might also be required to develop a non-infringing technology or enter into license agreements and 
there can be no assurance that licenses will be available on acceptable terms and conditions, if at all. Some of our 
intellectual property rights may not be protected by intellectual property laws, particularly in foreign jurisdictions. The 
loss  of  our  intellectual  property  or  the  inability  to  secure  or  enforce  our  intellectual  property  rights  or  to  defend 
successfully against an infringement action could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and 
prospects.

We are exposed to losses from cardholder account overdrafts.

Our cardholders can incur charges in excess of the funds available in their accounts, and we may become liable 
for  these  overdrafts.  While  we  decline  authorization  attempts  for  amounts  that  exceed  the  available  balance  in  a 
cardholder’s account, the application of card association rules, the timing of the settlement of transactions and the 
assessment of the card’s monthly maintenance fee, among other things, can result in overdrawn accounts.

Maintenance fee assessments accounted for approximately 95% of aggregate overdrawn account balances in the 
year  ended  December 31,  2012,  as  compared  to  approximately  92%  in  the  year  ended  December 31,  2011. 
Maintenance fee assessment overdrafts occur as a result of our charging a cardholder, pursuant to the card’s terms 
and conditions, the monthly maintenance fee at a time when he or she does not have sufficient funds in his or her 
account.

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Our remaining overdraft exposure arises primarily from late-posting. A late-post occurs when a merchant posts a 
transaction within a payment network-permitted timeframe but subsequent to our release of the authorization for that 
transaction, as permitted by card association rules. Under card association rules, we may be liable for the amount of 
the transaction even if the cardholder has made additional purchases in the intervening period and funds are no longer 
available on the card at the time the transaction is posted.

Overdrawn  account  balances  are  funded  on  our  behalf  by  the  bank  that  issued  the  overdrawn  card.  We  are 
responsible to this card issuing bank for any losses associated with these overdrafts. Overdrawn account balances 
are therefore deemed to be our receivables due from cardholders. We maintain reserves to cover the risk that we may 
not recover these receivables due from our cardholders, but our exposure may increase above these reserves for a 
variety of reasons, including our failure to predict the actual recovery rate accurately. To the extent we incur losses 
from overdrafts above our reserves or we determine that it is necessary to increase our reserves substantially, our 
business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Acquisitions or investments could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition.

We have in the past acquired, and we expect to acquire in the future, other businesses and technologies. The 
process of integrating an acquired business, product, service or technology can create unforeseen operating difficulties, 
expenditures and other challenges such as:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

increased regulatory and compliance requirements;

regulatory restrictions on revenue streams of acquired businesses;

implementation or remediation of controls, procedures and policies at the acquired company;

diversion of management time and focus from operation of our then-existing business to acquisition integration 
challenges;

coordination of product, sales, marketing and program, and systems management functions;

transition of the acquired company’s users and customers onto our systems;

retention of employees from the acquired company;

integration of employees from the acquired company into our organization;

integration  of  the  acquired  company’s  accounting,  information  management,  human  resource  and  other 
administrative systems and operations generally with ours;

liability for activities of the acquired company prior to the acquisition, including violations of law, commercial 
disputes, and tax and other known and unknown liabilities; and

increased  litigation  or  other  claims  in  connection  with  the  acquired  company,  including  claims  brought  by 
terminated employees, customers, former stockholders or other third parties.

If we are unable to successfully integrate an acquired business or technology or otherwise address these difficulties 
and challenges or other problems encountered in connection with an acquisition, we might not realize the anticipated 
benefits of that acquisition, we might incur unanticipated liabilities or we might otherwise suffer harm to our business 
generally. To integrate acquired businesses, we must implement our technology systems in the acquired operations 
and integrate and manage the personnel of the acquired operations. We also must effectively integrate the different 
cultures of acquired business organizations into our own in a way that aligns various interests, and may need to enter 
new markets in which we have no or limited experience and where competitors in such markets have stronger market 
positions.

To the extent we pay the consideration for any future acquisitions or investments in cash, it would reduce the 
amount of cash available to us for other purposes. Future acquisitions or investments could also result in dilutive 
issuances of our equity securities or the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses, or impairment 
charges against goodwill on our balance sheet, any of which could harm our financial condition and negatively impact 
our stockholders.

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If we are unable to keep pace with the rapid technological developments in our industry and the larger 
electronic  payments  industry  necessary  to  continue  providing  our  network  acceptance  members  and 
cardholders with new and innovative products and services, the use of our cards and other products and 
services could decline.

The electronic payments industry is subject to rapid and significant technological changes, including continuing 
advancements in the areas of radio frequency and proximity payment devices (such as contactless cards), e-commerce 
and mobile commerce, among others. We cannot predict the effect of technological changes on our business. We rely 
in part on third parties, including some of our competitors and potential competitors, for the development of, and access 
to, new technologies. We expect that new services and technologies applicable to our industry will continue to emerge, 
and these new services and technologies may be superior to, or render obsolete, the technologies we currently utilize 
in  our  products  and  services. Additionally,  we  may  make  future  investments  in,  or  enter  into  strategic  alliances  to 
develop,  new  technologies  and  services  or  to  implement  infrastructure  change  to  further  our  strategic  objectives, 
strengthen our existing businesses and remain competitive. However, our ability to transition to new services and 
technologies that we develop may be inhibited by a lack of industry-wide standards, by resistance from our retail 
distributors, network acceptance members, third-party processors or consumers to these changes, or by the intellectual 
property rights of third parties. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop new technologies and 
adapt to technological changes and evolving industry standards. These initiatives are inherently risky, and they may 
not be successful or may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face settlement risks from our retail distributors, which may increase during an economic downturn.

The vast majority of our business is conducted through retail distributors that sell our products and services to 
consumers at their store locations. Our retail distributors collect funds from the consumers who purchase our products 
and services and then must remit these funds directly to accounts established for the benefit of these consumers at 
the banks that issue our cards. The remittance of these funds by the retail distributor takes on average three business 
days. If a retail distributor becomes insolvent, files for bankruptcy, commits fraud or otherwise fails to remit proceeds 
to the card issuing bank from the sales of our products and services, we are liable for any amounts owed to the card 
issuing bank. As of December 31, 2012, we had assets subject to settlement risk of $36.1 million. Given the possibility 
of recurring volatility in global financial markets, the approaches we use to assess and monitor the creditworthiness 
of our retail distributors may be inadequate, and we may be unable to detect and take steps to mitigate an increased 
credit risk in a timely manner.

Economic downturns could result in settlement losses, whether or not directly related to our business. We are not 
insured against these risks.  Significant settlement losses could have a material adverse effect on our business, results 
of operations and financial condition.

Economic, political and other conditions may adversely affect trends in consumer spending.

The electronic payments industry, including the prepaid financial services segment within that industry, depends 
heavily  upon  the  overall  level  of  consumer  spending. The  United  States  is  currently  facing  challenging  economic 
conditions and if these conditions remain uncertain or deteriorate further, we may experience a reduction in the number 
of our cards that are purchased or reloaded, the number of transactions involving our cards and the use of our reload 
network and related services. A sustained reduction in the use of our products and related services, either as a result 
of a general reduction in consumer spending or as a result of a disproportionate reduction in the use of card-based 
payment systems, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially harmed.

Our business is dependent on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of computer network systems and 

data centers.

Our ability to provide reliable service to cardholders and other network participants depends on the efficient and 
uninterrupted operation of our computer network systems and data centers as well as those of our retail distributors, 
network acceptance members and third-party processors. Our business involves movement of large sums of money, 
processing of large numbers of transactions and management of the data necessary to do both. Our success depends 
upon the efficient and error-free handling of the money that is collected by our retail distributors and remitted to network 
acceptance members or the banks that issue our cards. We rely on the ability of our employees, systems and processes 
and those of the banks that issue our cards, our retail distributors, our network acceptance members and third-party 
processors to process and facilitate these transactions in an efficient, uninterrupted and error-free manner.

In the event of a breakdown, a catastrophic event (such as fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications 
failure or physical break-in), a security breach or malicious attack, an improper operation or any other event impacting 
our systems or processes, or those of our vendors, or an improper action by our employees, agents or third-party 
vendors, we could suffer financial loss, loss of customers, regulatory sanctions and damage to our reputation. The 

22

measures we have taken, including the implementation of disaster recovery plans and redundant computer systems, 
may not be successful, and we may experience other problems unrelated to system failures. We may also experience 
software defects, development delays and installation difficulties, any of which could harm our business and reputation 
and expose us to potential liability and increased operating expenses. Some of our contracts with retail distributors, 
including our contract with Walmart, contain service level standards pertaining to the operation of our systems, and 
provide the retail distributor with the right to collect damages and potentially to terminate its contract with us for system 
downtime exceeding stated limits. If we face system interruptions or failures, our business interruption insurance may 
not be adequate to cover the losses or damages that we incur.

We must be able to operate and scale our technology effectively to manage any future growth.

Our ability to continue to provide our products and services to network participants, as well as to enhance our 
existing  products  and  services  and  offer  new  products  and  services,  is  dependent  on  our  information  technology 
systems. If we are unable to manage the technology associated with our business effectively, we could experience 
increased costs, reductions in system availability and losses of our network participants. Any failure of our systems in 
scalability and functionality would adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. 

Our future success depends on our ability to attract, integrate, retain and incentivize key personnel.

Our future success will depend, to a significant extent, on our ability to attract, integrate, retain and recognize key 
personnel, namely our management team and experienced sales, marketing and program and systems management 
personnel. Replacing departing key personnel can involve organizational disruption and uncertainty, as we experienced 
in connection with the departures of Mark T. Troughton, our former President, Cards and Network, in January 2012 
and William D. Sowell, our former Chief Operating Officer in November 2012. We must retain and motivate existing 
personnel, and we must also attract, assimilate and motivate additional highly-qualified employees. We may experience 
difficulty in managing transitions and assimilating our newly-hired personnel, which may adversely affect our business. 
Competition for qualified management, sales, marketing and program and systems management personnel can be 
intense. Competitors have in the past and may in the future attempt to recruit our top management and employees. 
If we fail to attract, integrate, retain and incentivize key personnel, our ability to manage and grow our business could 
be harmed.

We might require additional capital to support our business in the future, and this capital might not be 

available on acceptable terms, or at all.

If our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents balances and any cash generated from operations are not sufficient 
to meet our future cash requirements, we will need to access additional capital to fund our operations. We may also 
need to raise additional capital to take advantage of new business or acquisition opportunities. We may seek to raise 
capital by, among other things:

• 

• 

• 

issuing additional shares of our Class A common stock or other equity securities;

issuing debt securities; and

borrowing funds under a credit facility.

We may not be able to raise needed cash in a timely basis on terms acceptable to us or at all. Financings, if 
available, may be on terms that are dilutive or potentially dilutive to our stockholders. The holders of new securities 
may also receive rights, preferences or privileges that are senior to those of existing holders of our Class A common 
stock. In addition, if we were to raise cash through a debt financing, the terms of the financing might impose additional 
conditions or restrictions on our operations that could adversely affect our business. If we require new sources of 
financing but they are insufficient or unavailable, we would be required to modify our operating plans to take into 
account the limitations of available funding, which would harm our ability to maintain or grow our business.

The occurrence of catastrophic events could damage our facilities or the facilities of third parties on which 

we depend, which could force us to curtail our operations.

We and some of the third-party service providers on which we depend for various support functions, such as 
customer service and card processing, are vulnerable to damage from catastrophic events, such as power loss, natural 
disasters, terrorism and similar unforeseen events beyond our control. Our principal offices, for example, are situated 
in the foothills of southern California near known earthquake fault zones and areas of elevated wild fire danger. If any 
catastrophic event were to occur, our ability to operate our business could be seriously impaired, as we do not maintain 
redundant systems for critical business functions, such as finance and accounting. In addition, we might not have 
adequate insurance to cover our losses resulting from catastrophic events or other significant business interruptions. 
Any significant losses that are not recoverable under our insurance policies, as well as the damage to, or interruption 
of, our infrastructure and processes, could seriously impair our business and financial condition.

23

If  we  fail  to  maintain  proper  and  effective  internal  controls,  our  ability  to  produce  accurate  financial 
statements on a timely basis could be impaired, which could result in a loss of investor confidence in our 
financial reports and have an adverse effect on our stock price.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting 
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial 
statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. If we 
are unable to maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting, we might be unable to report our financial 
information on a timely basis and might suffer adverse regulatory consequences or violate NYSE listing standards. 
There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the 
reliability of our financial statements. We have in the past and may in the future discover areas of our internal financial 
and accounting controls and procedures that need improvement. Our internal control over financial reporting will not 
prevent or detect all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide 
only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system will be met. Because of the inherent 
limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and 
instances of fraud, if any, within our company will be detected. If we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal 
controls, we may not be able to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, which could adversely affect 
our ability to operate our business and could result in regulatory action, and could require us to restate, our financial 
statements. Any such restatement could result in a loss of public confidence in the reliability of our financial statements 
and sanctions imposed on us by the SEC.

Changes in accounting standards or inaccurate estimates or assumptions in the application of accounting 

policies could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and 
results of operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported 
value of our assets or liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management to make 
difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions, estimates 
or judgments were incorrectly made, we could be required to correct and restate prior period financial statements.  
Accounting  standard-setters  and  those  who  interpret  the  accounting  standards  (such  as  the  Financial Accounting 
Standards Board, the SEC, banking regulators and our independent registered public accounting firm) may also amend 
or even reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how various standards should be applied. These changes 
can be difficult to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of 
operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the need 
to revise and republish prior period financial statements.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock

The price of our Class A common stock may be volatile.

In the recent past, stocks generally, and financial services company stocks in particular, have experienced high 
levels of volatility. The trading price of our Class A common stock has been highly volatile since our initial public offering 
and may continue to be subject to wide fluctuations. The trading price of our Class A common stock depends on a 
number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and 
may not be related to our operating performance. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our 
Class A common stock include the following:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;

significant volatility in the market prices and trading volumes of financial services company stocks;

actual or anticipated changes in our results of operations or fluctuations in our operating results;

actual or anticipated changes in the expectations of investors or the recommendations of any securities analysts 
who follow our Class A common stock;

actual or anticipated developments in our business or our competitors’ businesses or the competitive landscape 
generally;

the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;

litigation and investigations or proceedings involving us, our industry or both or investigations by regulators 
into our operations or those of our competitors;

• 

new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;

24

• 

• 

• 

changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles;

general economic conditions; and

sales of shares of our Class A common stock by us or our stockholders.

In the past, many companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have become subject 
to securities class action litigation. For example, following a recent period of volatility in the trading price of our Class 
A common stock, an alleged class action was filed on July 27, 2012 against us and two of our officers. We may be the 
target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert 
our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

Concentration of ownership among our existing directors, executive officers and principal stockholders 

may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.

Our Class B common stock has ten votes per share, our Class A common stock has one vote per share and our 
Series A convertible junior participating non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock has no voting power. Based upon 
beneficial ownership as of December 31, 2012, our current directors, executive officers, holders of more than 5% of 
our total shares of common stock outstanding and their respective affiliates will, in the aggregate, beneficially own 
approximately  57%  of  our  outstanding  voting  stock,  representing  approximately  65%  of  the  voting  power  of  our 
outstanding capital stock. As a result, these stockholders are able to exercise a controlling influence over matters 
requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, 
and have significant influence over our management and policies for the foreseeable future. Some of these persons 
or entities may have interests that are different from yours. For example, these stockholders may support proposals 
and actions with which you may disagree or which are not in your interests. The concentration of ownership could 
delay or prevent a change in control of our company or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to 
obtain control of our company, which in turn could reduce the price of our Class A common stock. In addition, these 
stockholders, some of which have representatives sitting on our board of directors, could use their voting control to 
maintain our existing management and directors in office, delay or prevent changes of control of our company, or 
support or reject other management and board of director proposals that are subject to stockholder approval, such as 
amendments to our employee stock plans and approvals of significant financing transactions.

Our charter documents, Delaware law and our status as bank holding company could discourage, delay 
or prevent a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also reduce the market price of our 
stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of 
our company. These provisions could also make it more difficult for stockholders to nominate directors for election to 
our board of directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions, among other things:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

provide our Class B common stock with disproportionate voting rights;

provide for non-cumulative voting in the election of directors;

provide for a classified board of directors;

authorize our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with terms determined 
by our board of directors and to issue additional shares of our Class A and Class B common stock;

limit the voting power of a holder, or group of affiliated holders, of more than 24.9% of our common stock to 
14.9%;

provide that only our board of directors may set the number of directors constituting our board of directors or 
fill vacant directorships;

prohibit stockholder action by written consent and limit who may call a special meeting of stockholders; and

require advance notification of stockholder nominations for election to our board of directors and of stockholder 
proposals.

These and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions under Delaware 
law, could discourage potential takeover attempts, reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future 
for shares of our Class A common stock and result in the trading price of our Class A common stock being lower than 
it otherwise would be.

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  under  the  BHC Act  and  the  Change  in  Bank  Control Act,  and  their  respective 
implementing regulations, Federal Reserve Board approval is necessary prior to any person or company acquiring 

25

control of a bank or bank holding company, subject to certain exceptions. Control, among other considerations, exists 
if an individual or company acquires 25% or more of any class of voting securities, and may be presumed to exist if a 
person acquires 10% or more of any class of voting securities. These restrictions could affect the willingness or ability 
of a third party to acquire control of us for so long as we are a bank holding company.

If securities analysts do not continue to publish research or reports about our business or if they publish 
negative evaluations of our Class A common stock, the trading price of our Class A common stock could 
decline.

We expect that the trading price for our Class A common stock will be affected by any research or reports that 
securities analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who currently cover us or our 
business downgrade their evaluations of our Class A common stock, the price of our Class A common stock would 
likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company, we could lose visibility in the market 
for our Class A common stock, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable

ITEM 2. Properties

In  December  2011,  we  entered  into  a  ten-year  office  lease  which  became  our  new  corporate  headquarters, 
consisting of 140,000 square feet of office space in Pasadena, California. The initial term of the lease commenced 
November 1, 2012 and expires on October 31, 2022. We expect this new office space will accommodate our needs 
for the foreseeable future. We also maintain smaller administrative or project offices and own the real property where 
our subsidiary bank's only office is located in Provo, Utah.

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings

On July 27, 2012, an alleged class action was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of 
California, against us and two of our officers. A similar suit was filed on August 10, 2012.  Those cases have now been 
consolidated under the caption In re Green Dot Corporation Securities Litigation, Case No. CV 12-6492-GW (CWx), 
and a consolidated complaint has been filed.  The suit asserts purported claims under: (i) Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of 
the Exchange Act for allegedly misleading statements in January 2012 and April 2012 regarding our business and 
financial results, on behalf of a class of purchasers of our securities between January 26, 2012 and July 26, 2012 (a 
period in which plaintiffs claim our stock price was artificially inflated); and (ii) Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act 
of 1933 for alleged misstatements in our IPO Registration Statement and Prospectus, on behalf of persons who acquired 
shares in or traceable to the IPO in July 2010.  The suit seeks compensatory damages, fees and costs. The defendants 
have filed a motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint. 

Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of this matter. 
We are unable at this time to determine whether the outcome of the litigation would have a material impact on our 
results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

26

PART II

ITEM 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity 
Securities

Market Information

Our Class A common stock has been listed on the NYSE under the symbol “GDOT” since July 22, 2010. Prior to 
that date, there was no public trading market for our Class A common stock. Our initial public offering was priced at 
$36.00 per share on July 21, 2010. The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the high and low sales prices 
per share of our Class A common stock as reported on the NYSE. Our Class B common stock is not publicly traded.

Year ended December 31, 2012

Fourth Quarter

Third Quarter

Second Quarter

First Quarter

Year ended December 31, 2011

Fourth Quarter

Third Quarter

Second Quarter

First Quarter

Holders of Record

Low

High

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

9.54

9.05

19.93

26.20

27.29

24.94

31.22

39.00

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

13.60

24.97

27.20

32.49

35.25

36.59

49.93

65.00

As of January 31, 2013, we had 103 holders of record of our Class A common stock and 39 holders of record of 
our Class B common stock. The actual number of stockholders is greater than this number of record holders, and 
includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other 
nominees. This number of holders of record also does not include stockholders whose shares may be held in trust by 
other entities.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently intend to pay 
any cash dividends on our Class A common stock for the foreseeable future. As a bank holding company, the Federal 
Reserve Board’s risk-based and leverage capital requirements, as well as other federal laws applicable to banks and 
bank holding companies, could limit our ability to pay dividends. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the 
development and future growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our Class A common 
stock, if permissible, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our 
financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs, plans for expansion and other factors that 
our board of directors may deem relevant.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

None.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

None.

Stock Performance Graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise 
subject to the liabilities under that section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of 
Green Dot Corporation under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

The graph and table below compare the cumulative total stockholder return of Green Dot Corporation Class A 
common stock, the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P 500 Financials Index for the period beginning on the close of 
trading on the NYSE on July 22, 2010 (the date our Class A common stock began trading on the NYSE), and ending 
on the close of trading on the NYSE on December 31, 2012. The graph assumes a $100 investment in our Class A 
common stock and each of the indices, and the reinvestment of dividends. Our Class B common stock is not publicly 
traded or listed on any exchange or dealer quotation system.

27

The comparisons in the graph and table below are based on historical data and are not intended to forecast the 

possible future performance of our Class A common stock.

Total Return to Shareholders

(Includes reinvestment of dividends)

Base
Period
7/22/10
100
$

$

$

100

100

Index Returns for the Months Ending

2010

2011

2012

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

$ 110 $ 129

$

98 $

77 $

71 $

71

$

60 $

50 $

28 $

28

111

104

129

116

140

120

137

113

107

87

124

97

139

118

135

110

142

117

144

124

Company/ Index

Green Dot Corporation

Russell 2000 Index

S&P 500 Financials Index

ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data

The following tables present selected historical financial data for our business. You should read this information 
together with Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and 
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this report. The selected consolidated financial data in this 
section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the consolidated financial 
statements and related notes.

We derived the statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively, 
and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2012, and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements 
included in Item 8 of this report. We derived the statement of operations data for the five months ended December 31, 
2009, and the years ended July 31, 2009 and 2008 and balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, July 
31, 2009, and 2008 from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this report. Our historical results 
are not necessarily indicative of our results to be expected in any future period.

