Quarterlytics / Financial Services / Financial - Credit Services / Green Dot Corporation / FY2018 Annual Report

Green Dot Corporation
Annual Report 2018

GDOT · NYSE Financial Services
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Industry Financial - Credit Services
Employees 1150
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FY2018 Annual Report · Green Dot Corporation
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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, 2018
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

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

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

95-4766827
(IRS Employer Identification No.)

(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 every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 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, a smaller reporting company, or an 
emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" 
in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 

Large accelerated filer 

Accelerated filer 

Non-accelerated filer 

Smaller reporting company 

Emerging growth company 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new 
or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

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, 2018, the last business day of the registrant's 
most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $2.6 billion (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 52,959,479 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, as of January 31, 2019.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement relating to the registrant’s 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of 
this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated.

(cid:55)(cid:43)(cid:44)(cid:54)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:36)(cid:42)(cid:40)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:49)(cid:55)(cid:40)(cid:49)(cid:55)(cid:44)(cid:50)(cid:49)(cid:36)(cid:47)(cid:47)(cid:60)(cid:3)(cid:47)(cid:40)(cid:41)(cid:55)(cid:3)(cid:37)(cid:47)(cid:36)(cid:49)(cid:46)(cid:3)

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I.

Item 1.

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 1A. Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 2.

Item 3.

Item 4.

Item 5.

Item 6.

Item 7.

Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Legal Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mine Safety Disclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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 Accounting Fees and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 15.

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

PART IV.

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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  Corporation  is  a  financial  technology  leader  and  bank  holding  company  with  a  mission  to  reinvent 
banking for the masses. Our company’s long-term strategy is to create a unique, sustainable and highly valuable fintech 
ecosystem, in part through the continued evolution of Green Dot’s innovative “Banking as a Service” platform, that’s 
intended to fuel the engine of innovation and growth for Green Dot and its many business partners for many years to 
come. 

Enabled  by  proprietary  technology,  our  wholly-owned  commercial  bank  charter  and  our  high-scale  program 
management operating capability, our “Banking as a Service,” or "BaaS" platform is used by a growing list of America’s 
most  prominent  consumer  and  technology  companies  to  design  and  deploy  their  own  bespoke  financial  services 
solutions to their customers and partners, while we use that same integrated platform to design and deploy our own 
leading collection of banking and financial services products directly to consumers through what we believe to be the 
most broadly distributed, omni-channel branchless banking platforms in the United States. Our products are marketed 
under brand names such as Green Dot, GoBank, RapidPay and several other consumer brands and can be acquired 
through more than 100,000 retailers nationwide, thousands of corporate paycard partners, several “direct-2-consumer” 
branded websites, thousands of tax return preparation offices and accounting firms, thousands of neighborhood check 
cashing locations and both of the leading app stores. We are headquartered in Pasadena, California, with additional 
facilities throughout the United States and in Shanghai, China.

As the regulated entity and issuing bank for substantially all products and services we provide, whether our own 
or on behalf of a BaaS platform partner, we are directly accountable for all aspects of each program’s integrity, inclusive 
of ensuring the program’s compliance with all applicable banking regulations, applicable state and federal law and our 
various internal governance policies and procedures related to all areas of risk and compliance, in addition to deploying 
enterprise-class risk management practices and procedures to ensure each program’s initial and ongoing safety and 
soundness.

Acquisitions

In February 2017, we acquired of all the membership interests of UniRush, LLC to expand our online direct-to-
consumer  channel  and  our  emergent  corporate  payroll  card  business. The  fair  value  of  the  total  consideration  in 
connection with the acquisition was approximately $163.7 million, which included cash and contingent consideration 
in the form of an earn-out. Additional information regarding the acquisition is included in the information set forth in 
Note 4 — Business Acquisitions of the consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8. Financial Statements 
and Supplementary Data.