28

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

Five Months
Ended
December 31,

Year Ended July 31,

2009

2008

(In thousands, except per share data)

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

$

224,745

$

209,489

$

167,375

$

50,895

$

119,356

$

Cash transfer revenues

Interchange revenues

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation
(2)

Total operating revenues

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing expenses

Compensation and benefits expenses(3)

Processing expenses

Other general and administrative expenses

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

Net income

165,232

164,559

(8,251)

546,285

209,870

114,930

77,445

71,900

474,145

72,140

4,074

(76)

76,138

28,919

47,219

134,143

141,103

(17,337)

467,398

101,502

108,380

(13,369)

363,888

168,747

122,890

87,671

70,953

56,578

383,949

83,449

910

(346)

84,013

31,930

52,083

70,102

56,978

44,599

294,569

69,319

365

(52)

69,632

27,400

42,232

30,509

31,353

62,396

53,064

91,233

45,310

31,583

—

—

—

112,757

234,816

168,126

31,333

26,610

17,480

14,020

89,443

23,314

115

(2)

23,427

9,764

13,663

75,786

40,096

32,320

22,944

171,146

63,670

396

(1)

64,065

26,902

37,163

69,577

28,303

21,944

19,124

138,948

29,178

665

(247)

29,596

12,261

17,335

Dividends, accretion and allocated earnings of
preferred stock

(7,599)

(554)

(14,659)

(9,170)

(29,000)

(13,650)

Net income allocated to common stockholders

$

39,620

$

51,529

$

27,573

$

4,493

$

8,163

$

3,685

Basic earnings per common share:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Basic weighted-average common shares issued
and outstanding:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Diluted earnings per common share:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Diluted weighted-average common shares
issued and outstanding:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

$

$

$

$

1.11

1.11

$

$

1.24

1.24

$

$

1.06

1.06

$

$

— $

— $

0.37

$

0.68

$

—

0.34

29,698

4,801

22,238

17,718

2,980

21,589

—

—

—

12,222

12,036

10,757

1.07

1.07

$

$

1.19

1.19

$

$

0.98

0.98

$

$

— $

— $

0.29

$

0.52

$

—

0.26

35,933

6,150

42,065

19,822

27,782

24,796

—

—

—

15,425

15,712

14,154

29

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(4)

$

297,225

$

238,359

$

172,638

$

71,684

$

41,931

$

41,613

As of December 31,

As of July 31,

2012

2011

2010

2009

2009

2008

(In thousands)

Investment securities, available-for-sale

Settlement assets(5)

Loans to bank customers

Total assets

Deposits

Obligations to customers(5)

Settlement obligations(5)

Long-term debt

Total liabilities

183,787

36,127

7,552

725,728

198,451

46,156

3,639

—

31,210

27,355

10,036

425,859

38,957

—

—

—

—

—

19,968

42,569

35,570

17,445

—

—

—

—

285,758

183,108

123,269

97,246

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

27,355

19,968

42,569

35,570

17,445

—

—

—

—

397,964

172,663

120,627

111,744

81,031

—

65,962

26,816

4,468

Redeemable convertible preferred stock

—

—

—

—

—

Total stockholders' equity

327,764

253,196

165,131

71,364

42,238

(1)  In September 2009, we changed our fiscal year-end from July 31 to December 31.

___________

(2)  Represents the recorded fair value of the shares for which our right to repurchase lapsed during the specified period pursuant 
to  the  terms  of  the  agreement  under  which  we  issued  2,208,552  shares  of  our  Class A  common  stock  to  Walmart.  See 
“Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Key components of our results 
of operations — Operating revenues — Stock-based retailer incentive compensation” for more information. Prior to the three 
months ended June 30, 2010, we did not incur any stock-based retailer incentive compensation.

(3)  Includes stock-based compensation expense of $12.7 million, $9.5 million, and $7.3 million for the years ended December 31, 
2012, 2011, and 2010, $6.8 million for the five months ended December 31, 2009 and $2.5 million and $1.2 million for fiscal 
2009 and 2008, respectively.

(4)  Includes $0.6 million, $12.9 million, $5.1 million, $15.4 million, $15.4 million and $2.3 million of restricted cash as of December 
31, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009 and July 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.  Also includes $3.0 million and $2.4 million of federal 
funds sold as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively.  We had no federal funds sold prior to 2011.

(5)  Our retail distributors collect customer funds for purchases of new cards and reloads at the point of sale and then remit these 
funds directly to bank accounts established for the benefit of these customers by the banks that issue our cards. During the 
third quarter of 2012, our retail distributors began remitting these funds to our subsidiary bank as we transitioned our card 
issuing program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank. Our retail distributors’ remittance of these funds takes an average 
of two business days. Settlement assets represent the amounts due from our retail distributors for customer funds collected 
at the point of sale that have not yet been received by our subsidiary bank. Obligations to customers represents customer 
funds collected from or to be remitted by our retail distributors for which the underlying products have not been activated. 
Settlement obligations represent the customer funds received by our subsidiary bank that are due to third-party card issuing 
banks upon activation.

30

 ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition 
and Results of Operations, contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are 
subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 
“Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed to be 
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections 
about the industries in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as “expects,” 
“anticipates,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “continues,” “endeavors,” 
“strives,” “may” and “assumes,” variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-
looking  statements.  In  addition,  any  statements  that  refer  to  projections  of  our  future  financial  performance,  our 
anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are 
forward-looking  statements.  Readers  are  cautioned  that  these  forward-looking  statements  are  subject  to  risks, 
uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those identified below, under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk 
Factors,” and elsewhere herein. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed 
in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for 
any reason.

In this Annual Report, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, “Green Dot,” “we,” “us,” and 

“our” refer to Green Dot Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

Green Dot is a leading financial services company providing simple, low-cost and convenient money management 
solutions to a broad base of U.S. consumers. We believe that we are the leading provider of general purpose reloadable, 
or GPR, prepaid debit cards in the United States and that our Green Dot Network is a leading reload network for 
prepaid cards in the United States. We distribute our products and services nationwide at more than 60,000 retail store 
locations and on the Internet, which provide consumers convenient access to our products and services. We are also 
the provider of GoBank, an innovative checking account developed for distribution and use via mobile phones, which 
is expected to be available to U.S. consumers generally during the second or third quarter of 2013.

Financial Results and Trends

Total operating revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012 were $546.3 million compared to $467.4 million 
for the year ended December 31, 2011. Total operating revenues were favorably impacted by increases in card revenues 
and other fees, cash transfer revenues and interchange revenues and a decrease in the amount of stock-based retailer 
incentive compensation. These revenues increased primarily due to period-over-period growth in all of our key metrics 
described below. Our total operating revenues were adversely impacted by the expiration and nonrenewal in October 
2011 of our joint marketing and referral agreement with Intuit under which we established the TurboTax program.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $47.2 million, compared to $52.1 million for the year ended 
December 31, 2011. Net income declined primarily due to increases in sales commissions and employee headcount, 
including the payment of $5.2 million of retention-based incentives for former employees of Loopt, Inc., or Loopt, which 
we acquired in March 2012. Net income also declined due to increases in costs of manufacturing and distributing card 
packages, driven by the transition of our card issuing program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank and the 
launch of new products, increases in television and online advertising and associated expenses and increases in 
depreciation  and  amortization  of  property  and  equipment  as  we  continue  to  invest  in  infrastructure  and  product 
development.  In  particular,  our  product  development  investments  included  our  investments  in  GoBank,  which  is 
expected to be available to U.S. consumers generally during the second or third quarter of 2013.

During the third and fourth quarters of 2012 we began facing increased competition at some of our largest retail 
distributors. In October 2012, we saw the launch of new competing products at Walmart and at other retail distributor 
stores. We believe this increased competition impacted our financial results for the second half of 2012. Due to the 
inherent uncertainties of the competitive environment and how it may evolve, we cannot accurately predict the impact 
of  these  developments;  however,  we  expect  that  our  card  revenues  and  other  fees,  cash  transfer  revenues  and 
interchange revenues will continue to be negatively impacted by increased competition during 2013.  In addition, during 
the third quarter of 2012, new card activations from legitimate customers were negatively impacted by the voluntary 
risk control mechanisms we began implementing earlier in 2012. We believe these voluntary risk control mechanisms 
impacted  our  financial  results  during  the  second  half  of  2012  and  it  is  likely  that  our  risk  control  mechanisms  will 
continue to adversely affect our new card activations from legitimate customers for the foreseeable future and that our 
operating revenues, excluding stock-based retailer incentive compensation, will be negatively impacted as a result. 

31

Key Metrics

We review a number of metrics to help us monitor the performance of, and identify trends affecting, our business. 

We believe the following measures are the primary indicators of our quarterly and annual performance.

Number of GPR Cards Activated — represents the total number of GPR cards sold through our retail and online 
distribution channels that are activated and funded by cardholders in a specified period. We activated 8.07 million, 
7.97 million, and 6.26 million GPR cards in the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.  GPR 
card activations from repeat customers, or former GPR cardholders, were 3.25 million, 2.78 million, and 1.89 million, 
respectively. Excluding the impact of the discontinued TurboTax program, the increase was 10% from the year ended 
December 31,  2011  to  the  year  ended  December 31,  2012.  Beginning  with  the  first  quarter  of  2013,  we  plan  to 
discontinue the disclosure of this metric as we expect that it will become less meaningful due to the changing composition 
of our products and services.

Number of Cash Transfers — represents the total number of MoneyPak and POS swipe reload transactions that 
we sell through our retail distributors in a specified period. We sold 41.79 million, 34.27 million, and 26.49 million 
MoneyPak and POS swipe reload transactions in the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.

Number of Active Cards — represents the total number of GPR cards in our portfolio that had a purchase, reload 
or ATM withdrawal transaction during the previous 90-day period. We had 4.37 million, 4.20 million, and 3.40 million 
active  cards  outstanding  as  of  December 31,  2012,  2011,  and  2010,  respectively.    Excluding  the  impact  of  the 
discontinued TurboTax program, the increase was 6% from December 31, 2011 to December 31, 2012.

Gross Dollar Volume — represents the total dollar volume of funds loaded to our GPR card and reload products. 
Our gross dollar volume was $17.2 billion, $16.1 billion, and $10.4 billion for the years ended December 31, 2012, 
2011, and 2010, respectively. Excluding the impact of the discontinued TurboTax program, the total dollar volume 
increase was 21% from the year ended December 31, 2011 to the year ended December 31, 2012. While we continue 
to view our gross dollar volume as a key metric, we review this metric in conjunction with purchase volume and give 
greater weight to our purchase volume when assessing our operating performance because we believe it is a better 
indicator of interchange revenue performance.

Purchase Volume — represents the total dollar volume of purchase transactions made by customers using our 
GPR and gift card products at merchant locations. This metric excludes the dollar volume of ATM withdrawals.  Our 
purchase volume was $12.6 billion, $11.1 billion, and $7.8 billion for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 
2010, respectively. Excluding the impact of the discontinued TurboTax program, the increase was 22% from the year 
ended December 31, 2011 to the year ended December 31, 2012.

Key components of our results of operations

Operating Revenues

We classify our operating revenues into the following four categories:

Card Revenues and Other Fees — Card revenues consist of monthly maintenance fees, ATM fees, new card fees 
and other revenues. We charge maintenance fees on GPR cards to cardholders on a monthly basis pursuant to the 
terms and conditions in our cardholder agreements. We charge ATM fees to cardholders when they withdraw money 
at certain ATMs in accordance with the terms and conditions in our cardholder agreements. We charge new card fees 
when a consumer purchases a GPR or gift card in a retail store. Other revenues consist primarily of fees associated 
with optional products or services, which we generally offer to consumers during the card activation process. Optional 
products and services include providing a second card for an account, expediting delivery of the personalized GPR 
card that replaces the temporary card obtained at the retail store and upgrading a cardholder account to our premium 
program — the VIP program — which provide benefits for our more active cardholders.

Our aggregate monthly maintenance fee revenues vary primarily based upon the number of active cards in our 
portfolio and the average fee assessed per account. Our average monthly maintenance fee per active account depends 
upon the mix of Green Dot-branded and co-branded cards in our portfolio and upon the extent to which fees are waived 
based  on  significant  usage.  Our  aggregate ATM  fee  revenues  vary  based  upon  the  number  of  cardholder ATM 
transactions and the average fee per ATM transaction. The average fee per ATM transaction depends upon the mix 
of Green Dot-branded and co-branded active cards in our portfolio and the extent to which cardholders enroll in our 
VIP program, which has no ATM fees, or conduct ATM transactions on our fee-free ATM network, consisting of more 
than 23,000 nationwide ATMs as of December 2012. Our aggregate new card fee revenues vary based upon the 
number of GPR cards activated and the average new card fee. The average new card fee depends primarily upon the 
mix of products that we sell since there are variations in new card fees among Green Dot-branded and co-branded 
products and between GPR cards and gift cards.

32

Cash Transfer Revenues — We earn cash transfer revenues when consumers purchase and use a MoneyPak or 
fund their cards through a POS swipe reload transaction in a retail store. Our aggregate cash transfer revenues vary 
based upon the total number of MoneyPak and POS swipe reload transactions and the average price per MoneyPak 
or POS swipe reload transaction. The average price per MoneyPak or POS swipe reload transaction depends upon 
the relative numbers of cash transfer sales at our different retail distributors and on the mix of MoneyPak and POS 
swipe reload transactions at certain retailers that have different fees for the two types of reload transactions.

Interchange Revenues — We earn interchange revenues from fees remitted by the merchant’s bank, which are 
based on rates established by the payment networks, when customers make purchase transactions using our products. 
Our aggregate interchange revenues vary based primarily on the number of active cards in our portfolio, the average 
transactional volume of the active cards in our portfolio and on the mix of cardholder purchases between those using 
signature identification technologies and those using personal identification numbers.

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation — In May 2010, we issued to Walmart 2,208,552 shares of our Class A 
common stock, subject to our right to repurchase them at $0.01 per share upon a qualifying termination of our prepaid 
card program agreement with Walmart and GE Capital Retail Bank, formerly GE Money Bank. We recognize each 
month the fair value of the 36,810 shares issued to Walmart for which our right to repurchase has lapsed using the 
then-current fair market value of our Class A common stock (and we would be required to recognize the fair value of 
all shares still subject to repurchase if there were an early expiration of our right to repurchase, which could occur if 
we experienced certain changes in our control or under certain other limited circumstances, such as a termination of 
our commercial agreement with Walmart and GE Capital Retail Bank). We record the fair value recognized as stock-
based retailer incentive compensation, a contra-revenue component of our total operating revenues.

Operating Expenses

We classify our operating expenses into the following four categories:

Sales and Marketing Expenses — Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of the sales commissions we 
pay to our retail distributors and brokers, advertising and marketing expenses, and the costs of manufacturing and 
distributing card packages, placards and promotional materials to our retail distributors and personalized GPR cards 
to consumers who have activated their cards. We generally establish sales commission percentages in long-term 
distribution agreements with our retail distributors, and aggregate sales commissions are determined by the number 
of prepaid cards and cash transfers sold at their respective retail stores and, in certain cases, by the revenue generated 
from the ongoing use of those cards. We incur advertising and marketing expenses for television, online and in-store 
promotions. Advertising and marketing expenses are recognized as incurred and typically deliver a benefit over an 
extended period of time. For this reason, these expenses do not always track changes in our operating revenues.  Our 
manufacturing and distribution costs vary primarily based on the number of GPR cards activated.

Compensation and Benefits Expenses — Compensation and benefits expenses represent the compensation and 
benefits that we provide to our employees and the payments we make to third-party contractors. While we have an 
in-house customer service function, we employ third-party contractors to conduct all call center operations, handle 
routine  customer  service  inquiries  and  provide  consulting  support  in  the  area  of  IT  operations  and  elsewhere. 
Compensation and benefits expenses associated with our customer service and loss management functions generally 
vary in line with the size of our active card portfolio, while the expenses associated with other functions do not. 

Processing Expenses — Processing expenses consist primarily of the fees charged to us by the payment networks, 
which process transactions for us, the third-party card processor that maintains the records of our customers' accounts 
and processes transaction authorizations and postings for us, and the third-party banks that issue our prepaid cards. 
These costs generally vary based on the total number of active cards in our portfolio and gross dollar volume.

Other General and Administrative Expenses — Other general and administrative expenses consist primarily of 
professional service fees, telephone and communication costs, depreciation and amortization of our property and 
equipment,  transaction  losses  (losses  from  customer  disputed  transactions,  unrecovered  customer  purchase 
transaction  overdrafts  and  fraud),  rent  and  utilities,  and  insurance.  We  incur  telephone  and  communication  costs 
primarily from customers contacting us through our toll-free telephone numbers. These costs vary with the total number 
of active cards in our portfolio as do losses from customer disputed transactions, unrecovered customer purchase 
transaction overdrafts and fraud. Costs associated with professional services, depreciation and amortization of our 
property and equipment, and rent and utilities vary based upon our investment in infrastructure, business development, 
risk management and internal controls and are generally not correlated with our operating revenues or other transaction 
metrics.

33

Income Tax Expense

Our income tax expense consists of the federal and state corporate income taxes accrued on income resulting 
from the sale of our products and services. Since the majority of our operations are based in California, most of our 
state taxes are paid to that state.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP.  The preparation of our consolidated 
financial statements requires our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts 
of  assets,  liabilities,  revenues,  costs  and  expenses  and  related  disclosures.  We  base  our  estimates  on  historical 
experience, current circumstances and various other assumptions that our management believes to be reasonable 
under the circumstances. In many instances, we could reasonably use different accounting estimates, and in some 
instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, actual 
results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are differences 
between our estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of 
operations and cash flows will be affected. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to 
understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving 
management’s judgments and estimates.

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue when the price is fixed or determinable, persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the 

product is sold or the service is performed, and collectability of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured.

We defer and recognize new card fee revenues on a straight-line basis over the period commensurate with our 
service obligation to our customers. We consider the service obligation period to be the average card lifetime. We 
determine the average card lifetime for each pool of homogeneous products (e.g., products that exhibit the same 
characteristics such as nature of service and terms and conditions) based on company-specific historical data. Currently, 
we determine the average card lifetime separately for our GPR cards and gift cards. For our GPR cards, we measure 
the card lifetime as the period of time, inclusive of reload activity, between sale (or activation) of a card and the date 
of the last positive balance on that card. We analyze GPR cards activated between six and thirty months prior to each 
balance sheet date. We use this historical look-back period as a basis for determining our average card lifetime because 
it provides sufficient time for meaningful behavioral trends to develop. Currently, our GPR cards have an average card 
lifetime of seven months. The usage of gift cards is limited to the initial funds loaded to the card. Therefore, we measure 
these gift cards’ lifetime as the redemption period over which cardholders perform the substantial majority of their 
transactions. Currently, gift cards have an average lifetime of six months. We reassess average card lifetime quarterly. 
Average card lifetimes may vary in the future as cardholder behavior changes relative to historical experience because 
customers are influenced by changes in the pricing of our services, the availability of substitute products, and other 
factors.

We  also  defer  and  expense  commissions  paid  to  retail  distributors  related  to  new  card  sales  ratably  over  the 

average card lifetime, which is currently seven months for our GPR cards and six months for gift cards.

We report our different types of revenues on a gross or net basis based on our assessment of whether we act as 
a principal or an agent in the transaction. To the extent we act as a principal in the transaction, we report revenues on 
a  gross  basis.  In  concluding  whether  or  not  we  act  as  a  principal  or  an  agent,  we  evaluate  whether  we  have  the 
substantial risks and rewards under the terms of the revenue-generating arrangements, whether we are the party 
responsible for fulfillment of the services purchased by the cardholders, and other factors. For all of our significant 
revenue-generating arrangements, including GPR and gift cards, we recognize revenues on a gross basis.

Generally, customers have limited rights to a refund of the new card fee or a cash transfer fee. We have elected 
to recognize revenues prior to the expiration of the refund period, but reduce revenues by the amount of expected 
refunds, which we estimate based on actual historical refunds.

On  occasion,  we  enter  into  incentive  agreements  with  our  retail  distributors  and  offer  incentives  to  customers 
designed to increase product acceptance and sales volume. We record these incentives, including the issuance of 
equity instruments, as a reduction of revenues and recognize them over the period the related revenues are recognized 
or as services are rendered, as applicable.

Reserve for Uncollectible Overdrawn Accounts

Cardholder account overdrafts may arise from maintenance fee assessments on our GPR cards or from purchase 
transactions that we honor on GPR or gift cards, in each case in excess of the funds in the cardholder’s account. We 
are responsible to the banks that issue our cards for any losses associated with these overdrafts. Overdrawn account 

34

balances are therefore deemed to be our receivables due from cardholders, and we include them as a component of 
accounts receivable, net, on our consolidated balance sheets. The banks that issue our cards fund the overdrawn 
account balances on our behalf. We include our obligations to them on our consolidated balance sheets as amounts 
due to card issuing banks for overdrawn accounts, a current liability, and we settle our obligations to them based on 
the terms specified in their agreements with us. These settlement terms generally require us to settle on a monthly 
basis or when the cardholder account is closed, depending on the card issuing bank.

We generally recover overdrawn account balances from those GPR cardholders that perform a reload transaction. 
In addition, we recover some purchase transaction overdrafts through enforcement of payment network rules, which 
allow us to recover the amounts from the merchant where the purchase transaction was conducted. However, we are 
exposed to losses from unrecovered GPR cardholder account overdrafts. The probability of recovering these amounts 
is primarily related to the number of days that have elapsed since an account had activity, such as a purchase, ATM 
transaction or fee assessment. Generally, we recover 50-60% of overdrawn account balances in accounts that have 
had activity in the last 30 days, less than 15% in accounts that have had activity in the last 30 to 60 days, and less 
than 10% when more than 60 days have elapsed.

We  establish  a  reserve  for  uncollectible  overdrawn  accounts  for  maintenance  fees  we  assess  and  purchase 
transactions we honor, in each case in excess of a cardholder’s account balance. We classify overdrawn accounts 
into age groups based on the number of days since the account last had activity. We then calculate a reserve factor 
for each age group based on the average recovery rate for the most recent six months. These factors are applied to 
these  age  groups  to  estimate  our  overall  reserve.  We  rely  on  these  historical  rates  because  they  have  remained 
relatively consistent for several years. When more than 90 days have passed without any activity in an account, we 
consider recovery to be remote and charge off the full amount of the overdrawn account balance against the reserve 
for uncollectible overdrawn accounts. Our actual recovery rates and related estimates thereof may change in the future 
in response to factors such as the pricing of reloads and new cards and the availability of substitute products.

Overdrafts due to maintenance fee assessments comprised approximately 95% of our total overdrawn account 
balances due from cardholders for the year ended December 31, 2012. We charge our GPR cardholder accounts 
maintenance fees on a monthly basis pursuant to the terms and conditions in the applicable cardholder agreements. 
Although  cardholder  accounts  become  inactive  or  overdrawn,  we  continue  to  provide  cardholders  the  ongoing 
functionality of our GPR cards, which allows them to reload and use their cards at any time. As a result, we continue 
to assess a maintenance fee until a cardholder account becomes overdrawn by an amount equal to two maintenance 
fees, currently $6.00 for the Walmart MoneyCard and $11.90 for our Green Dot-branded GPR cards. We recognize 
the fees ratably over the month for which they are assessed, net of the related provision for uncollectible overdrawn 
accounts, as a component of card revenues and other fees in our consolidated statements of operations.

We include our provision for uncollectible overdrawn accounts related to purchase transactions in other general 

and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of operations.

Employee Stock-Based Compensation

We record employee stock-based compensation expense using the fair value method of accounting. For stock 
options and stock purchases under our employee stock purchase plan, we base compensation expense on fair values 
estimated at the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. For stock awards, including restricted stock 
units,  we  base  compensation  expense  on  the  fair  value  of  our  common  stock  at  the  grant  date.  We  recognize 
compensation expense for awards with only service conditions that have graded vesting schedules on a straight-line 
basis over the vesting period of the award. Vesting is based upon continued service to our company.

We measure the fair value of equity instruments issued to non-employees as of the earlier of the date a performance 
commitment has been reached by the counterparty or the date performance is completed by the counterparty. We 
determine the fair value using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model or the fair value of our Class A or Class B common 
stock, as applicable, and recognize related expense in the same periods that the goods or services are received.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 
2011-05, Comprehensive Income: Presentation of Comprehensive Income, which requires an entity to present the 
total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income 
either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. It 
eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in 
stockholders' equity.  ASU 2011-05 does not change the items which must be reported in other comprehensive income, 
how such items are measured or when they must be reclassified to net income.  In December 2011, the FASB, issued 
ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassification of Items Out of 

35

Accumulated  Other  Comprehensive  Income.  ASU  2011-12  defers  the  requirement  to  present  components  of 
reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income on the face of the income statement. We adopted 
all other components of ASU 2011-05 in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption did not have a significant impact on 
our consolidated financial statements. In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-02, which established the effective 
date for the requirement to present components of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income 
on the face of the income statement. Our adoption of this ASU on January 1, 2013 is not expected to have a material 
impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement: Amendments to Achieve Common Fair 
Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs, which converges common fair value 
measurement and disclosure requirements in accordance with GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, 
or IFRS.  We adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption of this standard did not have a significant 
impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment, which provides entities testing 
goodwill for impairment with an option of performing a qualitative assessment before having to calculate the fair value 
of a reporting unit.  If an entity determines, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of the reporting unit is 
more-likely-than-not less than the carrying amount, the existing quantitative impairment test is required.  Otherwise, 
no further impairment testing is required.  We adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption of this standard 
did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other, allowing an entity to perform a 
qualitative impairment assessment of indefinite-lived intangible assets before proceeding to the two-step impairment 
test. If the entity determines, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset 
is not more likely than not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50 percent) impaired, the entity would not need to calculate 
the fair value of the asset. In addition, the ASU does not amend the requirement to test these assets for impairment 
between annual tests if there is a change in events or circumstances; however, it does revise the examples of events 
and circumstances that an entity should consider in interim periods. ASU 2012-02 became effective for annual and 
interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012, with early adoption being 
permitted. Our adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 

Operating Revenues

The following table presents a breakdown of our operating revenues among card revenues and other fees, cash 

transfer revenues and interchange revenues as well as contra-revenue items:

Years Ended December 31,

2012

2011

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

(In thousands, except percentages)

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

Cash transfer revenues

Interchange revenues

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation

Total operating revenues

$

$

224,745

165,232

164,559

(8,251)

546,285

41.1% $

30.2

30.2

(1.5)

100.0% $

209,489

134,143

141,103

(17,337)

467,398

44.8%

28.7

30.2

(3.7)

100.0%

Card  Revenues  and  Other  Fees  —  Card  revenues  and  other  fees  totaled  $224.7  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31,  2012,  an  increase  of  $15.3  million,  or  7%,  from  the  comparable  period  in  2011. The  increase  was 
primarily the result of an increase in monthly maintenance fee revenues, driven by period-over-period growth of 4% 
in the number of active cards in our portfolio. Card revenues and other fees also increased as a result of growth in 
new card fee revenues, which was driven by higher numbers of card activations from distribution channels in which 
we assess new card fees. The increases were partially offset by a decrease in ATM fee revenues, which was primarily 
driven by the discontinuation of the TurboTax program, as cardholders under this program typically performed more 
ATM  transactions  than  the  rest  of  our  active  card  base. Additionally,  we  began  offering  our  Walmart  MoneyCard 
customers access to surcharge-free transactions via the nationwide MoneyPass ATM network in late June 2012, which 
also contributed to the decrease in ATM fee revenues. In addition, we believe our card revenues and other fees for 
the second half of 2012 were adversely impacted by changes in our competitive environment and our implementation 
of voluntary risk control mechanisms, as discussed above under “Financial Results and Trends.”

36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash Transfer Revenues — Cash transfer revenues totaled $165.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, 
an increase of $31.1 million, or 23%, from the comparable period in 2011. The increase was primarily the result of 
period-over-period growth of 22% in the number of cash transfers sold. The increase in cash transfer volume was 
driven both by growth in our active card base and growth in cash transfer volume from third-party programs participating 
in our network.  Third party programs participating in our network contributed approximately 23% of total cash transfer 
revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012, versus approximately 17% of total cash transfer revenues for the 
year ended December 31, 2011. We believe our cash transfer revenues for the second half of 2012 were adversely 
impacted by changes in our competitive environment and our implementation of voluntary risk control mechanisms, 
as discussed above under “Financial Results and Trends.”

Interchange Revenues — Interchange revenues totaled $164.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, 
an increase of $23.5 million, or 17%, from the comparable period in 2011. The increase was primarily the result of 
period-over-period growth of 4% in the number of active cards in our portfolio and a 13% increase in purchase volume. 
We believe our interchange revenues for the second half of 2012 were adversely impacted by changes in our competitive 
environment  and  our  implementation  of  voluntary  risk  control  mechanisms,  as  discussed  above  under  “Financial 
Results and Trends.” Although we expect these challenges to impact our interchange revenues in 2013, we expect to 
experience a seasonal pattern in our interchange revenues during 2013 similar to 2012, as we believe purchase volume 
will be higher during the first quarter of 2013, as compared to the remaining quarters of 2013, due to taxpayers electing 
to receive their tax refunds via direct deposit on our cards.

Stock-based Retailer Incentive Compensation — Our right to repurchase lapsed as to 441,720 shares issued to 
Walmart during the year ended December 31, 2012. We recognized the fair value of the shares using the then-current 
fair market value of our Class A common stock, resulting in $8.3 million of stock-based retailer incentive compensation, 
a decrease of $9.1 million, or 53%, from the comparable period in 2011. The decrease was the result of a lower stock 
price in the year ended December 31, 2012 compared with the corresponding period in 2011.

Operating Expenses

The following table presents a breakdown of our operating expenses among sales and marketing, compensation 

and benefits, processing, and other general and administrative expenses:

Years Ended December 31,

2012

2011

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

(In thousands, except percentages)

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing expenses

Compensation and benefits expenses

Processing expenses

Other general and administrative expenses

Total operating expenses

$

$

209,870

114,930

77,445

71,900

474,145

38.4% $

168,747

21.0

14.2

13.2

87,671

70,953

56,578

86.8% $

383,949

36.1%

18.8

15.2

12.0

82.1%

Sales  and  Marketing  Expenses  —  Sales  and  marketing  expenses  totaled  $209.9  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2012, an increase of $41.1 million, or 24% from the comparable period in 2011. The increase was 
primarily the result of a $24.1 million increase in sales commissions, driven by period-over-period growth of 22% in 
the number of cash transfers sold, 1% in the number of GPR cards activated, and 17% in total operating revenues.  
Costs of manufacturing and distributing card packages also increased as a result of the transition of our card issuing 
program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank and the launch of new products. The increase in sales and marketing 
expenses was also due to a $7.1 million increase in advertising and marketing expenses, as we invested in our brand 
by running increased television and online advertising. In 2013, we expect to incur additional sales and marketing 
expenses as the sales commissions we pay to Walmart for the MoneyCard program are scheduled to increase in May 
2013 by approximately four percentage points.

Compensation and Benefits Expenses — Compensation and benefits expenses totaled $114.9 million for the year 
ended December 31, 2012, an increase of $27.3 million or 31%, from the comparable period in 2011. This increase 
was primarily the result of a $20.9 million increase in employee compensation and benefits, which included $5.2 million 
of retention-based cash incentive payments associated with our acquisition of Loopt. This growth was also due to 
additional employee headcount from the Loopt acquisition as well as our continued expansion of our operations to 
support key growth initiatives. A $6.3 million increase in third-party contractor expenses also contributed to the increase 
in  compensation  and  benefits  expenses.  We  will  continue  to  incur  additional  compensation  and  benefits  expense 

37

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
associated with our acquisition of Loopt, including remaining retention-based incentives of up to $5.0 million, which 
we will recognize on a straight-line basis from January through September 2013.

Processing Expenses — Processing expenses totaled $77.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, an 
increase of $6.5 million, or 9% from the comparable period in 2011. The increase was primarily the result of period-
over-period growth of 4% in the number of active cards in our portfolio. Processing expenses were partially offset by 
an increase in volume incentives from the payment networks. While we expect processing expenses to be favorably 
impacted by the November 2012 transition of our card issuing program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank, 
there can be no assurance that our processing expenses will decline on a year-over-year basis in absolute dollars or 
as percentage of total operating revenues in 2013 or in future years because these expenses are subject to a variety 
of factors, many of which are outside our control.

Other General and Administrative Expenses — Other general and administrative expenses totaled $71.9 million 
for the year ended December 31, 2012, an increase of $15.3 million, or 27%, from the comparable period in 2011. 
This  increase  was  primarily  the  result  of  a  $5.8  million  increase  in  depreciation  and  amortization  of  property  and 
equipment,  a  $3.8  million  increase  in  rent  expense,  and  a  $2.0  million  increase  in  professional  service  fees. The 
increase in depreciation and amortization is primarily associated with investments in IT infrastructure and product 
development. The increase in rent expense was primarily due to additional rent expense associated with our new 
corporate office space located in Pasadena, California, which became our new headquarters facility in September 
2012. We took control of the office space in January 2012 to construct tenant improvements, and accordingly, recorded 
rent expense thereafter. The increase in professional services fees was primarily associated with due diligence work 
related to our acquisition of Loopt.

Income Tax Expense

The following table presents a breakdown of our effective tax rate among federal, state and other:

U.S. federal statutory tax rate

State income taxes, net of federal benefit

Employee stock-based compensation

Other

Effective tax rate

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

35.0%

1.9

1.4

(0.1)

38.2%

35.0%

1.6

1.2

0.2

38.0%

Our income tax expense decreased by $3.0 million to $28.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2012 from 
the comparable period in 2011 due to a decrease in income before income taxes over those same periods, and our 
effective tax rate increased 0.2% from 38.0% to 38.2%.  The increases in our effective state tax rate and non-deductible 
employee stock-based compensation were offset by increases in general business tax credits taken during 2012.

Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 

Operating Revenues

The following table presents a breakdown of our operating revenues among card revenues and other fees, cash 

transfer revenues and interchange revenues as well as contra-revenue items:

Years Ended December 31,

2011

2010

Amount

% of Total
Operating
Revenues

Amount

% of Total
Operating
Revenues

(In thousands, except percentages)

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

$

209,489

44.8% $

Cash transfer revenues

Interchange revenues

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation

134,143

141,103

(17,337)

28.7

30.2

(3.7)

167,375

101,502

108,380

(13,369)

46.0%

27.9

29.8

(3.7)

Total operating revenues

$

467,398

100.0% $

363,888

100.0%

38

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Card  Revenues  and  Other  Fees  —  Card  revenues  and  other  fees  totaled  $209.5  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2011, an increase of $42.1 million, or 25%, from the comparable period in 2010. The increase was 
primarily the result of period-over-period growth of 27% in the number of GPR cards activated and 24% in the number 
of active cards in our portfolio.  This growth was driven by a variety of factors including growth in the number of our 
cards sold through our established distribution channels and expansion through our online distribution channel. 

Cash Transfer Revenues — Cash transfer revenues totaled $134.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, 
an increase of $32.6 million, or 32%, from the comparable period in 2010. The increase was primarily the result of 
period-over-period growth of 29% in the number of cash transfers sold.  The increase in cash transfer volume was 
driven both by growth in our active card base and growth in cash transfer volume from third-party programs participating 
in our network.  Third party programs participating in our network contributed approximately 17% of total cash transfer 
revenues  for the year ended  December 31, 2011,  versus 13% of total cash transfer revenues  for the year ended 
December 31, 2010.

Interchange Revenues — Interchange revenues totaled $141.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an 
increase of $32.7 million, or 30%, from the comparable period in 2010. The increase was primarily the result of period-
over-period growth of 24% in the number of active cards in our portfolio, an increase in the average transactional 
volume of the active cards in our portfolio and a 55% increase in gross dollar volume, which was driven by the factors 
discussed above under “Card Revenues and Other Fees.” During the first three quarters of 2011, our interchange 
revenues benefited from a large number of taxpayers who elected to receive their tax refunds via direct deposit on our 
cards and using those funds for purchase transactions. 

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation — Our right to repurchase lapsed as to 441,720 shares issued to 
Walmart during the year ended December 31, 2011.  We recognized the fair value of the shares using the then-current 
fair market value of our Class A common stock, resulting in $17.3 million of stock-based retailer incentive compensation, 
an increase of $3.9 million, or 29%, from the comparable period in 2010. While our stock price was generally lower in 
2011 than it was in 2010, the increase in stock-based retailer incentive compensation reflected the fact that we recorded 
four fewer months of this expense in 2010 than we did in 2011 as we first issued the shares subject to repurchase in 
May 2010 in connection with entering into our amended prepaid card agreement with Walmart and GE Capital Retail 
Bank in May 2010. 

Operating Expenses

The following table presents a breakdown of our operating expenses among sales and marketing, compensation 

and benefits, processing, and other general and administrative expenses:

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing expenses

Compensation and benefits expenses

Processing expenses

Other general and administrative expenses

Years Ended December 31,

2011

2010

Amount

% of Total
Operating
Revenues

Amount

% of Total
Operating
Revenues

(In thousands, except percentages)

$

168,747

36.1% $

122,890

33.8%

87,671

70,953

56,578

18.8

15.2

12.0

70,102

56,978

44,599

19.3

15.7

12.2

Total operating expenses

$

383,949

82.1% $

294,569

81.0%

Sales  and  Marketing  Expenses  —  Sales  and  marketing  expenses  totaled  $168.7  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2011, an increase of $45.8 million, or 37%, from the comparable period in 2010.  The increase was 
primarily the result of increased numbers of GPR cards and cash transfers sold, compared with the corresponding 
period in 2010, and an increase in sales commissions due largely to increased sales commissions paid to Walmart as 
a result of entering into our amended prepaid card agreement with Walmart and GE Capital Retail Bank in May 2010.

Compensation and Benefits Expenses — Compensation and benefits expenses totaled $87.7 million for the year 
ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $17.6 million, or 25%, from the comparable period in 2010. This increase 
was primarily the result of a $15.1 million increase in employee compensation and benefits, which included a $2.3 
million increase in employee stock-based compensation. The period-over-period growth in employee compensation 
and benefits is due to additional employee headcount as we continued to expand our operations to support key growth 
initiatives, new product development and new sales efforts, and growth in our IT infrastructure and risk operations. 

39

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The increase in compensation and benefits expenses was also due to a $2.5 million increase in third-party call center 
contractor expenses as the number of active cards in our portfolio and associated call volumes increased during the 
year ended December 31, 2011. However, our call center costs, as a percentage of our total operating revenues, were 
lower than the comparable period in 2010 as a result of volume incentives received from our third-party providers.

Processing Expenses — Processing expenses totaled $71.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an 
increase of $14.0 million, or 25%, from the comparable period in 2010. The increase was primarily the result of period-
over-period growth of 24% in the number of active cards in our portfolio and 55% in gross dollar volume and a $7.7 million 
increase in ATM processing fees as the volume of ATM transactions increased during the year ended December 31, 
2011. Processing expenses were partially offset by volume incentives from the payment networks. 

Other General and Administrative Expenses — Other general and administrative expenses totaled $56.6 million 
for the years ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $12.0 million, or 27%, from the comparable period in 2010. 
The  increase  in  other  general  and  administrative  expenses  was  primarily  the  result  of  a  $4.7  million  increase  in 
depreciation and amortization of property and equipment, a $3.0 million increase in our provision for uncollectible 
overdrawn  accounts  related  to  purchase  transactions,  and  a  $2.9  million  increase  in  transaction  losses,  primarily 
associated with customer disputed transactions, which fluctuate based on changes in gross dollar volume. These 
increases were partially offset by a decrease of $4.0 million in professional service expenses. During the year ended 
December 31, 2010, we incurred significant professional services expenses in connection with our initial public offering, 
which was completed in July 2010. 

Income Tax Expense

The following table presents a breakdown of our effective tax rate among federal, state and other:

U.S. federal statutory tax rate

State income taxes, net of federal benefit

Change in state apportionment method

Non-deductible offering costs

Other

Effective tax rate

Years Ended December 31,

2011

2010

35.0%

1.6

—

—

1.4

38.0%

35.0%

3.8

(4.6)

2.4

2.7

39.3%

Our income tax expense increased by $4.3 million to $31.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2011 from the 
comparable period in 2010, and our effective tax rate decreased 1.3 percentage points from 39.3% to 38.0%. Certain 
enacted California tax law changes, which became effective January 1, 2011 and allowed us to continue to apply the 
alternative apportionment method we used to allocate income to California in 2009 and 2010, lowered the income we 
apportion to California from the comparable period in 2010, resulting in a lower effective state tax rate in 2011. The 
year ended December 31, 2010 was impacted by several discrete items. The California Franchise Tax Board approved 
a retroactive application of the alternative apportionment method to our income tax returns filed for the five months 
ended  December  31,  2009  and  the  year  ended  July  31,  2009.  We  recognized  this  tax  benefit  in  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2010. This tax benefit was partially offset by non-deductible expenses related to our initial public offering 
recognized in the year ended December 31, 2010.

40

 
 
Capital Requirements for Bank Holding Companies

As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, we were categorized as well capitalized under the regulatory 
framework. There were no conditions or events since December 31, 2012 which management believes would have 
changed our category as well capitalized. Our actual and the "well capitalized" minimum amounts and ratios were as 
follows:

December 31, 2012

Tier 1 leverage

Tier 1 risk-based capital

Total risk-based capital

December 31, 2011

Tier 1 leverage

Tier 1 risk-based capital

Total risk-based capital

Actual

Regulatory "well capitalized"
minimum

Amount

Ratio

Amount

Ratio

(In thousands, except ratios)

$

$

$

$

289,323

289,323

289,323

228,971

228,971

228,971

47.8% $

84.3%

84.3% $

69.1% $

80.7%

80.7% $

30,266

20,591

34,318

16,578

13,738

28,374

5.0%

6.0%

10.0%

5.0%

6.0%

10.0%

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes our major sources and uses of cash for the periods presented:

Total cash provided by (used in)

Operating activities

Investing activities

Financing activities

Increase in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands)

$

$

102,028

$

(210,320)

179,450

94,051

(50,441)

14,320

83,503

(3,213)

30,910

71,158

$

57,930

$

111,200

In the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, we financed our operations primarily through our cash 
flows from operations. At December 31, 2012, our primary source of liquidity was unrestricted cash and cash equivalents 
totaling $293.6 million. We also consider our $183.8 million of investment securities available-for-sale to be highly-
liquid instruments. 

We use trend and variance analyses as well as our detailed budgets and forecasts to project future cash needs, 
making adjustments to the projections when needed. We believe that our current unrestricted cash and cash equivalents 
and cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure requirements for 
at least the next twelve months. Thereafter, we may need to raise additional funds through public or private financings 
or borrowings. Any additional financing we require may not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. If 
we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could 
suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior 
to those of holders of our Class A and Class B common stock and our Series A convertible junior participating non-
cumulative perpetual preferred stock. No assurance can be given that additional financing will be available or that, if 
available, such financing can be obtained on terms favorable to our stockholders and us. 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Our $102.0 million of net cash provided by operating activities in the year ended December 31, 2012 principally 
resulted from $47.2 million of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash operating expenses of $46.8 million. Our $94.1 
million of net cash provided by operating activities in the year ended December 31, 2011 principally resulted from $52.1 
million of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash operating expenses of $40.5 million. Our $83.5 million of net cash 
provided by operating activities in the year ended December 31, 2010 principally resulted from $42.2 million of net 
income, adjusted for certain non-cash operating expenses of $27.9 million. 

41

 
 
 
Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Our $210.3 million of net cash used in investing activities in the year ended December 31, 2012 reflects purchases 
of available-for-sale investment securities, net of sales and maturities, of $152.8 million, payments for acquisition of 
property and equipment of $40.4 million, net payments to acquire Loopt for $31.8 million, partially offset by a decrease 
in  restricted  cash  of  $12.3  million.  Our  $50.4  million  of  net  cash  used  in  investing  activities  in  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2011 reflects purchases of available-for-sale investment securities, net of maturities, of $24.9 million, 
payments for acquisition of property and equipment of $23.1 million and an increase in restricted cash of $7.8 million. 
Our $3.2 million of net cash provided by investing activities in the year ended December 31, 2010 reflects a decrease 
in restricted cash of $10.2 million offset by payments for acquisition of property and equipment of $13.5 million. 

Restricted cash on our consolidated balance sheet primarily represents our cash collateral requirements on our 
line of credit with Synovus Bank. We used the line of credit to fund timing differences between funds remitted by our 
retail distributors to the banks that issue our cards and funds utilized by our cardholders. In 2010, we reduced our cash 
collateral on our line of credit from $15.0 million to $5.0 million. In 2011, we increased our cash collateral from $5.0 
million to $10.0 million. In November 2012, we transitioned all outstanding customer deposits associated with our card 
issuing program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank. Concurrently, we terminated our line of credit with Synovus 
Bank, thus reducing our cash collateral to zero.  

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Our $179.5 million of net cash provided by financing activities in the year ended December 31, 2012 was primarily 
the result of $159.5 million of deposits and $13.7 million of obligations to customers we assumed as part of the transition 
of all outstanding customer deposits associated with our GPR card program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank, 
proceeds from the exercise of stock options and the issuance of shares under our employee stock purchase plan of 
$3.6 million and related excess tax benefits of $2.7 million. Our $14.3 million of net cash provided by financing activities 
for the year ended December 31, 2011 was the result of the exercise of stock options and the issuance of shares under 
our employee stock purchase plan of $6.1 million and excess tax benefits of $3.0 million. Our $30.9 million of net cash 
provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 was primarily the result of proceeds from the 
exercise of stock options and warrants. We receive cash from the exercise of stock options and the sale of Class A 
common stock under our employee stock purchase plan. While we expect to continue to receive these proceeds in 
future periods, the timing and amount of such proceeds are difficult to predict and are contingent on a number of factors 
including the price of our Class A common stock, the number of employees participating in our equity incentive plan 
and our employee stock purchase plan and general market conditions.

Commitments

We anticipate that we will continue to purchase property and equipment as necessary in the normal course of our 
business. The amount and timing of these purchases and the related cash outflows in future periods is difficult to 
predict and is dependent on a number of factors including the hiring of employees, the rate of change of computer 
hardware and software used in our business and our business outlook. During 2013, we intend to continue to invest 
in a plan to transition to a new card processing solution and thereby reduce our dependence on Total System Services, 
Inc. for card processing services.  We also intend to continue our investments in new products and programs, new 
features for our existing products and IT infrastructure to scale and operate effectively to meet our strategic objectives. 
We expect the level of our total investment in capital expenditures for 2013 to be similar to the level of investment in 
2012.