Our products and services

We offer consumers a broad collection of financial products and services managed through several diverse business 
lines which are then made available to consumers through a widely-available “branchless" distribution network in the 
United States. Many of the products and services we internally create and distribute are marketed under the Green 
Dot brand name, which we believe is both a well-known and highly trusted brand name for millions of consumers. Our 
branchless network consists of:

• 

• 

• 

distribution arrangements with more than 100,000 mostly major chain retail locations, which we refer to as 
“retail distributors” and thousands of neighborhood Financial Service Center locations;

several differently branded, Green Dot-owned and operated direct-to-consumer online and direct mail customer 
acquisition platforms;

corporate distribution partnerships with businesses that provide payroll cards to their employees to receive 
wage disbursements;

•  more than 25,000 small and large tax preparation companies and individual tax preparers, which are sometimes 
referred to as electronic return originators, or “EROs”, who are able to offer our products and services to their 
customers through the use of various tax preparation industry software packages with which our products are 
integrated; 

• 

apps compatible with the iOS and Android operating systems downloaded through the corresponding app 
store; and 

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• 

platform partners’ distribution channels that those partners use to acquire customers for their bespoke products 
and services that are powered by our BaaS Platform. 

Our products and services include several deposit account programs, such as network-branded reloadable prepaid 
debit cards marketed under several leading consumer brand names, which we collectively refer to as "GPR cards," 
consumer checking accounts, small business checking accounts, network-branded gift cards (known as open-loop), 
secured credit cards and other financial services.

We  also  offer  several  products  and  services  that  specialize  in  facilitating  the  movement  of  cash  on  behalf  of 
consumers and businesses. These products and services include: our proprietary swipe reload system for crediting 
cash  onto  an  enabled  payment  card  by  swiping  the  payment  card  at  the  point-of-sale  at  any  Green  Dot  Network 
participating retailer; MoneyPak, a product that allows a consumer to add funds to accounts we issue or accounts 
issued by other United States chartered and regulated third party banks; and e-cash remittance services, a service 
that allows a consumer to transfer funds to a smartphone for fulfillment at a Green Dot participating retailer. We refer 
to these services collectively as our cash transfer products. We also provide disbursement services through our Simply 
Paid platform that enables a payment solution for companies to pay their workforce and customers in the time and 
manner they desire and provide tax refund transfers that provide the processing technology to facilitate receipt of a 
taxpayers' refund proceeds.

Our BaaS Platform

Our BaaS Platform, which is used by several of America’s largest retail, consumer, technology and financial services 

companies, includes the following products, services and bespoke capabilities: 

•  Mobile banking;

• 

Loan disbursement accounts;

•  Mobile P2P services;

•  Money transfer services;

•  GPR cards;

•  Network branded "open loop" gift cards;

• 

Instant payment and wage disbursements;

•  Small business checking accounts and debit cards; and

•  Consumer checking accounts.

Our Segments and Distribution Channels

Our products and services and BaaS Platform are divided among our two reportable segments: Account Services 
and Processing and Settlement Services. Each segment is comprised of multiple “revenue divisions” that each focus 
on a distinct set of products or distribution channels, as follows:

Account Services 

Consumer Accounts

We offer several deposit account programs that can be acquired through our omni-channel distribution platform. 

These products include:

•  Network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards marketed under several leading consumer brand names, 

collectively referred to as GPR cards;

• 

Innovative consumer and small business checking account products, such as our GoBank product, that allow 
customers to acquire and manage their checking account entirely through a mobile application available on 
smartphone devices; and

•  Network-branded gift cards (known as open-loop) that are sold at participating retail stores.

Green Dot Direct

We also offer GPR cards, checking accounts products and secured credit cards directly to consumers through 
several  different  online  direct-to-consumer  websites.  Our  direct-to-consumer  websites  include:  greendot.com; 
walmartmoneycard.com; rushcard.com; accountnow.com; achievecard.com; gobank.com; and ReadyDebit.com. 