We have used cash to acquire businesses and technologies and we anticipate that we may continue to do so in 
the future. The nature of these transactions makes it difficult to predict the amount and timing of such cash requirements. 
We may also be required to raise additional financing to complete future acquisitions.

Additionally, we anticipate making ongoing cash contributions to our subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, to maintain 
its capital, leverage and other financial commitments at levels we have agreed to with our regulators. For example, in 
November 2012, we contributed approximately $26 million to our subsidiary bank in connection with the transition of 
our card issuing program with Synovus Bank to Green Dot Bank. 

42

Contractual Obligations

There have been no material changes in our contractual obligations disclosed in Management's Discussion and 
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year 
ended December 31, 2012.

Long-term debt obligations

Capital lease obligations

Operating lease obligations

Purchase obligations(1)

Other long-term liabilities

Total

___________

Payments Due by Period

Total

Less than 1
Year

1-3 Years

3-5 Years

(In thousands)

More than 5
Years

$

— $

—

— $

—

43,721

41,668

—

4,502

10,556

—

— $

— $

—

8,838

7,187

—

—

9,028

8,175

—

—

—

21,353

15,750

—

$

85,389

$

15,058

$

16,025

$

17,203

$

37,103

(1)  Primarily future minimum payments under agreements with vendors and our retail distributors. See note 16 of the notes to our 

audited consolidated financial statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

During the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated 
organizations or financial partnerships, such as structured finance or special purpose entities that would have been 
established  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  off-balance  sheet  arrangements  or  other  contractually  narrow  or  limited 
purposes.

43

Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding Companies

As discussed in Part I, Item 1. Business, we became a bank holding company in December 2011. This section 
presents information required by the SEC’s Industry Guide 3, “Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding Companies.” The 
tables in this section include Green Dot Bank information only.  All average balance data related to 2011 are calculated 
for the period December 8, 2011, the date of our acquisition of Green Dot Bank, to December 31, 2011.

Distribution of Assets, Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

The following table presents average balance data for our bank operations:

Average Balance

Year Ended
December 31, 2012

Period ending 
December 31, 2011

(In thousands)

Interest-bearing assets

Loans

Taxable investment securities

Non-taxable investment securities

Federal funds sold

Total interest-bearing assets

Non-interest bearing assets

Total assets

Interest-bearing liabilities

Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW)

Savings deposits

Time deposits, denominations greater than or equal to $100

Time deposits, denominations less than $100

Total interest-bearing liabilities

Non-interest bearing liabilities

Total liabilities

Total stockholders' equity

$

$

$

9,178

$

3,584

2,155

2,218

17,135

93,938

111,073

$

6,724

$

1,650

3,020

6,742

18,136

58,105

76,241

34,832

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

111,073

$

10,159

4,025

2,420

2,400

19,004

40,045

59,049

1,634

6,812

1,383

9,779

19,608

16,770

36,378

22,671

59,049

Investment Portfolio

The  following  table  presents  the  amortized  cost  and  fair  value  of  Green  Dot  Bank’s  investment  portfolio  at 

December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

December 31, 2012

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

U.S. treasury notes

Total fixed-income securities

December 31, 2011

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Total fixed-income securities

Amortized Cost

Fair Value

$

$

$

$

(In thousands)

804

$

2,022

20,020

22,846

$

3,979

$

2,379

6,358

$

811

2,058

19,956

22,825

3,987

2,391

6,378

44

The following table shows the scheduled maturities, by amortized cost, and average yields for Green Dot Bank’s 

investment portfolio at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

December 31, 2012

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

U.S. treasury notes

Total fixed-income securities

Weighted-average yield

December 31, 2011

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Total fixed-income securities

Due in one year
or less

Due after one
year through
five years

Due after five
years through
ten years

(In thousands)

Due after ten
years

Total

$

$

$

$

— $

— $

562

16,983

17,545

$

831

3,037

3,868

0.23%

0.79%

— $

—

— $

1,060

1,315

2,375

$

$

$

804

629

—

$

— $

—

—

1,433

$

— $

804

2,022

20,020

22,846

2.69%

—%

0.48%

2,080

961

3,041

$

$

839

103

942

$

$

3,979

2,379

6,358

Weighted-average yield

—%

2.98%

3.07%

3.26%

3.06%

Loan Portfolio

The aggregate loan portfolio before allowance for loan losses totaled $8.0 million at December 31, 2012 or a 20.0% 
decrease  compared  to  December 31,  2011. The  following  table  shows  the  composition  of  Green  Dot  Bank’s  loan 
portfolio as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

December 31, 2012

Real estate

Fixed rate

Commercial

Fixed rate

Floating rate

Installment

Fixed rate

Total loans

December 31, 2011

Real estate

Fixed rate

Commercial

Fixed rate

Floating rate

Installment

Fixed rate

Total loans

Due in one year
or less

Due after one
year through
five years

Due after five
years

Total

(In thousands)

$

$

$

$

1,648

$

1,687

$

— $

3,335

950

—

826

3,424

$

—

133

2,212

4,032

$

—

—

96

96

$

950

133

3,134

7,552

3,630

$

1,856

$

— $

5,486

1,230

—

34

—

388

5,248

$

2,746

4,636

$

153

—

153

$

1,264

153

3,134

10,037

Allowance for Loan Losses

The allowance for loan losses totaled $0.5 million or 6.3% of outstanding loans and 122.7% of nonaccruing loans 
at December 31, 2012.  There was no allowance as of December 31, 2011 as all loans were recorded at fair value as 
of the purchase date of Green Dot Bank on December 8, 2011. The increase in the allowance for loan loss balance 
during the year was due to seasoning of our loan portfolio and subsequent changes in estimated inherent credit losses 
since the acquisition date fair value determination. Refer to Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in 
Item 8 of this report for our accounting policy on allowance for loan losses. 

45

Allowance for loan losses:

  Beginning balance

    Loans charged off:

      Commercial

      Real Estate

      Installment

  Total

    Recoveries of loans previously charged off:

      Commercial

      Real Estate

      Installment

  Total

Net loans charged off

Provision for allowance for loan losses

Ending balance

Allowance for loan losses to loans outstanding at year-end

Net charge-offs to average loans

Total provision for (reduction of) credit losses to average loans

Recoveries to gross charge-offs

Allowance for loan losses as a multiple of net charge-offs

$

$

Year Ended
December 31, 2012

(In thousands)

—

—

59

164

223

—

—

—

—

223

698

475

5.92%

0.03

0.08

—

2.13

At December 31, 2012, impaired loans totaled $0.7 million, including $0.5 million of impaired loans with specific 
allowances  of  $0.1  million  and  $0.2  million  with  no  specific  allowances  because  the  loan  balances  represent  the 
amounts we expect to recover.  At December 31, 2011, we had no impaired loans.

The components of our allowance for loan losses, by category, are as follows:

Loan category:

  Commercial

  Real Estate

  Installment

Total

Loan Portfolio Concentrations

December 31, 2012

Allowance

(In thousands)

% of Loans

$

$

96

226

153

475

14.34%

44.16%

41.50%

100.00%

Green Dot Bank, our subsidiary bank, operates at a single office in Provo, Utah located in the Utah County area.  
As of December 31, 2012, approximately 92.5% of our borrowers resided in the state of Utah and approximately 39.4% 
in the city of Provo.  Consequently, we are susceptible to any adverse market or environmental conditions that may 
impact this specific geographic region.

46

Deposits

The following table shows Green Dot Bank’s average deposits and the annualized average rate paid on those 

deposits for the year ended December 31, 2012 and from December 8, 2011 through December 31, 2011:

December 31, 2012

Interest-bearing deposit accounts

Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW)

Savings deposits

Time deposits, denominations greater than or equal to $100

Time deposits, denominations less than $100

Total interest-bearing deposit accounts

Non-interest bearing deposit accounts

Total deposits

December 31, 2011

Interest-bearing deposit accounts

Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW)

Savings deposits

Time deposits, denominations greater than or equal to $100

Time deposits, denominations less than $100

Total interest-bearing deposit accounts

Non-interest bearing deposit accounts

Total deposits

Average
Balance

Weighted-
Average Rate

(In thousands)

$

$

$

$

1,650

6,724

3,020

6,742

18,136

50,151

68,287

1,634

6,812

1,383

9,779

19,608

16,738

36,346

0.25%

0.25%

0.71%

0.83%

0.54%

0.25%

0.38%

1.05%

1.22%

0.83%

The  following  table  shows  the  scheduled  maturities  for  Green  Dot  Bank’s  time  deposits  portfolio  greater  than 

$100,000 at December 31, 2012:

Less than 3 months

3 through 6 months

6 through 12 months

Greater than 12 months

Key Financial Ratios

December 31, 2012

(In thousands)

529

1,207

894

957

3,587

The following table shows certain of Green Dot Bank’s key financial ratios for the year ended December 31, 2012 

and the period from December 8, 2011 through December 31, 2011:

December 31, 2012

Pretax return on assets

Net return on equity

Equity to assets ratio

December 31, 2011

Pretax return on assets

Net return on equity

Equity to assets ratio

47

2.4%

7.7%

31.4%

0.2%

0.5%

38.4%

ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Market risk is the potential for economic losses from changes in market factors such as foreign currency exchange 
rates, credit, interest rates and equity prices. We believe that we have limited exposure to risks associated with changes 
in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and equity prices. We have no foreign operations, and we do not 
transact business in foreign currencies. We do not hold or enter into derivatives or other financial instruments for trading 
or speculative purposes. We do not consider our cash and cash equivalents or our investment securities to be subject 
to significant interest rate risk due to their short duration.

We do have exposure to credit and liquidity risk associated with the financial institutions that hold our cash and 
cash  equivalents,  restricted  cash,  available-for-sale  investment  securities,  settlement  assets  due  from  our  retail 
distributors that collect funds and fees from our customers, and amounts due from our issuing banks for fees collected 
on our behalf.

We manage the credit and liquidity risk associated with our cash and cash equivalents, available-for-sale investment 
securities and amounts due from issuing banks by maintaining an investment policy that restricts our correspondent 
banking relationships to approved, well capitalized institutions and restricts investments to highly liquid, low credit risk 
related assets. Our policy has limits related to liquidity ratios, the concentration that we may have with a single institution 
or issuer and effective maturity dates as well as restrictions on the type of assets that we may invest in. The management 
Asset Liability Committee is responsible for monitoring compliance with our Capital Asset Liability Management policy 
and related limits on an ongoing basis, and reports regularly to the audit committee of our board of directors.

Our exposure to credit risk associated with our retail distributors is mitigated due to the short time period, currently 
an average of two days that retailer settlement assets are outstanding. We perform an initial credit review and assign 
a  credit  limit  to  each  new  retail  distributor.  We  monitor  each  retail  distributor’s  settlement  asset  exposure  and  its 
compliance with its specified contractual settlement terms on a daily basis and assess their credit limit and financial 
condition on a periodic basis. Our management's Enterprise Risk Management Committee is responsible for monitoring 
our retail distributor exposure and assigning credit limits and reports regularly to the audit committee of our board of 
directors.

48

ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Balance Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

All financial statement schedules have been omitted, since the required information is not applicable or is not 
present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedule, or because the information required is included 
in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto.

49

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 
On Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Green Dot Corporation

We have audited Green Dot Corporation's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012, based 
on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations 
of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Green Dot Corporation's management is responsible for maintaining 
effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over 
financial reporting included in the accompanying Report of Management on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. 
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the company's internal control over financial reporting based on our 
audit. 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 
States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether 
effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining 
an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing 
and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing 
such  other  procedures  as  we  considered  necessary  in  the  circumstances.  We  believe  that  our  audit  provides  a 
reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding 
the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with 
generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies 
and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect 
the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions 
are  recorded  as  necessary  to  permit  preparation  of  financial  statements  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted 
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with 
authorizations  of  management  and  directors  of  the  company;  and  (3)  provide  reasonable  assurance  regarding 
prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have 
a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. 
Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become 
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may 
deteriorate.

In  our  opinion,  Green  Dot  Corporation  maintained,  in  all  material  respects,  effective  internal  control  over  financial 
reporting as of December 31, 2012, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 
States), the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements 
of operations, comprehensive income, changes in stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in 
the period ended December 31, 2012 of Green Dot Corporation and our report dated March 1, 2013 expressed an 
unqualified opinion thereon.

Los Angeles, California
March 1, 2013

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

50

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Green Dot Corporation

We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  balance  sheets  of  Green  Dot  Corporation  (the  Company)  as  of 
December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, changes 
in stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012. These 
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion 
on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 
States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether 
the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence 
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting 
principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement 
presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. 

In  our  opinion,  the  financial  statements  referred  to  above  present  fairly,  in  all  material  respects,  the  consolidated 
financial  position  of  Green  Dot  Corporation  at  December 31,  2012  and  2011,  and  the  consolidated  results  of  its 
operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012, in conformity with 
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 
States), Green Dot Corporation's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012, based on criteria 
established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the 
Treadway Commission and our report dated March 1, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Los Angeles, California
March 1, 2013 

51

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands, except par value)

$

293,590

$

223,033

3,001

115,244

36,127

40,441

31,952

7,386

2,478

530,219

634

68,543

10,931

7,552

1,530

58,376

12,510

4,629

30,804

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

Assets

Current assets:

Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents

Federal funds sold

Investment securities available-for-sale, at fair value

Settlement assets

Accounts receivable, net

Prepaid expenses and other assets

Income tax receivable

Net deferred tax assets

Total current assets

Restricted cash

Investment securities, available-for-sale, at fair value

Accounts receivable, net

Loans to bank customers, net of allowance for loan losses of $475 and $0 as of December 31, 2012 and 2011,
respectively

Prepaid expenses and other assets

Property and equipment, net

Deferred expenses

Net deferred tax assets

Goodwill and intangible assets

Total assets

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

Deposits

Obligations to customers

Settlement obligations

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

$

$

725,728

$

31,411

$

198,451

Amounts due to card issuing banks for overdrawn accounts

Other accrued liabilities

Deferred revenue

Net deferred tax liabilities

Total current liabilities

Other accrued liabilities

Deferred revenue

Net deferred tax liabilities

Total liabilities

Stockholders’ equity:

Convertible Series A preferred stock, $0.001 par value: 10 shares authorized and 7 shares issued and
outstanding as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively

Class A common stock, $0.001 par value; 100,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2012 and 2011,
respectively; 31,798 and 30,162 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2012 and 2011,
respectively

Class B convertible common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000 shares authorized as of December 31,
2012 and 2011, respectively; 4,197 and 5,280 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2012
and 2011, respectively

Additional paid-in capital

Retained earnings

Accumulated other comprehensive income

Total stockholders’ equity

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

46,156

3,639

50,724

29,469

19,557

—

379,407

18,557

—

—

397,964

7

31

4

158,656

168,960

106

327,764

$

725,728

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements

52

2,400

20,647

27,355

41,307

11,822

3,371

6,664

336,599

12,926

10,563

4,147

10,036

202

27,281

12,604

—

11,501

425,859

15,441

38,957

—

27,355

42,153

16,248

21,500

—

161,654

6,239

19

4,751

172,663

7

30

5

131,383

121,741

30

253,196

425,859

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands, except per share data)

$

224,745

$

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

Cash transfer revenues

Interchange revenues

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation

Total operating revenues

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing expenses

Compensation and benefits expenses

Processing expenses

Other general and administrative expenses

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

Net income

Income attributable to preferred stock

Net income allocated to common stockholders

Basic earnings per common share:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Basic weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Diluted earnings per common share:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Diluted weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding:

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

$

$

$

$

$

165,232

164,559

(8,251)

546,285

209,870

114,930

77,445

71,900

474,145

72,140

4,074

(76)

76,138

28,919

47,219

(7,599)

39,620

1.11

1.11

29,698

4,801

$

$

$

1.07

1.07

$

$

35,933

6,150

209,489

134,143

141,103

(17,337)

467,398

168,747

87,671

70,953

56,578

383,949

83,449

910

(346)

84,013

31,930

52,083

(558)

51,525

$

1.24

1.24

$

$

22,238

17,718

1.19

1.19

$

$

42,065

19,822

167,375

101,502

108,380

(13,369)

363,888

122,890

70,102

56,978

44,599

294,569

69,319

365

(52)

69,632

27,400

42,232

(14,659)

27,573

1.06

1.06

2,980

21,589

0.98

0.98

27,782

24,796

See notes to consolidated financial statements

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

Net income

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Unrealized  holding  gains  (losses)  arising  during  period,  net  of  reclassification 
adjustments for amounts included in net income

Comprehensive income

$

$

47,219

$

52,083

42,232

76

30

47,295

$

52,113

$

—

42,232

See notes to consolidated financial statements

54

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5

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

2012

Year Ended December 31,

2011

(In thousands)

2010

$

47,219

$

52,083

Operating activities

Net income

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

Provision for uncollectible overdrawn accounts

Employee stock-based compensation

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation

Amortization of premium on available-for-sale investment securities

Realized gains on investment securities

(Recovery) provision for uncollectible trade receivables

Impairment of capitalized software

Deferred income tax expense (benefit)

Excess tax benefits from exercise of options

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable, net

Prepaid expenses and other assets

Deferred expenses

Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities

Amounts due issuing bank for overdrawn accounts

Deferred revenue

Income tax receivable

Net cash provided by operating activities

Investing activities

Purchases of available-for-sale investment securities

Proceeds from maturities of available-for-sale securities

Proceeds from sales of available-for-sale securities

Decrease (increase) in restricted cash

Payments for acquisition of property and equipment

Net principal collections on loans

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired

Net cash used in investing activities

Financing activities

Proceeds from exercise of options

Excess tax benefits from exercise of options

Net increase in deposits

Net increase in obligations to customers

Net cash provided by financing activities

Net increase in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and federal funds sold

Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and federal funds sold, beginning of year

Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and federal funds sold, end of period

Cash paid for interest

Cash paid for income taxes

18,131

62,345

12,734

8,251

1,188

(11)

(359)

1,029

5,792

(2,738)

(66,099)

(21,325)

94

31,475

7,571

(1,962)

(1,307)

102,028

(271,869)

37,563

81,474

12,292

(40,441)

2,484

(31,823)

(210,320)

3,550

2,738

159,494

13,668

179,450

71,158

225,433

$

$

$

296,591

$

98

28,203

$

$

12,330

60,562

9,524

17,337

251

—

455

397

251

42,232

7,588

46,093

7,256

13,369

—

—

(13)

409

(704)

(2,951)

(24,842)

(70,510)

(2,838)

(3,100)

(4,489)

7,085

4,261

13,403

94,051

(45,056)

20,152

—

(7,791)

(23,076)

245

5,085

(50,441)

6,138

2,951

5,231

—

14,320

57,930

167,503

225,433

108

18,291

(51,754)

(1,042)

(1,304)

16,042

11,646

2,113

16,414

83,503

—

—

—

10,246

(13,459)

—

—

(3,213)

6,068

24,842

—

—

30,910

111,200

56,303

167,503

42

14,282

See notes to consolidated financial statements

56

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1—Organization

Green Dot Corporation (“we,” “us” and “our” refer to Green Dot Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, 
Next Estate Communications, Inc.; Green Dot Bank; and Loopt, LLC) is a leading financial services company providing 
simple, low-cost and convenient money management solutions to a broad base of U.S. consumers. Our products and 
services include: Green Dot MasterCard and Visa-branded prepaid debit cards and several co-branded reloadable 
prepaid card programs, collectively referred to as our GPR cards; Visa-branded gift cards; our MoneyPak and swipe 
reload  proprietary  products,  collectively  referred  to as  our  cash transfer  products,  which  enable  cash loading  and 
transfer  services  through  our  Green  Dot  Network;  and  GoBank,  an  innovative  checking  account  developed  for 
distribution and use via mobile phones, which is expected to be available to U.S. consumers generally during the 
second or third quarter of 2013. The Green Dot Network enables consumers to use cash to reload our prepaid debit 
cards or to transfer cash to any of our Green Dot Network acceptance members, including competing prepaid card 
programs and other online accounts.

We market our products and services to banked, underbanked and unbanked consumers in the United States 
using distribution channels other than traditional bank branches, such as third-party retailer locations nationwide and 
the Internet. Our prepaid debit cards are issued by Green Dot Bank and third-party issuing banks including GE Capital 
Retail Bank (formerly GE Money Bank),The Bancorp Bank, University National Bank, and prior to November 2012, 
Columbus Bank and Trust Company, a division of Synovus Bank. We also have multi-year distribution arrangements 
with many large and medium-sized retailers, such as Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven, Kroger, Kmart, 
and Radio Shack, and with various industry resellers, such as Blackhawk Network, Inc. and Incomm. We refer to 
participating retailers collectively as our “retail distributors.”

Initial Public Offering

On July 27, 2010, we completed an initial public offering of 5,241,758 shares of our Class A common stock at an 
initial public offering price of $36.00 per share, all of which were sold by existing stockholders. We did not receive any 
proceeds from the sale of shares of our Class A common stock in the offering. Concurrent with the completion of the 
initial  public  offering,  certain  selling  stockholders  exercised  a  warrant  to  purchase  283,786  shares  of  Series  C-1 
preferred stock at an exercise price of $1.41 per share and vested options to purchase 377,840 shares of Class B 
common stock with a weighted-average exercise price of $2.63 in order to sell the underlying shares of Class A common 
stock in the offering. We received aggregate proceeds of $1.4 million from these exercises. Additionally, all of our 
outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock were automatically converted to 24,941,421 shares of our Class B 
common stock, and all shares of our Class B common stock sold in the offering were automatically converted into a 
like number of Class A common stock.

Acquisitions

In November 2011, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Utah Department of Financial 
Institutions approved our applications to acquire Bonneville Bancorp, a Utah bank holding company, and its bank 
subsidiary, Bonneville Bank, renamed Green Dot Bank. We thereby became a bank holding company under the Bank 
Holding Company Act of 1956. In December 2011, we completed our acquisition of Bonneville Bancorp for approximately 
$15.7 million in cash. We contributed $14.3 million in cash to Green Dot Bank in December 2011 to provide an initial 
capital base for its expanded operations.

In March 2012, we acquired Loopt, Inc., or Loopt, for approximately $33.6 million in cash in exchange for all of its 
outstanding shares. Loopt's results of operations are included in our consolidated results of operations following the 
acquisition date. Pro-forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was 
not material to our financial results. We committed to pay $9.8 million in retention-based incentives for employees we 
hired in connection with the acquisition of Loopt. In December 2012, we converted Loopt from a corporation to a limited 
liability company. 

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

Our consolidated financial statements include the results of entities that we control through a 50% or more ownership 
interest. We have prepared the accompanying consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally 
accepted accounting principles, or GAAP.  We have eliminated all significant intercompany balances and transactions 
in consolidation.  We include the results of operations of acquired companies from the date of acquisition.

57

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

We consider an operating segment to be any component of our business whose operating results are regularly 
reviewed by our chief operating decision-maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment 
and assess its performance based on discrete financial information. Only those operating segments that meet certain 
quantitative and qualitative criteria are reportable segments. Our Chief Executive Officer, our chief operating decision-
maker, reviews our operating results on an aggregate basis and manages our operations and the allocation of resources 
as a single operating segment — prepaid cards and related services.

Changes in Presentation

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.  Intangible 
assets of $0.7 million as of December 31, 2011 have been reclassified from prepaid expenses and other assets to 
goodwill and intangible assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions 
that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements, including the accompanying notes. We base 
our  estimates  and  assumptions  on  historical  factors,  current  circumstances,  and  the  experience  and  judgment  of 
management. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Actual results could differ from those 
estimates.

Unrestricted Cash and Cash Equivalents and Federal Funds Sold

We  consider  all  unrestricted  highly  liquid  investments  with  an  original  maturity  of  three  months  or  less  to  be 
unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. Federal funds sold consist of unsecured overnight advances of excess balances 
in our bank reserve account and are included in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on our statements of cash 
flows.

Investment Securities

Our investment portfolio is primarily comprised of fixed income securities. We classify these securities as available-
for-sale and report them at fair value with the related unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, included in accumulated 
other comprehensive income, a component of stockholders’ equity. We classify investment securities with original 
maturities greater than 90 days, but less than or equal to 365 days as current assets.

We regularly evaluate each fixed income security where the value has declined below amortized cost to assess 
whether the decline in fair value is other-than-temporary. In determining whether an impairment is other-than-temporary, 
we consider the severity and duration of the decline in fair value, the length of time expected for recovery, the financial 
condition of the issuer, and other qualitative factors, as well as whether we either plan to sell the security or it is more-
likely-than-not that we will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost. If the impairment of 
the investment security is credit-related, an other-than-temporary impairment is recorded in earnings. We recognize 
non-credit-related impairment in accumulated other comprehensive income. If we intend to sell an investment security 
or believe we will more-likely-than-not be required to sell a security, we record the full amount of the impairment as an 
other-than-temporary impairment.

Interest on fixed income securities, including amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts, is included in 

interest income.

Obligations to Customers and Settlement Assets and Obligations

Our retail distributors collect customer funds for purchases of new cards and reloads at the point of sale and then 
remit these funds directly to bank accounts established for the benefit of these customers by the banks that issue our 
cards. During the third quarter of 2012, our retail distributors began remitting these funds to our subsidiary bank as 
we transitioned our card issuing program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank. Our retail distributors’ remittance 
of these funds takes an average of two business days.

Settlement assets represent the amounts due from our retail distributors for customer funds collected at the point 
of sale that have not yet been received by our subsidiary bank. Obligations to customers represent customer funds 
collected from or to be remitted by our retail distributors for which the underlying products have not been activated. 
Settlement obligations represent the customer funds received by our subsidiary bank that are due to third-party card 
issuing banks upon activation.

58

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Accounts Receivable, Net

Accounts  receivable  is  comprised  principally  of  receivables  due  from  card  issuing  banks,  overdrawn  account 
balances due from cardholders, trade accounts receivable and other receivables. We record accounts receivable net 
of reserves for estimated uncollectible accounts. Receivables due from card issuing banks primarily represent revenue-
related funds collected by the third-party card issuing banks from our retail distributors, merchant banks and cardholders 
that have yet to be remitted to us. These receivables are generally collected within a short period of time based on 
the remittance terms in our agreements with the third-party card issuing banks.

Overdrawn Account Balances Due from Cardholders and Reserve for Uncollectible Overdrawn Accounts

Cardholder account overdrafts may arise from maintenance fee assessments on our GPR cards or from purchase 
transactions that we honor on GPR or gift cards, in each case in excess of the funds in a cardholder’s account. We 
are  exposed  to  losses  from  unrecovered  cardholder  account  overdrafts.  We  establish  a  reserve  for  uncollectible 
overdrawn accounts. We classify overdrawn accounts into age groups based on the number of days that have elapsed 
since an account has had activity, such as a purchase, ATM transaction or maintenance fee assessment. We calculate 
a reserve factor for each age group based on the average recovery rate for the most recent six months. These factors 
are applied to these age groups to estimate our overall reserve. When more than 90 days have passed without activity 
in an account, we consider recovery to be remote and write off the full amount of the overdrawn account balance. We 
include our provision for uncollectible overdrawn accounts related to maintenance fees and purchase transactions as 
an  offset  to  card  revenues  and  other  fees  and  in  other  general  and  administrative  expenses,  respectively,  in  the 
accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Restricted Cash

We maintain restricted deposits in bank accounts to collateralize a standby letter of credit that guarantees our full 
performance of our obligations under our ten-year office lease in Pasadena, California.  As of December 31, 2011, we 
also maintained restricted cash deposits to collateralize our then-outstanding line of credit.  After a consumer purchases 
a new card or cash transfer product at a retail location, we make the funds immediately available once the consumer 
goes online or calls a toll-free number to activate the new card or add funds from a cash transfer product. Since our 
retail distributors do not remit funds to our card issuing banks, on average, for two business days, we maintained a 
line of credit with certain third-party card issuing banks that was available to fund any cash requirements related to 
the timing difference between funds remitted by our retail distributors to the third-party card issuing banks and funds 
utilized by consumers. We repaid any draws on this line of credit when our retail distributors remitted the funds to the 
bank account of the applicable third-party card issuing bank.

Loans to Bank Customers

We report loans measured at historical cost at their outstanding principle balances, net of any charge-offs, and 

for purchased loans, net of any unaccreted discounts.  We recognize interest income as it is earned.

Purchased Credit-Impaired Loans

In connection with our acquisition of Bonneville Bancorp, we acquired loans and recorded them at fair value on 
the acquisition date. Some of our purchased loans have had evidence of credit quality deterioration since origination. 
We consider purchased loans to be impaired if we do not expect to receive all contractually required cash flows due 
to concerns about credit quality. The excess of the cash flows expected to be collected measured as of the acquisition 
date, over the estimated fair value is referred to as the accretable yield and is recognized in interest income over the 
remaining life of the loan using a level yield methodology. The difference between contractually-required payments as 
of the acquisition date and the cash flows expected to be collected is referred to as the nonaccretable difference. 

We determine the initial fair values of purchased credit-impaired loans, or PCI loans, using a discounted cash flow 
model based on assumptions about the amount and timing of principal and interest payments, estimates of principal 
losses and current market rates. If there are subsequent decreases in expected principal cash flows, we record a 
charge to the provision for credit losses and a corresponding increase to the allowance for loan losses. If there are 
subsequent increases in expected principal cash flows, we record a recovery of any previously recorded allowance 
for loan losses, to the extent applicable, and a reclassification from nonaccretable difference to accretable yield for 
any remaining increase. 

59

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Since PCI loans are recorded at fair value at the acquisition date, we do not classify these loans as nonperforming 
as the loans were written down to fair value at the acquisition date and the accretable yield is recognized in interest 
income over the remaining life of the loan. 

Nonperforming Loans

Nonperforming loans generally include loans, other than PCI loans, that have been placed on nonaccrual status. 
We generally place loans on nonaccrual status when they are past due 90 days or more. We reverse the related 
accrued interest receivable and apply interest collections on nonaccruing loans as principal reductions; otherwise, we 
credit such collections to interest income when received. These loans may be restored to accrual status when all 
principal and interest is current and full repayment of the remaining contractual principal and interest is expected.

We consider a loan to be impaired when it is probable that we will be unable to collect all amounts due according 
to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. Once we determine a loan to be impaired, we measure the impairment 
based on the present value of the expected future cash flows discounted at the loan's effective interest rate. We may 
also measure impairment based on observable market prices, or for loans that are solely dependent on the collateral 
for repayment, the estimated fair value of the collateral less estimated costs to sell. If the recorded investment in 
impaired loans exceeds this amount, we establish a specific allowance as a component of the allowance for loan 
losses or by adjusting an existing valuation allowance for the impaired loan.

Allowance for Loan Losses 

We establish an allowance for loan losses to account for estimated credit losses inherent in our loan portfolio. For 
the portfolio of loans excluding impaired and PCI loans, our estimate of inherent losses is separately calculated on an 
aggregate basis for groups of loans that are considered to have similar credit characteristics and risk of loss. We 
analyze historical loss rates for these groups and then adjust the rates for qualitative factors which in our judgment 
affect the expected inherent losses. Qualitative considerations include, but are not limited to, prevailing economic or 
market  conditions,  changes  in  the  loan  grading  and  underwriting  process,  changes  in  the  estimated  value  of  the 
underlying  collateral  for  collateral  dependent  loans,  delinquency  and  nonaccrual  status,  problem  loan  trends,  and 
geographic concentrations. We separately establish specific allowances for impaired and PCI loans based on the 
present value of changes in cash flows expected to be collected, or for impaired loans that are considered collateral 
dependent, the estimated fair value of the collateral. 

Property and Equipment

We  carry  our  property  and  equipment  at  cost  less  accumulated  depreciation  and  amortization.  We  generally 
compute depreciation on property and equipment using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the 
assets, except for internal-use software in development and land, which are not depreciated. We generally compute 
amortization  on  tenant  improvements  using  the  straight-line  method  over  the  shorter  of  the  related  lease  term  or 
estimated useful lives of the improvements. We expense expenditures for maintenance and repairs as incurred.

The estimated useful lives of the respective classes of assets are as follows:

Land

Building

Computer equipment, furniture and office equipment

Computer software purchased

Capitalized internal-use software

Tenant improvements

N/A

30 years

3-4 years

3 years

2 years

Shorter of the useful life or the lease term

We capitalize certain internal and external costs incurred to develop internal-use software during the application 
development stage. We also capitalize the cost of specified upgrades and enhancements to internal-use software that 
result in additional functionality. Once a development project is substantially complete and the software is ready for 
its intended use, we begin depreciating these costs on a straight-line basis over the internal-use software’s estimated 
useful life.

60

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Impairment of Long Lived Assets

We evaluate long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the 
carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If the sum of expected undiscounted future cash flows from an 
asset is less than the carrying amount of the asset, we recognize an impairment loss. We measure the loss as the 
amount by which the carrying amount exceeds its fair value calculated using the present value of estimated net future 
cash flows. Included in other general and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of operations for 
the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 were $1.0 million, $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively, of 
recognized impairment losses on internal-use software.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill is the purchase premium after adjusting for the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized 
but is reviewed for potential impairment on an annual basis, or when events or circumstances indicate a potential 
impairment, at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit, as defined under applicable accounting guidance, is a business 
segment or one level below a business segment. We first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more 
likely-than-not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50 percent) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying 
value. This  step  serves  as  the  basis  for  determining  whether  it  is  necessary  to  perform  the  two-step  quantitative 
impairment test. The first step of the quantitative impairment test involves a comparison of the estimated fair value of 
each reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the estimated fair value of the reporting unit exceeds 
its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is not impaired; however, if the carrying amount of the reporting unit 
exceeds its estimated fair value, then the second step of the quantitative impairment test must be performed. The 
second step compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with its carrying amount to measure the 
amount of impairment loss, if any. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount 
of goodwill recognized in a business combination. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the 
implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

For  intangible  assets,  we  recognize  an  impairment  loss  if  the  carrying  amount  of  the  intangible  asset  is  not 
recoverable and exceeds fair value. The carrying amount of the intangible asset is considered not recoverable if it 
exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives.

Amounts Due to Card Issuing Banks for Overdrawn Accounts

Our third-party card issuing banks fund overdrawn cardholder account balances on our behalf. Amounts funded 
are due from us to the card issuing banks based on terms specified in the agreements with the card issuing banks. 
Generally, we expect to settle these obligations within twelve months.

Fair Value

Under applicable accounting guidance, fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an 
asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability 
in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date.

We determine the fair values of our financial instruments based on the fair value hierarchy established under applicable 
accounting  guidance  which  requires  an  entity  to  maximize  the  use  of  observable  inputs  and  minimize  the  use  of 
unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The following describes the three-level hierarchy:

Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 1 assets and liabilities 
include debt and equity securities and derivative contracts that are traded in an active exchange market, as well as 
certain U.S. Treasury securities that are highly liquid and are actively traded in over-the-counter markets

Level 2 – Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted 
prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market 
data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Level 2 assets and liabilities include fixed income securities 
with quoted prices that are traded less frequently than exchange-traded instruments. This category generally includes 
U.S. government and agency mortgage-backed fixed income securities and corporate fixed income securities

61

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the overall 
fair value of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 assets and liabilities include financial instruments for which the determination 
of fair value requires significant management judgment or estimation. The fair value for such assets and liabilities is 
generally  determined  using  pricing  models,  market  comparables,  discounted  cash  flow  methodologies  or  similar 
techniques that incorporate the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability. This category 
generally includes certain private equity investments and certain asset-backed securities

Revenue Recognition

Our operating revenues consist of card revenues and other fees, cash transfer revenues and interchange revenues. 
We recognize revenue when the price is fixed or determinable, persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the 
product is sold or the service is performed, and collectability of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured.

Card revenues and other fees consist of monthly maintenance fees, ATM fees, new card fees and other revenues. 
We charge maintenance fees on a monthly basis pursuant to the terms and conditions in the applicable cardholder 
agreements. We recognize monthly maintenance fees ratably over the month for which they are assessed. We charge 
ATM fees to cardholders when they withdraw money at certain ATMs in accordance with the terms and conditions in 
our cardholder agreements. We recognize ATM fees when the withdrawal is made by the cardholder, which is the 
same time our service is completed and the fees are assessed. We charge new card fees when a consumer purchases 
a new card in a retail store. We defer and recognize new card fee revenues on a straight-line basis over our average 
card lifetime, which is currently seven months for our GPR cards and six months for our gift cards. We determine the 
average card lifetime based on our recent historical data for comparable products. We measure card lifetime for our 
GPR cards as the period of time, inclusive of reload activity, between sale (or activation) of the card and the date of 
the  last  positive  balance.  We  measure  the  card  lifetime  for  our  gift  cards  as  the  redemption  period  during  which 
cardholders perform the substantial majority of their transactions. We reassess average card lifetime quarterly. We 
report the unearned portion of new card fees as a component of deferred revenue in our consolidated balance sheets. 
Other revenues consist primarily of fees associated with optional products or services, which we generally offer to 
consumers during the card activation process. Optional products and services include providing a second card for an 
account, expediting delivery of the personalized debit card that replaces the temporary card obtained at the retail store, 
and upgrading a cardholder account to one of our upgrade programs. We generally recognize revenue related to 
optional products and services when the underlying services are completed, but we treat revenues related to our 
upgrade programs in a manner similar to new card fees and monthly maintenance fees.

We generate cash transfer revenues when consumers purchase our cash transfer products (reload services) in 
a retail store. We recognize these revenues when the cash transfer transactions are completed, generally within two 
business days from the time of sale of these products.

We earn interchange revenues from fees remitted by the merchant’s bank, which are based on rates established 
by the payment networks, such as Visa and MasterCard, when cardholders make purchase transactions using our 
cards. We recognize interchange revenues as these transactions occur.

We report our different types of revenues on a gross or net basis based on our assessment of whether we act as 
a principal or an agent in the transaction. To the extent we act as a principal in the transaction, we report revenues on 
a  gross  basis.  In concluding  whether  or  not  we  act as  a  principal  or an  agent,  we  evaluate  whether  we  have  the 
substantial risks and rewards under the terms of the revenue-generating arrangements, whether we are the party 
responsible for fulfillment of the services purchased by the cardholders, and other factors. For all of our significant 
revenue-generating arrangements, including GPR and gift cards, we record revenues on a gross basis.

Generally, customers have limited rights to a refund of a new card fee or a cash transfer fee. We have elected to 
recognize revenues prior to the expiration of the refund period, but reduce revenues by the amount of expected refunds, 
which we estimate based on actual historical refunds.

On occasion, we enter into incentive agreements with our retail distributors and offer incentives to customers 
designed to increase product acceptance and sales volume. We record incentive payments, including the issuance 
of  equity  instruments,  as  a  reduction  of  revenues  and  recognize  them  over  the  period  the  related  revenues  are 
recognized or as services are rendered, as applicable.

62

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Sales and Marketing Expenses

Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of sales commissions, advertising and marketing expenses, and 
the costs of manufacturing and distributing card packages, placards, and promotional materials to our retail distributors’ 
locations and personalized GPR cards to consumers who have activated their cards.

We pay our retail distributors and brokers commissions based on sales of our prepaid debit cards and cash transfer 
products in their stores. We defer and expense commissions related to new cards sales ratably over the average card 
lifetime, which is currently seven months for our GPR cards and six months for our gift cards. Absent a new card fee, 
we expense the related commissions immediately. We expense commissions related to cash transfer products when 
the cash transfer transactions are completed. We expense costs for the production of advertising as incurred. The 
cost of media advertising is expensed when the advertising first takes place. We record the costs associated with card 
packages and placards as prepaid expenses, and we record the costs associated with personalized GPR cards as 
deferred expenses. We recognize the prepaid cost of card packages and placards over the related sales period, and 
we amortize the deferred cost of personalized GPR cards, when activated, over the average card lifetime.

Our sales commissions, advertising and marketing expenses and manufacturing and distributing costs were as 

follows:

Sales commissions

Advertising and marketing expenses

Manufacturing and distributing costs

Sales and marketing expenses

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

$

(In thousands)

145,462

$

121,430

$

21,765

42,643

14,673

32,644

209,870

$

168,747

$

82,418

15,604

24,868

122,890

Included in our manufacturing and distributing costs were shipping and handling costs of $3.4 million, $3.4 million 
and $2.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.  Also included in our manufacturing and 
distributing costs were liabilities that we incurred for use tax to various states related to purchases of materials since 
we do not charge sales tax to customers when new cards or cash transfer transactions are purchased.

Employee Stock-Based Compensation

We record employee stock-based compensation expense using the fair value method of accounting. For stock 
options and stock purchases under our employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, we base compensation expense on 
fair values estimated at the grant date using the Black-Scholes Merton option-pricing model. For stock awards, including 
restricted stock units, we base compensation expense on the fair value of our common stock at the grant date. We 
recognize compensation expense for awards with only service conditions that have graded vesting schedules on a 
straight-line basis over the vesting period of the award. Vesting is based upon continued service to our company.

Income Taxes

Our income tax expense is comprised of current and deferred income tax expense. Current income tax expense 
approximates taxes to be paid or refunded for the current period. Deferred income tax expense results from the changes 
in  deferred  tax  assets  and  liabilities  during  the  periods.  These  gross  deferred  tax  assets  and  liabilities  represent 
decreases or increases in taxes expected to be paid in the future because of future reversals of temporary differences 
between the basis of assets and liabilities as measured by tax laws and their basis as reported in our consolidated 
financial statements. We also recognize deferred tax assets for tax attributes such as net operating loss carryforwards 
and tax credit carryforwards. We record valuation allowances to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts we conclude 
are more likely-than-not to be realized in the foreseeable future. 

We recognize and measure income tax benefits based upon a two-step model: 1) a tax position must be more 
likely-than-not to be sustained based solely on its technical merits in order to be recognized, and 2) the benefit is 
measured as the largest dollar amount of that position that is more likely-than-not to be sustained upon settlement. 
The difference between the benefit recognized for a position and the tax benefit claimed on a tax return is referred to 
as an unrecognized tax benefit. We accrue income tax related interest and penalties, if applicable, within income tax 
expense.

63

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Earnings Per Common Share

We have multiple classes of common stock and our preferred stockholders, during the periods their shares are 
outstanding, are entitled to participate with common stockholders in the distributions of earnings through dividends. 
Therefore, we apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per common share, or EPS. The two-class method 
requires  net  income,  after  deduction  of  any  preferred  stock  dividends,  deemed  dividends  on  preferred  stock 
redemptions, and accretions in the carrying value on preferred stock, to be allocated between each class or series of 
common and preferred stockholders based on their respective rights to receive dividends, whether or not declared. 
Basic EPS is then calculated by dividing net income allocated to each class of common stockholders by the respective 
weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding.

In addition, for diluted EPS, the conversion of Class B common stock can affect net income allocated to Class A 
common stockholders. Where the effect of this conversion is dilutive, we adjust net income allocated to Class A common 
stockholders by the associated allocated earnings of the convertible securities. We divide adjusted net income for 
each class of common stock by the respective weighted-average number of the common shares issued and outstanding 
for each period plus amounts representing the dilutive effect of outstanding stock options and restricted stock units 
and outstanding warrants, shares to be purchased under our employee stock purchase plan and the dilution resulting 
from  the  conversion  of  convertible  securities,  if  applicable.  We  exclude  the  effects  of  convertible  securities  and 
outstanding warrants and stock options from the computation of diluted EPS in periods in which the effect would be 
anti-dilutive. We calculate dilutive potential common shares using the treasury stock method, if-converted method and 
the two-class method, as applicable.

Regulatory Matters and Capital Adequacy

We  became  a  bank  holding  company  on  December  8,  2011.   As  a  bank  holding  company,  we  are  subject  to 
comprehensive  supervision  and  examination  by  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  and  must  comply  with  applicable 
regulations, including minimum capital and leverage requirements.  If we fail to comply with any of these requirements, 
we may become subject to formal or informal enforcement actions, proceedings, or investigations, which could result 
in regulatory orders, restrictions on our business operations or requirements to take corrective actions, which may, 
individually or in the aggregate, affect our results of operations and restrict our ability to grow.  If we fail to comply with 
the applicable capital and leverage requirements, or if our subsidiary bank fails to comply with its applicable capital 
and leverage requirements, the Federal Reserve Board may limit our or Green Dot Bank's ability to pay dividends.  In 
addition, as a bank holding company and a financial holding company, we are generally prohibited from engaging, 
directly or indirectly, in any activities other than those permissible for bank holding companies and financial holding 
companies.  This restriction might limit our ability to pursue future business opportunities which we might otherwise 
consider but which might fall outside the scope of permissible activities.  We may also be required to serve as a “source 
of strength” to Green Dot Bank if it becomes less than adequately capitalized.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 
2011-05, Comprehensive Income: Presentation of Comprehensive Income, which requires an entity to present the 
total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income 
either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. It 
eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in 
stockholders' equity.  ASU 2011-05 does not change the items which must be reported in other comprehensive income, 
how such items are measured or when they must be reclassified to net income.  In December 2011, the FASB, issued 
ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassification of Items Out of 
Accumulated  Other  Comprehensive  Income.  ASU  2011-12  defers  the  requirement  to  present  components  of 
reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income on the face of the income statement. We adopted 
all other components of ASU 2011-05 in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption did not have a significant impact on 
our consolidated financial statements. In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-02, which established the effective 
date for the requirement to present components of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income 
on the face of the income statement. Our adoption of this ASU on January 1, 2013 is not expected to have a material 
impact on our consolidated financial statements.