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Consumer Credit Card

We  offer  a  secured  credit  card  nationwide  on  a  direct-to-consumer  basis  via  both  greendot.com/platinum  and 
securedcardchoice.com. Our secured credit cards are designed to help people establish or rehabilitate their national 
credit bureau score. The credit line offered to the customer is backed by the customer's own security deposit held on 
deposit at Green Dot Bank or other banks in accounts held under our control. As such, we have no risk of material 
loss resulting from the customer's non-payment of their obligation. As the customer successfully uses their credit card 
and repays their obligations in accordance with the card’s terms and conditions, that successful repayment history is 
reported to the national credit bureaus which, in turn, can help improve the customer’s overall credit score. Customers 
have the option of funding their security deposits with cash and making monthly payments at Green Dot Network retail 
locations.

PayCard and Corporate Disbursement

We offer payroll cards and other wage disbursement services to over 2,500 corporate customers, such as Einstein 

Bagels, Nordstrom and Rite Aid. Our solutions address both the W-2 and 1099 work force.

Green Dot Bank

Through our subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, we offer issuing, settlement and capital management services 
principally to support those applicable products across all six revenue divisions in both reporting segments. Our banking 
services include:

• 

Issuing services as the payment network member bank and settlement bank for our GPR card, spend-based 
P2P programs, gift card and checking account products;

•  Credit card issuing and capital lending services for our Green Dot Platinum Visa Secured Credit Card; and

•  Settlement bank for our reload and tax refund services within our Processing and Settlement Services segment.

Green Dot Bank also generates interest income through the investment of funds from its capital and the increasing 
deposits it receives in respect of our products and services as well as the products and services we enable for our 
BaaS platform partners.

Products within our Account Services segment are generally issued by Green Dot Bank. As a result of acquisitions 

over the past few years, we also manage programs issued by third-party issuing banks.

Processing and Settlement Services 

Money Processing

We  offer  several  products  and  services  that  all  specialize  in  facilitating  the  movement  of  funds  on  behalf  of 

consumers and businesses. These products and services include:

•  Our “Reload@TheRegister” swipe reload service allows consumers to add funds to accounts we issue or 
manage  and  accounts  issued  by  any  third-party  bank  or  program  manager,  which  we  refer  to  as  network 
acceptance members, that has enabled its cards to accept funds through our processing system. 

•  Our MoneyPak PIN product provides consumers the ability to add funds to accounts we issue or manage and 
accounts issued by any third party bank or program manager that has enabled its cards to accept funds through 
our processing system. 

•  Our e-cash remittance service enables consumers to add funds to accounts we issue or manage and accounts 
issued by any third party bank or program manager that has enabled its accounts to accept funds through our 
processing system. Consumers can also cash-out money sent to them by a business through the use of our 
e-cash remittance service when Green Dot sends a unique barcode to the customer’s smartphone, which is 
then presented to a cashier at a participating retailer who then scans the barcode to fulfill the transfer. 

•  Our Simply Paid Disbursement service that enables wages and any type of authorized funds disbursement to 
be sent to accounts we issue or manage and accounts issued by any third-party bank or program manager 
that has enabled its cards to accept funds through our processing system.

Tax Processing

We offer several services designed for participants in the tax industry. Those services include:

•  Tax refund transfers that provide the processing technology to facilitate receipt of a taxpayers' refund proceeds. 
When a customer of a third-party tax preparation provider chooses to pay their tax preparation fees using our 

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processing  services,  we  deduct  the  tax  preparation  service  fee  and  our  processing  service  fee  from  the 
customer's refund and remit the remaining balance to the customer's account;

•  Small business lending to independent tax preparation providers that seek small advances in order to help 

provide working capital prior to generating income during the tax filing season;

•  GPR card offerings that are integrated into the tax preparation software that enables a tax preparation provider 
to offer its customers a Green Dot Bank-issued GPR card for the purpose of receiving tax refunds more rapidly 
and securely than check disbursements; and

•  Fast Cash Advance, a consumer-friendly loan that enables tax refund recipients utilizing our tax processing 
services the opportunity to receive a portion of their expected tax refund amount in advance of receiving their 
actual tax refund. 