64

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement: Amendments to Achieve Common Fair 
Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs, which converges common fair value 
measurement and disclosure requirements in accordance with GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, 
or IFRS.  We adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption of this standard did not have a significant 
impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment, which provides entities testing 
goodwill for impairment with an option of performing a qualitative assessment before having to calculate the fair value 
of a reporting unit.  If an entity determines, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of the reporting unit is 
more-likely-than-not less than the carrying amount, the existing quantitative impairment test is required.  Otherwise, 
no further impairment testing is required.  We adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2012. The adoption of this standard 
did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other, allowing an entity to perform a 
qualitative impairment assessment of indefinite-lived intangible assets before proceeding to the two-step impairment 
test. If the entity determines, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset 
is not more likely than not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50 percent) impaired, the entity would not need to calculate 
the fair value of the asset. In addition, the ASU does not amend the requirement to test these assets for impairment 
between annual tests if there is a change in events or circumstances; however, it does revise the examples of events 
and circumstances that an entity should consider in interim periods. ASU 2012-02 became effective for annual and 
interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012, with early adoption being 
permitted. Our adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Note 3 — Investment Securities

Our available-for-sale investment securities were as follows:

December 31, 2012

Corporate bonds

Commercial paper

Negotiable certificate of deposit

U.S. treasury notes

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total fixed income securities

December 31, 2011

Corporate bonds

Commercial paper

Negotiable certificate of deposit

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Total fixed income securities

Amortized cost

Gross unrealized
gains

Gross unrealized
losses

Fair value

(In thousands)

$

37,320

$

55,733

4,400

22,258

25,845

11,528

26,533

39

17

14

9

23

43

33

$

(2) $

(2)

—

—

(1)

(3)

—

37,357

55,748

4,414

22,267

25,867

11,568

26,566

$

$

$

183,617

$

178

$

(8) $

183,787

16,307

$

27

$

(1) $

16,333

4,998

3,500

3,979

2,379

31,163

$

1

—

12

13

53

—

—

(4)

(1)

4,999

3,500

3,987

2,391

$

(6) $

31,210

65

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 3 — Investment Securities (continued)

As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the gross unrealized losses and fair values of available-for-

sale investment securities that were in unrealized loss positions were as follows:

Less than 12 months

12 months or more

Fair value

Unrealized
loss

Fair value

Unrealized
loss

Total
fair value

Total
unrealized loss

(In thousands)

December 31, 2012

Fixed income securities

Corporate bonds

Commercial paper

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

$

6,138

$

(2) $

— $

— $

6,138

$

6,390

6,302

1,602

(2)

(1)

(3)

—

—

—

—

—

—

6,390

6,302

1,602

Total fixed income securities

$

20,432

$

(8) $

— $

— $

20,432

$

December 31, 2011

Fixed income securities

Corporate bonds

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Total fixed income securities

$

$

2,999

$

(1) $

— $

— $

2,999

$

1,663

324

(4)

(1)

—

—

—

—

1,663

324

4,986

$

(6) $

— $

— $

4,986

$

(2)

(2)

(1)

(3)

(8)

(1)

(4)

(1)

(6)

We did not record any other-than-temporary impairment losses during the years ended December 31, 2012 or 
2011 on our available-for-sale investment securities. We do not intend to sell these investments or we have determined 
that it is more likely than not that we will not be required to sell these investments before recovery of their amortized 
cost bases, which may be at maturity. 

As of December 31, 2012, the contractual maturities of our available-for-sale investment securities were as follows:

Due in one year or less

Due after one year through five years

Due after five years through ten years

Due after ten years

Asset-backed securities

Total fixed income securities

Note 4—Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable, net consisted of the following:

Overdrawn account balances due from cardholders

Reserve for uncollectible overdrawn accounts

Net overdrawn account balances due from cardholders

Trade receivables

Reserve for uncollectible trade receivables

Net trade receivables

Receivables due from card issuing banks

Other receivables

Accounts receivable, net

Amortized cost

Fair value

$

$

(In thousands)

115,195

$

40,456

1,433

—

26,533

183,617

$

115,244

40,516

1,461

—

26,566

183,787

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

$

24,328

$

(16,257)

8,071

5,686

(69)

5,617

33,729

3,375

$

50,792

$

66

22,139

(15,309)

6,830

5,574

(453)

5,121

28,812

4,691

45,454

 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 4—Accounts Receivable (continued)

Activity in the reserve for uncollectible overdrawn accounts consisted of the following:

Balance, beginning of period

Provision for uncollectible overdrawn accounts:

Fees

Purchase transactions

Charge-offs

Balance, end of period

Note 5—Loans to Bank Customers

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands)

15,309

$

11,823

$

7,460

59,445

2,900

(61,397)

55,048

5,514

(57,076)

16,257

$

15,309

$

43,634

2,459

(41,730)

11,823

$

$

The following table presents total outstanding loans and a summary of the related payment status:

30-59 Days
Past Due

60-89 Days
Past Due

90 Days or
More Past
Due

Total Past
Due

(In thousands)

Total
Current or
Less Than
30 Days
Past Due

Purchased
Credit-
Impaired
Loans

Total
Outstanding

$

$

$

$

88

—

1

89

$

$

— $

— $

—

1

1

—

—

$

— $

88

—

2

90

$

$

3,139

1,079

2,976

7,194

1.18%

0.01%

—%

1.19%

95.26%

— $

— $

— $

— $

2

—

2

—

—

—

—

$

— $

— $

2

—

2

$

4,983

1,371

2,881

9,235

$

$

$

$

106

$

$

$

5

157

268

3.55%

503

44

252

799

3,333

1,084

3,135

7,552

100.00%

5,486

1,417

3,133

$

10,036

December 31, 2012

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

Total loans

Percentage of outstanding

December 31, 2011

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

Total loans

Percentage of outstanding

0.02%

—%

—%

0.02%

92.02%

7.96%

100.00%

Nonperforming Loans 

The  following  table  presents  our  nonperforming  loans,  including  impaired  loans  other  than  purchased  credit-
impaired, or PCI, loans. See Note 2–Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for further information on the criteria 
for classification as nonperforming.

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

Total loans

Credit Quality Indicators

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

$

$

8

$

244

135

387

$

—

—

—

—

We closely monitor and assess the credit quality and credit risk of our loan portfolio on an ongoing basis. We 
continuously review and update loan risk classifications. We evaluate our loans using non-classified or classified as 
the primary credit quality indicator. Classified loans are those loans that have demonstrated credit weakness where 
we believe there is a heightened risk of principal loss, including all impaired loans. Classified loans are generally 
internally categorized as substandard, doubtful or loss consistent with regulatory guidelines.

67

 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 5—Loans to Bank Customers (continued)

The table below presents our primary credit quality indicators related to our loan portfolio:

December 31, 2012

December 31, 2011

Non-Classified

Classified

Non-Classified

Classified

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

Total loans

$

$

3,219

$

835

2,843

6,897

$

Purchased Credit-Impaired Loans

(In thousands)

114

249

292

655

$

$

5,125

$

1,407

2,982

9,514

$

361

10

151

522

The table below presents the remaining unpaid principal balance and carrying amount for purchased credit-impaired 

loans:

Unpaid principal balance

Carrying value excluding allowance for loan losses

December 31,

2012

2011

$

(In thousands)

$

729

350

1,506

799

The table below shows activity for the accretable yield on purchased credit-impaired loans:

Accretable yield at beginning of period

Additions

Accretion

Adjustments

Accretable yield at end of period

Year Ended
December 31, 2012

Period Ended

December 31, 2011

(In thousands)

$

$

$

99

—

(34)

62

127

$

—

99

—

—

99

Impaired Loans and Troubled Debt Restructurings

The table below presents key information about our impaired loans at December 31, 2012. Certain impaired loans 
do not have a related allowance as the current fair value of these impaired loans exceeds the carrying value. We had 
no impaired loans as of December 31, 2011:

December 31, 2012

Year Ended
December 31, 2012

Unpaid Principal
Balance

Carrying Value

Related
Allowance

Average Carrying
Value

Interest Income
Recognized

With no recorded allowance

(In thousands)

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

With an allowance recorded

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

Total

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

$

$

$

— $

— $

— $

— $

—

—

88

25

37

88

25

37

$

$

175

35

130

$

73

134

130

248

169

$

513

77

194

139

326

194

652

403

$

$

167

33

96

$

102

139

96

$

269

172

68

—

48

15

24

—

58

24

48

73

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 5—Loans to Bank Customers (continued)

When, for economic or legal reasons related to a borrower’s financial difficulties, we grant a concession for other 
than an insignificant period of time to a borrower that we would not otherwise consider, the related loan is classified 
as a Troubled Debt Restructuring (TDR). The following table presents key information regarding loans that we modified 
in TDRs during the year ended December 31, 2012. Our TDR modifications related to extensions of the maturity dates 
at a stated interest rate lower than the current market rate for new debt with similar risk:

Real estate

Commercial

Installment

Allowance for Loan Losses

Activity in the allowance for loan losses consisted of the following:

Allowance for loan losses, beginning of period

Provision for loans

Loans charged off

Allowance for loan losses, end of period

December 31, 2012

Unpaid Principal
Balance

Carrying Value

(In thousands)

$

194

280

403

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

— $

698

(223)

475

$

96
136

173

—

—

—

—

$

$

$

The following table disaggregates our allowance for credit losses and recorded investment in loans by impairment 

methodology:

Collectively evaluated for impairment

Allowance for loan losses

Carrying value, gross of allowance

Impaired loans and troubled debt restructurings1

Allowance for loan losses

Carrying value, gross of allowance

Purchased credit-impaired loans

Allowance for loan losses

Carrying value, gross of allowance

Total

Allowance for loan losses

Carrying value, gross of allowance

1 Represents loans individually evaluated for impairment

December 31, 2012

(In thousands)

$

$

$

$

243

7,140

150

537

82

350

475

8,027

69

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 6—Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consisted of the following:

Land

Building

Computer equipment, furniture, and office equipment

Computer software purchased

Capitalized internal-use software

Tenant improvements

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

Property and equipment, net

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

$

205

543

23,690

10,914

52,501

7,076

94,929

(36,553)

58,376

$

205

568

17,119

6,284

29,673

2,182

56,031

(28,750)

27,281

$

$

Depreciation  and  amortization  expense  was  $18.1  million,  $12.3  million  and  $7.6  million  for  the  years  ended 
December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Included in those amounts are depreciation expense related to 
internal-use software of $9.7 million, $6.0 million and $3.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 
2010, respectively. The net carrying value of capitalized internal-use software was $30.3 million, and $14.6 million at 
December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Note 7—Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets on our consolidated balance sheets consisted of the following:

Goodwill

Intangible assets, net

Goodwill and intangible assets

Goodwill

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill were as follows:

Balance, beginning of period

Acquisitions

Other changes

Balance, end of period

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

$

27,250

$

3,554

30,804

10,817

684

11,501

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

10,817

$

16,350

83

27,250

$

—

10,817

—

10,817

$

$

In  March  2012,  we  acquired  Loopt,  which  resulted  in  $16.4  million  of  goodwill,  which  is  not  deductible  for  tax 

purposes, and $3.6 million of indefinite-lived intangibles related to patents.

During  the  three  months  ended  December 31,  2012,  we  completed  our  annual  goodwill  impairment  test  as  of 
September 30, 2012 for all reporting units. Based on the results of step one of the annual goodwill impairment test, we 
determined that step two was not required for any of the reporting units as their fair value exceeded their carrying value 
indicating there was no impairment.

70

 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 7—Goodwill and Intangible Assets (continued)

Intangible Assets

The gross carrying amounts and accumulated amortization related to intangibles assets were as follows:

Finite-lived intangibles

Indefinite-lived intangibles

Total intangible assets

December 31, 2012

December 31, 2011

Gross Carrying
Value

Accumulated
Amortization

Gross Carrying
Value

Accumulated
Amortization

(In thousands)

(In thousands)

$

$

926

$

3,000

3,926

$

(372) $

N/A

(372) $

926

$

—

926

$

(242)

N/A

(242)

Amortization expense, a component of other general and administrative expenses, on finite-lived intangibles was 
$130,000 and $100,000 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. None of the 
intangible assets were impaired as of December 31, 2012 or 2011.

Note 8—Deposits

In November 2012, we transitioned all outstanding customer deposits associated with our card issuing program 
with Synovus Bank to Green Dot Bank. These deposits are included as "GPR deposits" within non-interest bearing 
deposit accounts below. Deposits were categorized as non-interest and interest-bearing deposits as follows:

Non-interest bearing deposit accounts

GPR deposits

Other demand deposits

Total non-interest bearing deposit accounts

Interest-bearing deposit accounts

Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW)

Savings

Time deposits, denominations greater than or equal to $100

Time deposits, denominations less than $100

Total interest-bearing deposit accounts

Total deposits

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

$

165,739

$

16,138

181,877

1,860

5,986

6,417

2,311

16,574

$

198,451

$

51

19,095

19,146

1,612

7,118

1,381

9,700

19,811

38,957

The scheduled contractual maturities for total time deposits are presented in the table below:

Due in 2013

Due in 2014

Due in 2015

Due in 2016

Due in 2017

Thereafter

Total time deposits

Note 9—Stockholders’ Equity

Convertible Preferred Stock

December 31, 2012

(In thousands)

$

$

4,592

783

1,687

982

684

—

8,728

In  December  2011,  we  filed  a  restated  Certificate  of  Incorporation  that  authorized  10,085  shares  of  Series A 
Convertible Junior Participating Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, or Series A Preferred Stock. We then 
entered into and completed a share exchange with a significant shareholder, whereby 6,859,000 shares of our Class 
B common stock were exchanged for 6,859 shares of our newly created series of preferred stock. Our Certificate of 
Incorporation specified the following rights, preferences, and privileges for our Series A preferred stockholders.

71

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 9—Stockholders’ Equity (continued)

Voting

Series A Preferred Stock is non-voting, subject to limited exceptions.

Dividends

Holders of shares of the Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive ratable dividends (on an as-converted 
basis, taking into account the conversion rate applicable to the Series A Preferred Stock at the time) only as, if and 
when any dividends are paid in respect of our Class A Common Stock.

Liquidation

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the affairs of our company (excluding a Reorganization 
Event (defined below)), of the assets of our company or the proceeds thereof legally available for distribution to our 
stockholders are distributable ratably among the holders of our Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and 
any Series A Preferred Stock outstanding at that time after payment to the holders of shares of our Series A Preferred 
Stock of an amount per share equal to (i) $0.01 plus (ii) any dividends on our Series A Preferred Stock that have been 
declared but not paid prior to the date of payment of such distribution.

In connection with any merger, sale of all or substantially all of the assets or other reorganization involving our 
company (a “Reorganization Event”) and in which our Class A Common Stock is converted into or exchanged for cash, 
securities or other consideration, holders of shares of our Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive ratable 
amounts (on an as-converted basis, taking into account the conversion rate applicable to Series A Preferred Stock at 
the time) of the same consideration as is payable to holders of our Class A Common Stock pursuant to a Reorganization 
Event.

Conversion

Our Series A Preferred Stock is not convertible into any other security except that it converts into Class A Common 
Stock if it is transferred by a holder (i) in a widespread public distribution, (ii) in a private sale or transfer in which the 
transferee acquires no more than 2% of any class of voting shares of our company, (iii) to a transferee that owns or 
controls  more  than  50%  of  the  voting  shares  of  our  company  without  regard  to  any  transfer  from  the  transferring 
shareholder or (iv) to our company. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock so transferred will automatically convert 
into  1,000  shares  (subject  to  appropriate  adjustment  for  any  stock  split,  reverse  stock  split,  stock  dividend, 
recapitalization or other similar event) of our Class A Common Stock. 

Common Stock

Our  Certificate  of  Incorporation  specifies  the  following  rights,  preferences,  and  privileges  for  our  common 

stockholders.

Voting

Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share and holders of our Class B common stock 
are entitled to ten votes per share. In general, holders of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock will 
vote together as a single class on all matters (including the election of directors) submitted to a vote of stockholders, 
unless otherwise required by law. Delaware law could require either our Class A common stock or our Class B common 
stock to vote separately as a single class in the following circumstances:

• 

• 

If we were to seek to amend our Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized number of shares of a 
class of stock, or to increase or decrease the par value of a class of stock, then that class would be required 
to vote separately to approve the proposed amendment; and

If we were to seek to amend our Certificate of Incorporation in a manner that altered or changed the powers, 
preferences or special rights of a class of stock in a manner that affected its holders adversely, then that class 
would be required to vote separately to approve the proposed amendment.

Our Certificate of Incorporation requires the separate vote and majority approval of each class of our common 
stock prior to distributions, reclassifications and mergers or consolidations that would result in one class of common 
stock being treated in a manner different from the other, subject to limited exceptions, and amendments of our Certificate 
of Incorporation that would affect our dual class stock structure.

72

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 9—Stockholders’ Equity (continued)

We have not provided for cumulative voting for the election of directors in our restated Certificate of Incorporation. 
In addition, our Certificate of Incorporation provides that a holder, or group of affiliated holders, of more than 24.9% 
of our common stock may not vote shares representing more than 14.9% of the voting power represented by the 
outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B common stock.

Dividends

Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of 
outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally 
available at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine. In the event a dividend is paid in 
the form of shares of common stock or rights to acquire shares of common stock, the holders of Class A common stock 
will receive Class A common stock, or rights to acquire Class A common stock, as the case may be, and the holders 
of Class B common stock will receive Class B common stock, or rights to acquire Class B common stock, as the case 
may be. However, in general and subject to certain limited exceptions, without approval of each class of our common 
stock, we may not pay any dividends or make other distributions with respect to any class of common stock unless at 
the same time we make a ratable dividend or distribution with respect to each outstanding share of common stock, 
regardless of class.

Liquidation

Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders 
would be distributable ratably among the holders of our Class A and Class B common stock and any participating 
preferred stock outstanding at that time after payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of 
our preferred stock and payment of other claims of creditors.

Preemptive or Similar Rights

Neither  our  Class A  nor  our  Class  B  common  stock  is  entitled  to  preemptive  rights,  and  neither  is  subject  to 

redemption.

Conversion

Our Class A common stock is not convertible into any other shares of our capital stock. Each share of our Class 
B common stock is convertible at any time at the option of the holder into one share of our Class A common stock. In 
addition, each share of our Class B common stock will convert automatically into one share of our Class A common 
stock upon any transfer, whether or not for value, except for estate planning, intercompany and other similar transfers 
or upon the date that the total number of shares of our Class B common stock outstanding represents less than 10% 
of the total number of shares of our Class A and Class B common stock outstanding. Once transferred and converted 
into Class A common stock, the Class B common stock may not be reissued. No class of our common stock may be 
subdivided or combined unless the other class of our common stock concurrently is subdivided or combined in the 
same proportion and in the same manner.

Non-Employee Stock-Based Payments

Shares Subject to Repurchase

In May 2010, we amended our commercial agreement with Walmart, our largest retail distributor, and GE Money 
Bank.  The  amendment  modifies  the  terms  of  our  agreement  related  to  our  co-branded  GPR  MoneyCard,  which 
significantly increased the sales commission rates we pay to Walmart for our products sold in their stores. The new 
agreement commenced on May 1, 2010 with a five-year term. As an incentive to amend our prepaid card program 
agreement, we issued Walmart 2,208,552 shares of our Class A common stock. These shares are subject to our right 
to repurchase them at $0.01 per share upon termination of our agreement with Walmart other than a termination arising 
out of our knowing, intentional and material breach of the agreement. Our right to repurchase the shares lapses with 
respect to 36,810 shares per month over the sixty months term of the agreement. The repurchase right will expire as 
to all shares of Class A common stock that remain subject to the repurchase right if we experience a “prohibited change 
of control,” as defined in the agreement, if we experience a “change of control,” as defined in the stock issuance 
agreement, or under certain other limited circumstances, which we currently believe are remote. As of December 31, 
2012, 1,030,632 shares of Class A common stock issued to Walmart were subject to our repurchase right.

73

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 9—Stockholders’ Equity (continued)

Warrant

On March 3, 2009, we entered into a sales and marketing agreement with a third party that contained a contingent 
warrant feature. The warrant provides the third party with an option to purchase 3,426,765 shares of our common 
stock at a per share price of $23.70 if certain sales volume or revenue targets are achieved. A further 856,691 shares 
become eligible for purchase under the warrant should either of these targets be achieved and additional specified 
marketing and promotional activities take place.

The shares become eligible for purchase under the warrant at any time the targets are achieved prior to the earlier 
of March 3, 2014 or the termination of the sales and marketing agreement. Once eligible for purchase, the purchase 
option  expires  on  the  earliest  of:  (1)  the  date  at  which  the  sales  and  marketing  agreement  with  the  third  party  is 
terminated; (2) the date of a change of control transaction of our company; or (3) March 3, 2017.

The warrant is redeemable for cash by the holder if we fail to perform in accordance with the customary contractual 
terms of the sales and marketing agreement. Should the third party fail to perform in accordance with the terms of the 
sales and marketing agreement, we obtain an option to repurchase any shares previously issued under the warrant.

As the option to purchase shares under the warrant is contingent upon the achievement of certain sales volume 
or revenue targets, there is a possibility that no shares will become eligible for purchase. Based on different possible 
outcomes, we developed a range of fair values for the warrant, and we measured the warrant at its current lowest 
aggregate fair value within that range. As none of the performance conditions have been met, the lowest aggregate 
fair value is zero. Accordingly, we have not assigned any value to the warrant in our consolidated financial statements 
as of December 31, 2012 or 2011.

Follow-on Offering

On December 13, 2010, we completed a follow-on offering of 4,269,051 shares of our Class A common stock at 
an offering price of $61.00 per share, all of which were sold by existing stockholders. We did not receive any proceeds 
from the sale of shares of our Class A common stock on the follow-on offering. Concurrent with the completion of the 
follow-on offering, certain selling stockholders exercised vested options to purchase 936,301 shares of Class B common 
stock with a weighted-average exercise price of $4.32 in order to sell the underlying shares of Class A common stock 
in the follow-on offering. We received aggregate proceeds of $4.0 million from these exercises.

Registration Rights Agreement

We are a party to a registration rights agreement with certain of our investors, pursuant to which we have granted 
those persons or entities the right to register shares of common stock held by them under the Securities Act of 1933, 
as amended, or the Securities Act. Holders of these rights are entitled to demand that we register their shares of 
common stock under the Securities Act so long as certain conditions are satisfied and require us to include their shares 
of common stock in future registration statements that may be filed, either for our own account or for the account of 
other security holders exercising registration rights. In addition, after an initial public offering, these holders have the 
right to request that their shares of common stock be registered on a Form S-3 registration statement so long as certain 
conditions are satisfied and the anticipated aggregate sales price of the registered shares as of the date of filing of 
the  Form  S-3  registration  statement  is  at  least  $1  million. The  foregoing  registration  rights  are  subject  to  various 
conditions and limitations, including the right of underwriters of an offering to limit the number of registrable securities 
that may be included in an offering. The registration rights terminate as to any particular shares on the date on which 
the holder sells such shares to the public in a registered offering or pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act. We 
are generally required to bear all of the expenses of these registrations, except underwriting commissions, selling 
discounts and transfer taxes.