Our Relationship with Walmart

Walmart is our largest retail distributor. Green Dot Corporation has been the provider of Walmart-branded GPR 
cards sold at Walmart since the initiation of the Walmart MoneyCard pilot program in 2006 and that product's national 
launch in 2007, and Green Dot Bank has been the issuer of those card accounts since early 2014. Pursuant to our 
agreement with Walmart, 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 provides us with shelf space to display and offer the card accounts to consumers. As the 
issuing  bank,  Green  Dot  Bank  holds  the  associated  FDIC-insured  deposits. All  Walmart  MoneyCard  products  are 
reloadable exclusively on the Green Dot Network. In addition to Walmart MoneyCards, we offer our Green Dot-branded 
cards and our GoBank checking account product at Walmart, providing consumers the choice to purchase either Green 
Dot-branded products or Walmart MoneyCard products. Our operating revenues derived from the several products 
and  services  we  offer  through  Walmart  stores  and  other  Walmart  distribution  avenues  in  aggregate  represented 
approximately 37%, 40%, and 45% of our total operating revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, 
and 2016, respectively. 

Seasonality

In  the  industries  for  prepaid  financial  services  and  tax  refund  processing,  companies  commonly  experience 
seasonal fluctuations in revenue. For example, in recent years, our results of operations for the first half of each year 
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 half of those years than they were in 
the  corresponding  second  half  of  those  years. Additionally,  our  tax  refund  processing  services  business  is  highly 
seasonal as it generates the substantial majority of its revenue in the first quarter, and substantially all of its revenue 
in the first half of each calendar year. We expect our revenue to continue to fluctuate based on seasonal factors that 
affect the prepaid financial services and tax refund processing industries as a whole.

Competition

Our core businesses include the offering of several deposit account programs, including prepaid cards of various 
types and for various purposes, demand deposit or "checking" accounts and debit cards, and various types of financial 
technology  and  transaction  processing  services  to  a  wide  range  of  consumers  through  a  broad-based,  national 
distribution platform. We also provide program management and other capabilities to our platform partners utilizing 
our BaaS platform. Consequently, we compete against companies and financial institutions across the retail banking, 
financial services, transaction processing, consumer technology and financial technology services industries and may 
compete with others in the market who may in the future provide offerings similar to ours. Furthermore, many of our 
competitors are entities substantially larger in size, more highly diversified in revenue and substantially more established 
with significantly more broadly known brand awareness than ours.  As such, many of our competitors can leverage 
their size, robust networks, financial wherewithal, brand awareness, pricing power and technological assets to compete 
with us. Additionally, some of our current and potential competitors are subject to fewer regulations and restrictions 
than we are and thus may be able to respond more quickly in the face of regulatory and technological changes.

Our tax refund processing services compete directly with similar processing technologies and settlement capabilities 
offered by companies such as Refundo, Refund Advantage, Republic Bank and others. Furthermore, other entities, 
like  Jackson  Hewitt  and  H&R  Block,  have  either  fully  or  partially  internally-developed  processing  and  settlement 
capabilities to self-provide services similar to ours.  It is possible that our current or potentially new distribution partners 
may seek to develop their own internal capabilities that compete with our tax refund processing services.

We compete primarily on the basis of the following:  

• 

breadth of distribution; 

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• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

speed and quality of innovation; 

reliability of system performance and security; 

scalability of platform services;

quality of service;

compliance and regulatory capabilities;

brand recognition and reputation; and

pricing

We believe our products or platform services compete favorably with respect to these factors.

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark and copyright laws and trade secret protections 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 and GoBank. 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 11 issued patents and 7 patent applications pending. The term of the 
patents we hold is, on average, 20 years. We feel our patents and applications are important to our business and help 
to differentiate our products and services from those of our competitors.

The industries in which we compete are 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 may be unable to adequately protect our brand and 
our intellectual property rights related to our products and services or third parties may allege that we are infringing 
their intellectual property rights.”