We are not obligated under the registration rights agreement to transfer consideration, whether in cash, equity 
instruments,  or  adjustments  to  the  terms  of  the  financial  instruments  that  are  subject  to  the  registration  payment 
arrangement,  to  the  investors,  if  the  registration  statement  is  not  declared  effective  within  the  specified  time  or  if 
effectiveness of the registration statement is not maintained.

Comprehensive Income

The tax impact on unrealized gains on investment securities available-for-sale for the years ended December 31, 

2012 and December 31, 2011 was approximately $46,000 and $18,000, respectively.

74

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 10—Employee Stock-Based Compensation

Employee Stock-Based Compensation

In January 2001, we adopted the 2001 Stock Plan. The 2001 Stock Plan provided for the granting of incentive 
stock options, nonqualified stock options and other stock awards. Options granted under the 2001 Stock Plan generally 
vest over four years and expire five years or ten years years from the date of grant.

In June 2010, our board of directors adopted, and in July 2010 our stockholders approved, the 2010 Equity Incentive 
Plan, which replaced our 2001 Stock Plan, and the 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. The 2010 Equity Incentive 
Plan authorizes the award of stock options, restricted stock awards, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, 
performance shares and stock bonuses. Options granted under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan generally vest over 
four years and expire five years or ten years from the date of grant. The 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan enables 
eligible employees to purchase shares of our Class A common stock periodically at a discount. Our 2010 Employee 
Stock Purchase Plan is intended to qualify as an employee stock purchase plan under Section 423 of the Internal 
Revenue Code. 

We reserved 2,000,000 shares and 200,000 shares of our Class A common stock for issuance under our 2010 
Equity Incentive Plan and 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, respectively. The number of shares reserved for 
issuance under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan automatically increase 
on the first day of January of each of 2011 through 2014 and 2011 through 2018, respectively, by up to a number of 
shares equal to 3% and 1%, respectively, of the total outstanding shares our Class A and Class B common stock as 
of the immediately preceding December 31st. Our board of directors or its compensation committee may reduce the 
amount of the annual increase under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan or 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan in any 
particular year. Options granted under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan generally vest over four years and expire five 
or ten years from the date of grant.

Stock-based compensation for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 includes expense related to 
awards of stock options and restricted stock units and purchases under the 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.  
Total stock-based compensation expense and the portion of income tax expense recognized as part of stock-based 
compensation is as follows: 

Total stock-based compensation expense

Total income tax expense recognized as part of stock-based 
compensation

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$12,734

$1,465

(In thousands)

$9,524

$1,890

$7,256

$1,281

Options and restricted stock units granted on or after July 21, 2010 are issued under the 2010 Equity Incentive 
Plan and options granted prior to July 21, 2010 were issued under the 2001 Stock Plan, the predecessor to our 2010 
Equity Incentive Plan. We have reserved shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock for issuance 
under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and 2001 Stock Plan, respectively.

The following table summarizes stock options and restricted stock units granted:

Stock options granted

Weighted-average exercise price

Weighted-average grant-date fair value

Restricted stock units granted

Weighted-average grant-date fair value

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands, except per share data)

2,247

19.35

8.92

$

$

613

14.14

$

889

38.70

18.62

$

$

111

33.46

$

349

32.38

15.66

—

—

$

$

$

75

 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 10—Employee Stock-Based Compensation (continued)

We estimated the fair value of each stock option grant on the date of grant using the following weighted-average 

assumptions:

Risk-free interest rate

Expected term (life) of options (in years)

Expected dividends

Expected volatility

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

0.97%

6.07

—

47.51%

2.06%

6.06

—

48.32%

2.18%

5.92

—

49.41%

Determining the fair value of stock-based awards at their respective grant dates requires considerable judgment, 
including estimating expected volatility and expected term (life). We based our expected volatility on the historical 
volatility of comparable public companies over the option’s expected term. We calculated our expected term based 
on the simplified method, which is the mid-point between the weighted-average graded-vesting term and the contractual 
term. The simplified method was chosen as a means to determine expected term as we have limited historical option 
exercise experience as a public company. We derived the risk-free rate from the average yield for the five-and seven-
year zero-coupon U.S. Treasury Strips. We estimate forfeitures at the grant date based on our historical forfeiture rate 
and revise the estimate, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.

Stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2012 was as follows:

Options

Weighted-Average
Exercise Price

Weighted-Average 
Remaining 
Contractual Life 
(in Years)

Aggregate
Intrinsic Value

(In thousands, except per share data and years)

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

Options granted

Options exercised

Options canceled

Outstanding at December 31, 2012

Vested or expected to vest at December 31, 2012

Exercisable at December 31, 2012

4,756

$

2,247

(412)

(874)

5,717

5,570

3,328

$

$

$

15.79

19.35

4.93

30.51

15.72

15.62

12.03

6.26

6.17

4.18

$

$

$

15,873

15,841

15,583

The total intrinsic value of options exercised was $8.5 million, $4.4 million and $76.8 million for the years ended 

December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. 

 Restricted stock unit activity for the year ended December 31, 2012 was as follows:

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

Restricted stock units granted

Restricted stock units canceled

Restricted stock units vested

Outstanding at December 31, 2012

Shares

Weighted-Average 
Grant-Date Fair 
Value

(In thousands)

110

613

$

$

(27) $

(80) $

616

$

33.46

14.14

33.58

26.60

15.10

The total fair value of shares vested for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $0.4 million based on the price 

of our Class A common stock on the vesting date. No restricted stock units vested prior to 2012.

At December 31, 2012, there was $19.0 million and $7.4 million of aggregate unrecognized compensation cost 
related to unvested stock options and restricted stock units, respectively, expected to be recognized in compensation 
expense in future periods, with a weighted-average period of 2.9 years and 3.0 years, respectively.  Approximately 
1.3 million shares are available for grant under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan as of December 31, 2012.

76

 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 10—Employee Stock-Based Compensation (continued)

Stock-Based Retailer Incentive Compensation

As discussed in Note 9 — Stockholders’ Equity, we issued Walmart 2,208,552 shares of our Class A common 
stock. We recognize the fair value of 36,810 shares each month over the 60-month term of the commercial agreement. 
An early expiration of our right to repurchase as described above would, however, result in the recognition of the fair 
value of all the shares still subject to repurchase on the date of the expiration. We currently assess an early expiration 
of  our  repurchase  right  to  be  remote.  We  record  the  fair  value  recognized  as  stock-based  retailer  incentive 
compensation, a contra-revenue component of our total operating revenues. We recognize monthly the fair value of 
the shares for which our right to repurchase has lapsed using the then-current fair market value of our Class A common 
stock. We recognized $8.3 million, $17.3 million and $13.4 million of stock-based retailer incentive compensation for 
the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.

Note 11—Income Taxes

The components of income tax expense included in our consolidated statements of operations were as follows:

Current:

Federal

State

Current income tax expense

Deferred:

Federal

State

Deferred income tax expense (benefit)

Income tax expense

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands)

21,322

$

29,583

$

1,805

23,127

5,931

(139)

5,792

2,096

31,679

251

—

251

26,638

1,466

28,104

(579)

(125)

(704)

28,919

$

31,930

$

27,400

$

$

Income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 varied from the amount computed 
by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to income before income taxes.  A reconciliation between the expected 
federal income tax expense using the federal statutory tax rate and our actual income tax expense is shown in the 
following:

U.S. federal statutory tax rate

State income taxes, net of federal benefit

Change in State Apportionment Method

Non-deductible offering costs

Employee stock-based compensation

Other

Effective tax rate

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

35.0%

35.0%

1.9

—

—

1.4

(0.1)

38.2%

1.6

—

—

1.2

0.2

38.0%

39.3%

35.0%

3.8

(4.6)

2.4

0.7

2.0

The effective tax rates for the periods above differ from the expected federal statutory tax rate of 35% primarily 
due to state income taxes, net of the federal tax benefit. Certain enacted tax law changes, which became effective 
January 1, 2011, reduced the income we apportion to California from the comparable period in 2010, resulting in a 
lower effective state tax rate in 2011. The year ended December 31, 2010 was impacted in large part by two discrete 
items.  The  California  Franchise  Tax  Board,  or  FTB,  approved  our  petition  to  retroactively  apply  an  alternative 
apportionment method to our income tax returns filed for the five months ended December 31, 2009 and the year 
ended July 31, 2009. We recognized this benefit in the year ended December 31, 2010. This tax benefit was partially 
offset by non-deductible expenses related to our initial public offering recognized in the year ended December 31, 
2010.  Excluding the impact of these discrete items, our effective tax rate in 2010 would have been 41.5%. 

77

 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 11—Income Taxes (continued)

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of our deferred tax assets and liabilities 

were as follows:

Deferred tax assets:

Net operating loss carryforwards

Stock-based compensation

Reserve for overdrawn accounts

Accrued liabilities

Purchase accounting adjustments

Other

Gross deferred tax assets

Valuation allowance

Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance

Deferred tax liabilities:

Internal-use software costs

Property and equipment, net

Deferred expenses

Intangible assets

Deferred revenue

Other

Total deferred tax liabilities

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

$

13,655

$

7,057

6,130

3,191

494

778

31,305

(1,262)

30,043

9,986

6,013

4,013

1,386

1,063

475

22,936

120

4,236

5,726

717

1,276

697

12,772

—

12,772

3,669

3,022

3,987

103

78

—

10,859

Net deferred tax assets

$

7,107

$

1,913

Total net deferred tax assets and liabilities are included in our consolidated balance sheets as follows:

Current net deferred tax assets

Noncurrent net deferred tax assets

Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities

Net deferred tax assets

December 31,

2012

2011

(In thousands)

2,478

$

4,629

—

7,107

$

6,664

—

4,751

1,913

$

$

We establish a valuation allowance when we consider it more likely-than-not that some portion or all of the deferred 
tax assets will not be realized. The valuation allowance as of December 31, 2012 is associated with net operating loss 
carryforwards we acquired in our acquisition of Loopt. We established a valuation allowance for the carryforwards at 
acquisition because we believe it is more-likely-than-not that a portion of these carryforwards will not be realized. Future 
changes in the valuation allowance associated with these deferred tax assets will be recognized as a reduction or 
increase to income tax expense. As of December 31, 2011, we did not establish a valuation allowance on any of our 
deferred tax assets as we believed it was more-likely-than-not that we would realize the benefits of our deferred tax 
assets.

78

 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 11—Income Taxes (continued)

The deferred tax assets and related valuation allowances recognized for the net operating loss and tax credit 

carryforwards were as follows:

Deferred Tax Asset

December 31, 2012

Valuation
Allowance

(In thousands)

Net Deferred
Tax Asset

First Year Expiring

Net operating losses

General business credits

$

13,655

$

306

(956) $

(306)

12,699

—

After 2024

After 2024

In  accounting  for  income  taxes,  we  follow  the  guidance  related  to  uncertainty  in  income  taxes. The  guidance 
prescribes  a  comprehensive  framework  for  the  financial  statement  recognition,  measurement,  presentation,  and 
disclosure  of  uncertain  income  tax  positions  that  we  have  taken  or  anticipate  taking  in  a  tax  return,  and  includes 
guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, and transition rules.  
The reconciliation of the beginning unrecognized tax benefits balance to the ending balance is as follows:

Beginning balance

Increases related to positions taken during prior years

Increases related to positions taken during the current year

Ending balance

The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would 
affect the effective tax rate 

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands)

$

$

$

— $

970

511

1,481

$

— $

—

—

— $

1,481

$

— $

—

—

—

—

—

We are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, and various state tax authorities. Our 
consolidated federal income tax returns for the years ended July 31, 2005 and 2008 have been examined by the IRS, 
and there have been no material changes in our tax liabilities for those years. Our consolidated federal income tax 
returns for the year ended July 31, 2009, the five-months ended December 31, 2009 and the year ended December 
31, 2010 are currently under examination by the IRS. We remain subject to examination of our federal income tax 
returns for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 2012. We generally remain subject to examination of our various 
state income tax returns for a period of four to five years from the respective dates the returns were filed.

79

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 12—Earnings per Common Share

We calculate EPS using the two-class method. Refer to Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for 

a discussion of the calculation of EPS. The calculation of basic EPS and diluted EPS was as follows:

Basic earnings per Class A common share

Net income

Income attributable to preferred stock

Income attributable to other classes of common stock

Net income allocated to Class A common stockholders

Weighted-average Class A shares issued and outstanding

Basic earnings per Class A common share

Diluted earnings per Class A common share

Net income allocated to Class A common stockholders

Allocated earnings to participating securities, net of re-allocated
earnings

Re-allocated earnings

Diluted net income allocated to Class A common stockholders

Weighted-average Class A shares issued and outstanding

Dilutive potential common shares:

Class B common stock

Stock options

Restricted stock units

Employee stock purchase plan

Diluted weighted-average Class A shares issued and outstanding

Diluted earnings per Class A common share

Basic earnings per Class B common share

Net income

Income attributable to preferred stock

Income attributable to other classes of common stock

Net income allocated to Class B common stockholders

Weighted-average Class B shares issued and outstanding

Basic earnings per Class B common share

Diluted earnings per Class B common share

Net income allocated to Class B common stockholders

Re-allocated earnings

Diluted net income allocated to Class B common stockholders

Weighted-average Class B shares issued and outstanding

Dilutive potential common shares:

Stock options

Warrants

Diluted weighted-average Class B shares issued and outstanding

Diluted earnings per Class B common share

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands, except per share data)

47,219

$

52,083

$

(7,599)

(6,719)

32,901

29,698

(558)

(24,022)

27,503

22,238

1.11

$

1.24

$

42,232

(14,659)

(24,408)

3,165

2,980

1.06

32,901

$

27,503

$

3,165

6,592

(980)

38,513

29,698

6,150

20

43

22

23,585

(1,036)

50,052

22,238

24,366

(231)

27,300

2,980

19,822

24,796

—

3

2

35,933

1.07

$

42,065

1.19

$

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands, except per share data)

47,219

$

52,083

$

(7,599)

(34,301)

5,319

4,801

(558)

(29,613)

21,912

17,718

1.11

$

1.24

$

5,319

$

21,912

$

1,273

6,592

4,801

1,349

—

6,150

1,673

23,585

17,718

2,104

—

19,822

1.07

$

1.19

$

—

—

6

27,782

0.98

42,232

(14,659)

(4,644)

22,929

21,589

1.06

22,929

1,437

24,366

21,589

3,061

146

24,796

0.98

As of December 31, 2012, 1,030,632 shares of Class A common stock issued to Walmart were subject to our 
repurchase right. Basic and diluted EPS for these shares were the same as basic and diluted EPS for our Class A 
common stock for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.

80

 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 12—Earnings per Common Share (continued)

We  excluded  from  the  computation  of  basic  EPS  all  shares  issuable  under  an  unvested  warrant  to  purchase 

4,283,456 shares of our Class B common stock, as the related performance conditions had not been satisfied.

For  the  periods  presented,  we  excluded  all  shares  of  convertible  preferred  stock  and  certain  stock  options 
outstanding, which could potentially dilute basic EPS in the future, from the computation of diluted EPS as their effect 
was anti-dilutive. The following table shows the weighted-average number of anti-dilutive shares excluded from the 
diluted EPS calculation:

Class A common stock

Options to purchase Class A common stock

Restricted stock units

Conversion of convertible preferred stock

Total options, restricted stock units and convertible preferred stock

Class B common stock

Options to purchase Class B common stock

Conversion of convertible preferred stock

Total options

Note 13—Fair Value Measurements

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

(In thousands)

1,408

26

6,859

8,293

122

—

122

258

—

451

709

5

—

5

22

—

—

22

11

13,803

13,814

As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, our assets carried at fair value on a recurring basis were as follows:

December 31, 2012

Corporate bonds

Commercial paper

Negotiable certificate of deposit

U.S. treasury notes

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total

December 31, 2011

Corporate bonds

Commercial paper

Negotiable certificate of deposit

Agency securities

Municipal bonds

Total

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total Fair Value

(In thousands)

— $

37,357

$

— $

—

—

—

—

—

—

55,748

4,414

22,267

25,867

11,568

26,566

—

—

—

—

—

—

37,357

55,748

4,414

22,267

25,867

11,568

26,566

— $

183,787

$

— $

183,787

— $

16,333

$

— $

—

—

—

—

4,999

3,500

3,987

2,391

—

—

—

—

— $

31,210

$

— $

16,333

4,999

3,500

3,987

2,391

31,210

$

$

$

$

We based the fair value of our fixed income securities held as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 on quoted prices 
in active markets for similar assets. We had no transfers between Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 assets during the years 
ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.

Note 14—Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The following describes the valuation technique for determining the fair value of financial instruments, whether or 

not such instruments are carried on our consolidated balance sheets.

Short-term Financial Instruments

Our short-term financial instruments consist principally of unrestricted and restricted cash and cash equivalents, 
federal funds sold, settlement assets and obligations, and obligations to customers. These financial instruments are 
short-term in nature, and, accordingly, we believe their carrying amounts approximate their fair values. Under the fair 
value hierarchy, these instruments are classified as Level 1. 

81

 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 14—Fair Value of Financial Instruments (continued)

Investment Securities

The fair values of investment securities have been derived using methodologies referenced in Note 2 – Significant 

Accounting Policies. Under the fair value hierarchy, our investment securities are classified as Level 2.

Loans

We determined the fair values of loans by discounting both principal and interest cash flows expected to be collected 
using a discount rate commensurate with the risk that we believe a market participant would consider in determining 
fair value. Under the fair value hierarchy, our loans are classified as Level 3.

Deposits

The fair value of demand and interest checking deposits and savings deposits is the amount payable on demand 
at the reporting date. We determined the fair value of time deposits by discounting expected future cash flows using 
market-derived rates based on our market yields on certificates of deposit, by maturity, at the measurement date. 
Under the fair value hierarchy, our deposits are classified as Level 2.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying values and fair values of certain financial instruments that were not carried at fair value, excluding 
fair  value,  at December 31, 

the  carrying  value  approximates 

financial 

short-term 
2012 and December 31, 2011 are presented in the table below.

instruments 

for  which 

Financial Assets

Loans to bank customers

Financial Liabilities

Deposits

Note 15—Borrowing Agreements

$

$

December 31, 2012

December 31, 2011

Carrying Value

Fair Value

Carrying Value

Fair Value

7,552

$

5,719

$

10,036

$

10,036

(In thousands)

198,451

$

198,369

$

38,957

$

38,957

In connection with the transition of all outstanding customer deposits associated with our card issuing program 
with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary bank, our line of credit with Columbus Bank and Trust Company was terminated. 
Prior to the termination, we used the line of credit to fund timing differences between funds remitted by our retail 
distributors to the banks that issue our cards and funds utilized by our cardholders. For the periods presented below, 
our line of credit had the following terms:

March 2012 - November 2012

March 2011 - March 2012

Line of Credit

Interest Rate

Cash Collateral
Requirements

$

$

(In millions, except interest rates)

10.0

10.0

LIBOR + 2.00% $

LIBOR + 2.00% $

10.0

10.0

We present our cash collateral requirements on our consolidated balance sheets as restricted cash. There were 

no outstanding borrowings at December 31, 2012.

82

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 16—Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that subject us to concentration of credit risk consist primarily of unrestricted cash and cash 
equivalents, restricted cash, investment securities, accounts receivable, loans and settlement assets. We deposit our 
unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and our restricted cash with regional and national banking institutions that we 
periodically monitor and evaluate for creditworthiness. Credit risk for our investment securities is mitigated by the types 
of investment securities in our portfolio, which must comply with strict investment guidelines that we believe appropriately 
ensures the preservation of invested capital. Credit risk for our accounts receivable is concentrated with card issuing 
banks and our customers, and this risk is mitigated by the relatively short collection period and our large customer 
base. We do not require or maintain collateral for accounts receivable. We maintain reserves for uncollectible overdrawn 
accounts and uncollectible trade receivables.  Approximately 92.5% of our borrowers reside in the state of Utah and 
approximately 39.4% in the city of Provo.  Consequently, we are susceptible to any adverse market or environmental 
conditions that may impact this specific geographic region.  Credit risk for our settlement assets is concentrated with 
our retail distributors, which we periodically monitor.

Note 17—Defined Contribution Plan

On  January  1,  2004,  we  established  a  defined  contribution  savings  plan  under  Section  401(k)  of  the  Internal 
Revenue Code. Employees who have attained at least 21 years of age are generally eligible to participate in the plan 
on the first day of the calendar month following the month in which they commence service with us. Participants may 
make pre-tax contributions to the plan from their eligible earnings up to the statutorily prescribed annual limit on pre-
tax contributions under the code. We may contribute to the plan at the discretion of our board of directors. Effective 
January 1, 2010, our board elected to include a discretionary employer matching contribution equal to 50% of the first 
6% of the participant’s eligible compensation as defined by the Plan. Our contributions are allocated in the same manner 
as that of the participant’s elective contributions. We made contributions to the plan of $1.2 million, $0.9 million, and 
$0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.

Note 18—Commitments and Contingencies

In December 2011, we entered into a ten-year office lease for 140,000 square feet of office space in Pasadena, 
California. This facility serves as our corporate headquarters. The initial term of the lease is ten years and is scheduled 
to expire on October 31, 2022. We are also bound to a property sub-lease agreement of approximately 5,000 square 
feet that expires in December 2013 and maintain smaller administrative or project offices. Our total rental expense for 
these and former leases amounted to $6.4 million, $2.6 million and $1.8 million for the years ended December 31, 
2012, 2011, and 2010.

At December 31, 2012, the minimum aggregate rental commitment under all operating leases was:

Year Ending December 31,

(In thousands)

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Thereafter

$

$

4,502

4,196

4,642

4,768

4,260

21,353

43,721

We have various agreements with vendors and retail distributors that include future minimum annual payments. 

At December 31, 2012, the minimum aggregate commitment under these agreements was:

Year Ending December 31,

(In thousands)

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Thereafter

$

$

10,556

5,277

1,910

6,550

1,625

15,750

41,668

83

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 18—Commitments and Contingencies (continued)

In the event we terminate our processing services agreement for convenience, we are required to pay a single 

lump sum equal to any minimum payments remaining on the date of termination.

We have retained outside regulatory counsel to survey and monitor the laws of all 50 states to identify state laws 
or regulations that apply to prepaid debit cards and other stored value products. Many state laws do not specifically 
address stored value products and what, if any, legal or regulatory requirements (including licensing) apply to the sale 
of these products. We have obtained money transmitter licenses (or similar such licenses) where applicable, based 
on advice of counsel or when we have been requested to do so. If we were found to be in violation of any laws and 
regulations governing banking, money transmitters, electronic fund transfers, or money laundering in the United States 
or abroad, we could be subject to penalties or could be forced to change our business practices.

In the ordinary course of business, we are a party to various legal proceedings. We review these actions on an 
ongoing basis to determine whether it is probable that a loss has occurred and use that information when making 
accrual and disclosure decisions. We have not established reserves or possible ranges of losses related to these 
proceedings because, at this time in the proceedings, the matters do not relate to a probable loss and/or the amounts 
are not reasonably estimable.