Regulation and Supervision

General

Our business is heavily regulated by both federal and state agencies. We and our subsidiaries are subject to 
supervision, regulation and examination by various federal and state regulators, including the Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), the Utah Department of Financial Institutions (the “Utah DFI”) 
and  various  other  state  regulatory  agencies. The  statutory  and  regulatory  framework  that  governs  us  is  generally 
intended to protect depositors and customers, the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”), the U.S. banking and financial 
system, and financial markets as a whole.

Banking statutes, regulations and policies are continually under review by Congress, state legislatures and federal 
and state regulatory agencies. In addition to laws and regulations, federal and state bank regulatory agencies may 
issue policy statements, interpretive letters and similar written guidance applicable to Green Dot Corporation and its 
subsidiaries. Any change in the statutes, regulations or regulatory policies applicable to us, including changes in their 
interpretation or implementation, could have a material effect on our business.

Both the scope of the laws and regulations and the intensity of the supervision to which BHCs such as Green Dot 
Corporation are subject increased in response to the global financial crisis of 2008, as well as other factors such as 
technological and market changes. Regulatory enforcement and fines have also increased across the banking and 
financial  services  sector.  Many  of  these  changes  occurred  as  a  result  of  the  Dodd-Frank  Wall  Street  Reform  and 
Consumer Protect Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and its implementing regulations, most of which are now in place. While 
the regulatory environment has entered a period of tailoring and rebalancing of the post financial crisis framework, we 
expect that our business will remain subject to extensive regulation and supervision.

We are also subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and 
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, both as administered by the SEC, as well as the rules of the New 
York Stock Exchange that apply to companies with securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

5

The following discussion describes certain elements of the comprehensive regulatory framework applicable to us. 
This discussion is not intended to describe all laws and regulations applicable to Green Dot Corporation, Green Dot 
Bank and our other subsidiaries. Any changes in applicable laws, regulations or the interpretations thereof could have 
a material adverse effect on our business.

Regulatory Agencies

In  2011  we  completed  our  acquisition  of  Bonneville  Bancorp  and  became  a  bank  holding  company  (“BHC”) 
registered with the Federal Reserve under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (“BHC Act”).  As a BHC, Green Dot 
Corporation is subject to the requirements of the BHC Act as well as supervision, regulation and examination by the 
Federal Reserve, which serves as the primary federal banking regulator of our consolidated organization.

As an FDIC-insured commercial bank that is chartered under the laws of Utah and a member of the Federal Reserve 
System, Green Dot Bank and its subsidiaries are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal 
Reserve and the Utah DFI.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has broad rulemaking authority over a wide range of federal 
consumer protection laws applicable to the business of Green Dot Bank. Because Green Dot Bank currently has less 
than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, Green Dot Bank is subject to regulations adopted by the CFPB, but the 
Federal Reserve is primarily responsible for examining Green Dot Bank’s compliance with federal consumer financial 
laws  and  those  CFPB  regulations. The  Utah  DFI  is  responsible  for  examining  and  supervising  Green  Dot  Bank’s 
compliance with state consumer protection laws and regulations.

Permissible Activities for Green Dot Corporation as a Financial Holding Company

In general, the BHC Act limits the business of BHCs to banking, managing or controlling banks and other activities 
that the Federal Reserve has determined to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto. Under 
the BHC Act, BHCs that have qualified and elected to be treated as a financial holding company (“FHC”) generally 
may engage in a broader range of additional activities that are (i) financial in nature or incidental to such financial 
activities or (ii) complementary to a financial activity and do not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of 
depository institutions or the financial system generally. A BHC qualifies to become an FHC if it and its subsidiary 
depository institutions are “well capitalized” and “well managed” and its subsidiary depository institutions have a rating 
under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) of at least “Satisfactory” at their most recent examination. We have 
qualified and elected to be an FHC under the BHC Act, although all the activities we currently conduct are permissible 
for a BHC.

If at any time we or Green Dot Bank fail to be “well capitalized” or “well managed,” the Federal Reserve may impose 
limitations or conditions on the conduct of our activities and we may not commence, or acquire any shares of a company 
engaged in, any activities only permissible for an FHC, without prior Federal Reserve approval. The restriction on our 
ability to commence, or acquire any shares of a company engaged in, any activities only permissible for an FHC, 
without prior Federal Reserve approval would also generally apply if Green Dot Bank received a CRA rating of less 
than “Satisfactory.”

In connection with our acquisition of Bonneville Bancorp in 2011 and our subsequent acquisition of certain assets 
and certain deposit liabilities of GE Capital Retail Bank in 2013, we submitted business plans to the Federal Reserve. 
Under commitments made to the Federal Reserve and the Utah DFI, we must obtain prior approval from the Federal 
Reserve  for  any  major  deviation  or  material  change  from  the  business  plan  we  submitted  in  2013. Accordingly, 
commitments made in connection with our business plan may limit our activities.

Permissible Activities for Banks

The activities of Green Dot Bank are limited to those specifically authorized under Utah banking laws and Utah 

DFI regulations and permissible under applicable federal law and Federal Reserve regulations.

Supervision, Examination and Enforcement

Bank regulators regularly examine the operations of BHCs and banks. Examination results are confidential and 
generally may not be disclosed. In addition, BHCs and banks are subject to periodic reporting and filing requirements. 
The Federal Reserve and Utah DFI have broad supervisory and enforcement authority with regard to BHCs and banks, 
including the power to conduct examinations and investigations, impose nonpublic supervisory agreements, issue 
cease and desist orders, impose fines and other civil and criminal penalties, terminate deposit insurance and appoint 
a conservator or receiver.

Bank regulators have various remedies available if they determine that the financial condition, capital resources, 
asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity or other aspects of a banking organization’s operations are 

6

unsatisfactory. The regulators may also take action if they determine that the banking organization or its management 
is violating or has violated any law or regulation. The regulators have the power to, among other things, prohibit unsafe 
or unsound practices, require affirmative actions to correct any violation or practice, issue administrative orders that 
can be judicially enforced, direct increases in capital, direct the sale of subsidiaries or other assets, limit dividends and 
distributions, restrict growth, assess civil monetary penalties, remove officers and directors, and terminate deposit 
insurance.

Engaging in unsafe or unsound practices or failing to comply with applicable laws, regulations and supervisory 
agreements could subject Green Dot Corporation, its subsidiaries, including Green Dot Bank, and their respective 
officers, directors and institution-affiliated parties to the remedies described above and other sanctions. In addition, 
the FDIC may terminate a bank’s deposit insurance upon a finding that the bank’s financial condition is unsafe or 
unsound or that the bank has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices or has violated an applicable rule, regulation, 
order or condition enacted or imposed by the bank’s regulatory agency.

Bank and BHC Acquisitions and Mergers

The BHC Act, the Bank Merger Act, Utah’s Financial Institutions Act and other federal and state statutes regulate 
acquisitions of banks and other FDIC-insured depository institutions. Green Dot Corporation must obtain the prior 
approval of the Federal Reserve before (i) acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any 
bank or BHC, if after such acquisition, it will directly or indirectly own or control 5% or more of any class of voting shares 
of the institution, (ii) acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of any bank (other than directly through Green Dot 
Bank) or (iii) merging or consolidating with any other BHC. Under the Bank Merger Act, the prior approval of the Federal 
Reserve is required for Green Dot Bank to merge with another bank or purchase all or substantially all of the assets 
or assume any of the deposits of another FDIC-insured depository institution. In reviewing applications seeking approval 
of merger and acquisition transactions, bank regulators consider, among other things, the competitive effect and public 
benefits of the transactions, the capital position and managerial resources of the combined organization, the risks to 
the stability of the U.S. banking or financial system, the applicant's performance record under the CRA, the applicant's 
compliance with fair housing and other consumer protection laws and the effectiveness of all organizations involved 
in combating money laundering activities. In addition, failure to implement or maintain adequate compliance programs 
could  cause  bank  regulators  not  to  approve  an  acquisition  where  regulatory  approval  is  required  or  to  prohibit  an 
acquisition even if approval is not required.