From time to time we enter into contracts containing provisions that contingently require us to indemnify various 
parties against claims from third parties. These contracts primarily relate to: (i) contracts with our card issuing banks, 
under which we are responsible to them for any unrecovered overdrafts on cardholders’ accounts; (ii) certain real 
estate leases, under which we may be required to indemnify property owners for environmental and other liabilities, 
and other claims arising from our use of the premises; (iii) certain agreements with our officers, directors, and employees, 
under which we may be required to indemnify these persons for liabilities arising out of their relationship with us; and 
(iv) contracts under which we may be required to indemnify our retail distributors, suppliers, vendors and other parties 
with whom we have contracts against third-party claims that our products infringe a patent, copyright, or other intellectual 
property right claims arising from our acts, omissions, or violation of law.

Generally, a maximum obligation under these contracts is not explicitly stated. Because the obligated amounts 
associated with these types of agreements are not explicitly stated, the overall maximum amount of the obligation 
cannot be reasonably estimated. With the exception of overdrafts on cardholders’ accounts, historically, we have not 
been required to make payments under these and similar contingent obligations, and no liabilities have been recorded 
for these obligations in our consolidated balance sheets.

Note 19—Significant Customer Concentration

A credit concentration may exist if customers are involved in similar industries, economic sectors, and geographic 
regions. Our retail distributors operate in similar economic sectors but diverse domestic geographic regions. The loss 
of a significant retail distributor could have a material adverse effect upon our card sales, profitability, and revenue 
growth.

Revenues derived from our products sold at our four largest retail distributors represented the following percentages 

of our total operating revenues:

Walmart

Three other largest retail distributors, as a group

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

64%

20%

61%

20%

63%

20%

Excluding stock-based retailer incentive compensation of $8.3 million, $17.3 million and $13.4 million for the years 
ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, revenues derived from our products sold at our four largest 
retail distributors represented the following percentages of our total operating revenues:

Walmart

Three other largest retail distributors, as a group

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

65%

20%

62%

19%

64%

18%

84

 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 19—Significant Customer Concentration (continued)

The concentration of GPR cards activated (in units) and the concentration of sales of cash transfer products (in 

units) derived from our products sold at our four largest retail distributors was as follows:

Concentration of GPR cards activated (in units)

Concentration of sales of cash transfer products (in units)

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

87%

88%

80%

90%

84%

93%

Settlement assets derived from our products sold at our four largest retail distributors comprised the following 

percentages of the settlement assets recorded on our consolidated balance sheet:

Walmart

Three other largest retail distributors, as a group

December 31,

2012

2011

35%

38%

33%

39%

At December 31, 2012 the customer funds underlying the Walmart co-branded GPR cards were held by GE Capital 
Retail Bank. These funds are held in trust for the benefit of the customers, and we have no legal rights to the customer 
funds. Additionally, we have receivables due from GE Capital Retail Bank that are included in accounts receivable, 
net, on our consolidated balance sheets. The failure of this entity could result in significant business disruption, a 
potential  material  adverse  affect  on  our  ability  to  service  our  customers,  potential  contingent  obligations  by  us  to 
customers and material write-offs of uncollectible receivables.

Note 20—Regulatory Requirements

Our subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, is a member bank of the Federal Reserve System and our primary regulator 
is the Federal Reserve Board. We are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal 
banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory actions by regulators 
that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on our financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines, 
we must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of the assets, liabilities and certain off-
balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The capital amounts and classification are 
also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors.

As of December 31, 2012, we were categorized as well capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt 
corrective action. To be categorized as well capitalized, we must maintain specific total risk-based, Tier I risk-based, 
and Tier I leverage ratios as set forth in the table below. There are no conditions or events since December 31, 2012 
which management believes would have changed our category as well capitalized.  We were not subject to these 
requirements as of December 31, 2010.

The actual, required minimum and amount we exceed the minimum capital amounts and ratios at December 31, 

2012 and 2011 are as follows:

December 31, 2012

Tier 1 leverage

Tier 1 risk-based capital

Total risk-based capital

December 31, 2011

Tier 1 leverage

Tier 1 risk-based capital

Total risk-based capital

Actual

Regulatory "well capitalized" minimum

Amount

Ratio

Amount

Ratio

(In thousands, except ratios)

47.8%

84.3%

84.3%

69.1%

80.7%

80.7%

30,266

20,591

34,318

16,578

13,738

28,374

5.0%

6.0%

10.0%

5.0%

6.0%

10.0%

289,323

289,323

289,323

228,971

228,971

228,971

85

 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 21— Selected Unaudited Quarterly Financial Information

The following tables set forth a summary of our quarterly financial information for each of the four quarters in 2012 

and 2011:

Total operating revenues

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income, net

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

Net income

Earnings per common share

Basic

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Diluted

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Total operating revenues

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income, net

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

Net income

Earnings per common share

Basic

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

Diluted

Class A common stock

Class B common stock

2012

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

(In thousands, except per share data)

137,302

$

132,759

$

135,043

$

122,812

14,490

933

15,423

5,053

117,882

14,877

962

15,839

6,227

117,908

17,135

1,168

18,303

7,434

10,370

$

9,612

$

10,869

$

0.24

0.24

0.24

0.24

$

$

$

$

0.26

0.26

0.25

0.25

$

$

$

$

0.23

0.23

0.22

0.22

$

$

$

$

2011

141,181

115,543

25,638

935

26,573

10,205

16,368

0.39

0.39

0.37

0.37

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

(In thousands, except per share data)

119,674

$

115,387

$

115,030

$

117,307

97,388

22,286

192

22,478

8,470

94,079

21,308

134

21,442

8,139

95,680

19,350

136

19,486

7,416

14,008

$

13,303

$

12,070

$

0.33

0.33

0.33

0.33

$

$

$

$

0.32

0.32

0.30

0.30

$

$

$

$

0.29

0.29

0.27

0.27

$

$

$

$

96,802

20,505

102

20,607

7,906

12,701

0.30

0.30

0.29

0.29

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

During the fourth quarter of 2012, we implemented new control procedures over the settlement of cardholder funds. 
As a result of these new controls, we identified an error relating to the calculation of overdrawn account balances that 
affects our financial results for the first, second and third quarters of 2012. We have determined that the effects of the 
error were not material to any previously reported period but the cumulative effect of correcting the error in the fourth 
quarter of 2012 would be material. In accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission guidance contained 
in  Staff Accounting  Bulletin Topic  1,  Financial  Statements,  we  corrected  the  error  in  the  fourth  quarter  of  2012  by 
adjusting prior period financial information. The quarterly information provided above reflects the correction of this 
error. 

86

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 21— Selected Unaudited Quarterly Financial Information (continued)

The effect of the correction on certain financial statement captions within our Consolidated Statements of Operations 

was as follows:

Q3 2012

Card revenues and other fees

Other general and administrative expenses

Income tax expense

Net income

Basic earnings per common share

Diluted earnings per common share

Q2 2012

Card revenues and other fees

Other general and administrative expenses

Income tax expense

Net income

Basic earnings per common share

Diluted earnings per common share

Q1 2012

Card revenues and other fees

Other general and administrative expenses

Income tax expense

Net income

Basic earnings per common share

Diluted earnings per common share

As Reported

Adjustments

As Adjusted

(In thousands, except per share data)

54,138

$

(1,590) $

18,050

6,875

10,613

0.25

0.24

$

$

59

(648)

(1,001)

(0.02) $

(0.02) $

59,500

$

(1,638) $

17,915

8,133

11,891

0.28

0.27

$

$

83

(699)

(1,022)

(0.02) $

(0.02) $

52,548

18,109

6,227

9,612

0.23

0.22

57,862

17,998

7,434

10,869

0.26

0.25

As Reported

Adjustments

As Adjusted

(In thousands, except per share data)

62,373

$

(1,151) $

15,904

10,672

17,116

0.40

0.39

$

$

64

(467)

(748)

(0.01) $

(0.02) $

61,222

15,968

10,205

16,368

0.39

0.37

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

The effect of the correction on certain financial statement captions within our Consolidated Balance Sheet was as 

follows:

Q3 2012

Accounts receivable, net

Income tax receivable

Amounts due to card issuing banks for overdrawn accounts

Retained earnings

Q2 2012

Accounts receivable, net

Income tax receivable

Amounts due to card issuing banks for overdrawn accounts

Retained earnings

Q1 2012

Accounts receivable, net

Income tax receivable

Amounts due to card issuing banks for overdrawn accounts

Retained earnings

As Reported

Adjustments

As Adjusted

(In thousands)

43,428

$

1,435

$

825

49,117

161,361

1,814

6,020

(2,771)

44,637

$

1,645

$

2,705

45,651

150,748

1,166

4,581

(1,770)

46,996

$

1,436

$

1,612

42,947

138,857

467

2,651

(748)

44,863

2,639

55,137

158,590

46,282

3,871

50,232

148,978

48,432

2,079

45,598

138,109

$

$

$

87

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 21— Selected Unaudited Quarterly Financial Information (continued)

In each of the periods referenced above, the effect of the correction did not impact net cash provided by operating 
activities, net cash used in investing activities or net cash provided by financing activities previously reported on our 
consolidated statements of cash flows. Additionally, our consolidated statements of comprehensive income for these 
periods were impacted by the adjustments to net income referenced above.

Note 22—Subsequent Event

In February 2013, we amended our card processing agreement with Total System Services, Inc. to extend its term 

by sixteen months to December 31, 2015.

88

ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreement With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures — Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and 
Chief  Financial  Officer,  has  evaluated  the  effectiveness  of  our  disclosure  controls  and  procedures  (as  defined  in 
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 13d-15(e)), and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange 
Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) at the end of the period covered by this report. Based on such evaluation of our 
disclosure controls and procedures, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, at 
the end of such period, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to 
be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and 
reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to our 
management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions 
regarding required disclosure.

Report of management on internal control over financial reporting — Our management is responsible for establishing 
and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 
15d-15(f)) for Green Dot Corporation. Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief 
Financial Officer, has conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of 
December 31, 2012, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework by the Committee of 
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2012, 
our internal control over financial reporting was effective based on these criteria. 

Ernst & Young, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has issued an unqualified opinion on the 
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012, which is included in Part II, Item 
8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Change in internal control over financial reporting — During the three months ended December 31, 2012, we 
implemented new control procedures over the settlement of cardholder funds in conjunction with the transition of our 
card issuing program with Synovus Bank to our subsidiary Bank. Other than these new control procedures, there was 
no other material change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) 
and 15d-15(f)) during the three months ended December 31, 2012 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely 
to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Limitations  on  Effectiveness  of  Controls  —  Our  management,  including  our  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  Chief 
Financial Officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal controls will prevent all 
errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not 
absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must 
reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their 
costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance 
that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been detected.

ITEM 9B. Other Information

None

89

PART III

ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our proxy statement for our 2013 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the year ended December 31, 2012.

ITEM 11. Executive Compensation

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our proxy statement for our 2013 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the year ended December 31, 2012.

ITEM 12. Securities Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder 
Matters

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our proxy statement for our 2013 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the year ended December 31, 2012.

ITEM 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our proxy statement for our 2013 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the year ended December 31, 2012.

ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our proxy statement for our 2013 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the year ended December 31, 2012.

90

PART IV

ITEM 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a)

The following documents are filed as exhibits to this report:

1. Financial Statements

The Index to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this report is incorporated herein by reference as the 
list of financial statements required as part of this report.

2. Financial Statement Schedules

All financial statement schedules have been omitted, since the required information is not applicable or is not 
present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedule, or because the information required is included 
in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto.

3. Exhibits: The following exhibits are filed as part of or furnished with this annual report on Form 10-K as applicable:

The exhibit list in the Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference as the list of exhibits required as part of 
this report.

91

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to 
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

SIGNATURE

Date:

March 1, 2013

Green Dot Corporation

By:
Name:

Title:

  /s/ Steven W. Streit

Steven W. Streit
  Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS that each individual whose signature appears below constitutes 
and appoints Steven W. Streit, John C. Ricci, and John L. Keatley, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-
in-fact and agents with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all 
capacities, to sign any amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto 
and  other  documents  in  connection  therewith,  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission,  granting  unto  said 
attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and 
thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she 
might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, 
or his, her or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done or by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the 

following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Date:

March 1, 2013

By:

  /s/ Steven W. Streit

Name:

Steven W. Streit

Title:

  Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Date:

March 1, 2013

By:

  /s/ John L. Keatley

Name:

John L. Keatley

Date:

March 1, 2013

Date:

March 1, 2013

Date:

March 1, 2013

Date:

March 1, 2013

Title:

  Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)

By:

Name:
Title:

  /s/ Simon M. Heyrick

Simon M. Heyrick

Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting
Officer)

By:

  /s/ Kenneth C. Aldrich

Name:

Kenneth C. Aldrich

Title:

  Director

By:

  /s/ Timothy R. Greenleaf

Name:

Timothy R. Greenleaf

Title:

  Director

By:

  /s/ Virginia L. Hanna

Name:

Virginia L. Hanna

Title:

  Director

92

 
 
 
 
Date:

March 1, 2013

Date:

March 1, 2013

Date:

March 1, 2013

By:

  /s/ Ross E. Kendell

Name:

Ross E. Kendell

Title:

  Director

By:

  /s/ Michael Moritz

Name:

Michael Moritz

Title:

  Director

By:

  /s/ William H. Ott, Jr.

Name:

William H. Ott, Jr.

Title:

  Director

93

 
 
The following documents are filed as exhibits to this report:

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number Exhibit Title
3.1

Tenth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
of the Registrant.

Incorporated by Reference

Form
S-1(A2)

Date
April 26, 2010

Number
3.02

Filed
Herewith

3.2

3.3

4.1

4.2

4.3

10.1

10.2*

10.3*

Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant.

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

Certificate of Designations of Series A Convertible Junior
Participating Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock of
Green Dot Corporation dated as of December 8, 2011.

8-K

December 14,
2011

3.04

3.01

Ninth Amended and Restated Registration Rights
Agreement by and among the Registrant, certain
stockholders and certain warrant holders of the Registrant.

First Amendment to Ninth Amended and Restated
Registration Rights Agreement by and among the
Registrant, certain stockholders and certain warrant
holders of the Registrant.

Second Amendment to Ninth Amended and Restated 
Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of December 8, 
2011, by and among the Registrant and certain 
stockholders of the Registrant.

Form of Indemnity Agreement.

Second Amended and Restated 2001 Stock Plan and
forms of notice of stock option grant, stock option
agreement and stock option exercise letter.

2010 Equity Incentive Plan and forms of notice of stock
option grant, stock option award agreement, notice of
restricted stock award, restricted stock agreement, notice
of stock bonus award, stock bonus award agreement,
notice of stock appreciation right award, stock appreciation
right award agreement, notice of restricted stock unit
award, restricted stock unit award agreement, notice of
performance shares award and performance shares
agreement.

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

4.01

S-1(A7)

July 19, 2010

4.02

8-K

December 11,
2011

4.01

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

S-1(A3)

June 2, 2010

10.01

10.02

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

10.03

10.4*

2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

10.19

10.5

10.6†

10.7†

10.8††

Lease Agreement between the Registrant and Wells REIT
II - Pasadena Corporate Park L.P., dated December 5,
2011

Amended and Restated Prepaid Card Program Agreement,
dated as of May 27, 2010, by and among the Registrant,
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas, L.P., Wal-
Mart Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., Wal-Mart
Stores, L.P. and GE Money Bank.

First Amendment To Walmart MoneyCard Program 
Agreement dated as of January 12, 2012, by and among 
the Registrant, Walmart Stores Texas L.P., Wal-Mart 
Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-Mart 
Stores East, L.P., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and GE Capital 
Retail Bank.

Amendment To the Walmart MoneyCard Program 
Agreement, dated as of August 31, 2012, by and among 
the Registrant, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores 
Texas, L.P., Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores 
Arkansas, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., and GE Capital 
Retail Bank.

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.8

S-1(A6)

July 13, 2010

10.05

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.10

10-Q

November 19,
2012

10.02

Exhibit
Number Exhibit Title
10.9†

Card Program Services Agreement, dated as of
October 27, 2006, by and between the Registrant and GE
Money Bank, as amended.

10.10†

10.11†

Agreement for Services, dated as of September 1, 2009,
by and between the Registrant and Total System Services,
Inc.

Material Terms Amendment to Agreement for Services,
dated as of January 19, 2012, by and between the
Registrant and Total System Services, Inc.

10.12††

Second Material Terms Amendment to Agreement for 
Services, dated as of February 20, 2013, by and between 
the Registrant and Total System Services, Inc.

Incorporated by Reference

Form
S-1(A6)

Date
July 13, 2010

Number
10.06

Filed
Herewith

S-1(A6)

July 13, 2010

10.08

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.14

10.13†

10.14

Master Services Agreement, dated as of May 28, 2009, by
and between the Registrant and Genpact International, Inc.

S-1(A6)

July 13, 2010

10.09

Amendment No. 1 to Master Services Agreement, dated as
of November 3, 2010, by and between the Registrant and
Genpact International, Inc.

10-K

February 28, 2011

10.11

10.15*

Form of Executive Severance Agreement.

S-1(A2)

April 26, 2010

10.12

10.16*

2012 Executive Officer Incentive Bonus Plan.

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.22

10.17

10.18

10.19

10.20

10.21

10.22*

10.23

10.24*

23.1

24.1

Warrant to purchase shares of common stock of the
Registrant.

Amendment No.1 to Warrant to purchase shares of
common stock of the Registrant.

Class A Common Stock Issuance Agreement, dated as of
May 27, 2010, between the Registrant and Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc.

Share Exchange Agreement dated as of December 8, 2011
among the Registrant, Sequoia Capital Franchise Fund,
L.P., Sequoia Capital USGF Principals Fund IV L.P.,
Sequoia Capital Franchise Partners, L.P., and Sequoia
Capital U.S. Growth Fund IV, L.P.

S-1(A6)

July 13, 2010

10.15

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.24

S-1(A6)

July 13, 2010

10.17

8-K

December 14,
2011

10.01

Voting Agreement, dated as of May 27, 2010, between the
Registrant and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

10.18

Separation Agreement and Release of Claims, dated as of
February 24, 2012, between the Registrant and Mark T.
Troughton.

Voting Agreement and Irrevocable Proxy, dated as of
February 24, 2012, between the Registrant and Mark T.
Troughton.

Separation Agreement and General Release of Claims, 
dated December 28, 2012, between the Registrant and 
William Sowell.

Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered
public accounting firm.

Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of this
Annual Report on Form 10-K).

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.28

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.29

8-K

January 3, 2013

10.01

X

X

X

Exhibit
Number
31.1

31.2

32.1

32.2

Exhibit Title
Certification of Steven W. Streit, Chief Executive Officer
and Chairman of the Board of Directors, pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certification of John L. Keatley, Chief Financial Officer,
pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted
pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.

Certification of Steven W. Streit, Chief Executive Officer
and Chairman of the Board of Directors, pursuant to 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certification of John L. Keatley, Chief Financial Officer,
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant
to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

101.INS

XBRL Instance Document**

101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document**

101.CAL

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
Document**

101.DEF

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
Document**

101.LAB

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document**

101.PRE

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
Document**

_____________

Incorporated by Reference

Form

Date

Number

Filed
Herewith
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

*  

** 

†  

††  

Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

Pursuant to Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the Interactive Data Files on Exhibit 101 hereto are deemed not filed or part of a registration 
statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are deemed not filed for purposes 
of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise are not subject to liability under those sections.  
The Interactive Data File will be filed by amendment to this Form 10-K within 30 days of the filing date of this Form 10-K, as permitted 
by Rule 405(a)(2)(ii) of Regulation S-T.  

Registrant has omitted portions of the referenced exhibit and filed such exhibit separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
pursuant to a grant of confidential treatment under Rule 406 promulgated under the Securities Act.

Confidential treatment has been requested with regard to certain portions of this document. Such portions were filed separately with the 
Commission.

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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresOur consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). To supplement these financial statements, we use measures of operating results that are adjusted to exclude, among other things, stock-based retailer incentive compensation expense. The letter to stockholders contained in this annual report (the stockholder letter) includes non-GAAP total operating revenues. This non-GAAP financial measure is not calculated or presented in accordance with, and is not an alternative or substitute for, a financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and should be read only in conjunction with our financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.We believe that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding underlying trends in our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. We also believe that the non-GAAP financial measure contained in the stockholder letter is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance for the following reason:• Stock-based retailer incentive compensation is a non-cash GAAP accounting charge that is an offset to our actual revenues from operations as we have historically calculated them. This charge results from the monthly lapsing of our right to repurchase a portion of the 2,208,552 shares we issued to our largest retail distributor, Walmart, in May 2010. By adding back this charge to our GAAP 2010 and future total operating revenues, investors can make direct comparisons of our revenues from operations prior to and after May 2010 and thus more easily perceive trends in our core operations. Further, because the monthly charge is based on the then-current fair market value of the shares as to which our repurchase right lapses, adding back this charge eliminates fluctuations in our operating revenues caused by variations in our month-end stock prices and thus provides insight on the operating revenues directly associated with those core operations.Our management regularly uses this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business and make operating decisions. For additional information regarding our use of non-GAAP financial measures and the items excluded by us from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures, investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which can be found by clicking on "Financial Information" in the Investor Relations section of our website at ir.greendot.com.Reconciliation Of Total Operating Revenues To Non-GAAP Total Operating Revenues(Unaudited) $ 546,2858,251$ 554,536 $ 467,39817,337$ 484,735 $ 363,88813,369$ 377,257Total operating revenues   Stock-based retailer incentive compensation *Non-GAAP total operating revenues* We do not include any income tax impact of the associated non-GAAP adjustment to non-GAAP total operating revenues because this non-GAAP financial measure is provided before income tax expense.Years Ended December 31,(In thousands)201220112010GREEN DOT CORPORATION2012 ANNUAL REPORTCORPORATE HEADQUARTERS3465 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena CA 91107Telephone: (626) 765-2000www.greendot.com BOARD OF DIRECTORSSteven W. Streit, Chairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerKenneth C. Aldrich, DirectorSamuel Altman, DirectorTimothy R. Greenleaf, DirectorVirginia L. Hanna, DirectorRoss E. Kendell, DirectorMichael J. Moritz, DirectorWilliam H. Ott, Jr., Director EXECUTIVE OFFICERSSteven W. Streit, Chairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerJohn L. Keatley, Chief Financial OfficerKonstantinos Sgoutas, Chief Revenue OfficerLewis B. Goodwin, CEO, Green Dot BankJohn C. Ricci, General Counsel INVESTOR RELATIONSChris Mammone(626) 765-2427ir@greendot.com INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMErnst & Young, LLP Los AngelesSTOCK LISTING & SYMBOLNew York Stock Exchange Symbol: GDOT©2013 Green Dot Corporation. MoneyPak is provided by Green Dot Corporation. Green Dot and MoneyPak are registered trademarks of Green Dot CorporationANNUAL REPORT2012