Acquisitions of Ownership of Green Dot Corporation

The ability of a third party to acquire our stock is also limited under applicable U.S. banking laws, including regulatory 

approval requirements.

Federal  Banking  Law.  The  BHC Act  requires  any  BHC  to  obtain  the  approval  of  the  Federal  Reserve  before 
acquiring, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of our outstanding common stock. Any “company,” as defined in the BHC 
Act, other than a BHC is required to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve before acquiring "control" of us. "Control" 
generally means (i) the ownership or control of 25% or more of a class of voting securities, (ii) the ability to elect a 
majority of the directors or (iii) the ability otherwise to exercise a controlling influence over management and policies. 
An entity that controls us for purposes of the BHC Act is subject to regulation and supervision as a BHC under the 
BHC Act. In addition, under the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978, as amended (the “CIBC Act”), and the Federal 
Reserve’s  regulations  thereunder,  any  person,  either  individually  or  acting  through  or  in  concert  with  one  or  more 
persons, is required to provide notice to the Federal Reserve prior to acquiring control, directly or indirectly, of a BHC 
such as Green Dot Corporation. For purposes of the CIBC Act, a rebuttable presumption of control applies to acquisitions 
of more than 10% of any class of a BHC’s voting stock under certain circumstances including if, as is the case with 
Green Dot Corporation, the issuer has registered securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Utah Change in Control Restrictions. Utah’s Financial Institutions Act generally requires prior approval of the Utah 
DFI  before  a  person  or  entity  may  acquire,  directly  or  indirectly,  control  of  a  depository  institution  or  a  depository 
institution holding company subject to its jurisdiction. The Utah DFI defines control to include, among other things, the 
power, directly or indirectly, or through or in concert with one or more persons, to vote more than 10% of any class of 
voting securities by a person other than an individual or to vote 20% or more of any class of voting securities by an 
individual.

Capital and Liquidity Requirements

In General. The U.S. banking agencies have adopted regulatory capital rules to implement the Basel III regulatory 
capital framework developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and related provisions in the Dodd-
Frank Act (“U.S. Basel III Rules”).  Under the U.S. Basel III Rules, Green Dot Corporation and Green Dot Bank are 
required to maintain minimum risk-based and leverage capital ratios.  Green Dot Corporation and Green Dot Bank 

7

must also maintain a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% to avoid becoming subject to restrictions on capital distributions 
and certain discretionary bonus payments to management. For a discussion of applicable regulatory minimum and 
well-capitalized minimum capital ratios, as well as a description of relevant definitions related to capital amounts and 
ratios,  see  “Management's  Discussion  and  Analysis  of  Financial  Condition  and  Results  of  Operations--Capital 
Requirements for Bank Holding Companies” and Note 22 — Regulatory Requirements to the Consolidated Financial 
Statements included herein, which are incorporated by reference in this Item 1. 

The Federal Reserve may require BHCs, including us, to maintain capital substantially in excess of mandated 
minimum levels, depending upon general economic conditions and a BHC’s particular condition, risk profile and growth 
plans. The Federal Reserve may also require BHCs or their subsidiaries to make other capital or liquidity commitments. 
For example, in addition the above generally applicable requirements, Green Dot Bank is subject to commitments that 
it and Green Dot Corporation have made to the Federal Reserve and the Utah DFI. These commitments require Green 
Dot Bank to maintain cash and/or cash equivalents in an amount equal to no less than 100 percent of insured deposits 
generated by Green Dot Bank related to GPR cards.

Failure to be well-capitalized, to meet minimum capital requirements or to comply with the other commitments to 
which we and Green Dot Bank are subject could result in certain mandatory and possible additional discretionary 
actions by regulators, including restrictions on our and Green Dot Bank’s ability to pay dividends or otherwise distribute 
capital or to receive regulatory approval of applications, or other restrictions on growth.

As of December 31, 2018, our and Green Dot Bank’s regulatory capital ratios were above the well-capitalized 
standards and met the then-applicable capital conservation buffer. Based on current estimates, we believe that Green 
Dot  Corporation  and  Green  Dot  Bank  will  continue  to  exceed  all  applicable  well-capitalized  regulatory  capital 
requirements and the capital conservation buffer, on a fully phased-in basis.

FDICIA and Prompt Corrective Action

The  Federal  Deposit  Insurance  Corporation  Improvement  Act  of  1991  (“FDICIA”)  requires  the  federal  bank 
regulatory agencies to take “prompt corrective action” in respect of FDIC-insured depository institutions that do not 
meet certain capital adequacy standards. FDICIA establishes five capital categories ("well-capitalized", "adequately 
capitalized",  "undercapitalized",  "significantly  undercapitalized"  and  "critically  undercapitalized"),  with  a  depository 
institution’s  categorization  for  purposes  of  the  prompt  corrective  action  provisions  depending  upon  its  level  of 
capitalization and certain other factors. An institution that fails to remain well-capitalized becomes subject to a series 
of restrictions that increase in severity as its capital condition weakens. Such restrictions may include a prohibition on 
capital  distributions,  restrictions  on  asset  growth  or  restrictions  on  the  ability  to  receive  regulatory  approval  of 
applications.  FDICIA  also  provides  for  enhanced  supervisory  authority  over  undercapitalized  institutions,  including 
authority for the appointment of a conservator or receiver for the institution. In certain instances, a BHC may be required 
to guarantee the performance of an undercapitalized subsidiary bank’s capital restoration plan.

Brokered Deposits

As discussed above under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors,” current FDIC guidance classifies the majority of Green 
Dot Bank’s deposits as brokered. Under FDIC regulations, only banks that are well-capitalized may accept brokered 
deposits without restriction. A bank that is adequately capitalized may not accept, renew or roll over any brokered 
deposit unless it has been granted a waiver by the FDIC. If such waiver is granted, the bank may not pay an interest 
rate on any deposit in excess of 75 basis points over certain prevailing market rates. Undercapitalized banks may not 
accept, renew or roll over any brokered deposits. Because a majority of Green Dot Bank’s deposits are brokered 
deposits,  failure  by  Green  Dot  Bank  to  remain  well-capitalized  could  negatively  affect  our  operations  or  financial 
condition.

In December 2018, the FDIC released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on its 
regulatory approach to brokered deposits and the interest rate caps that apply to banks that are not well-capitalized 
(“Brokered Deposit ANPR”). The Brokered Deposit ANPR is part of the FDIC’s comprehensive review of its brokered 
deposit  and  interest  rate  regulations  in  light  of  significant  changes  in  technology,  business  models,  the  economic 
environment, and products since those regulations were initially adopted. We cannot predict whether the Brokered 
Deposit ANPR will result in any changes to the FDIC’s brokered deposit regulations or what the effects of any changes 
will be.

Safety and Soundness Guidelines

The federal banking agencies have adopted guidelines prescribing safety and soundness standards relating to 
internal  controls,  risk  management,  information  systems,  internal  audit  systems,  loan  documentation,  credit 
underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth and compensation, fees and benefits. These guidelines in general 
require appropriate systems and practices to identify and manage specified risks and exposures. The guidelines also 
8

prohibit excessive compensation as an unsafe and unsound practice and characterize compensation as excessive 
when the amounts paid are unreasonable or disproportionate to the services performed by an executive officer or 
employee, director or principal shareholder. In addition, the agencies have adopted regulations that authorize but do 
not require an agency to order an institution that has been given notice by the agency that it is not in compliance with 
any of the safety and soundness standards to submit a compliance plan. If after being so notified, an institution fails 
to submit an acceptable compliance plan, the agency must issue an order directing action to correct the deficiency 
and may issue an order directing other actions of the types, including those that may limit growth or capital distributions. 
If  an  institution  fails  to  comply  with  such  an  order,  the  bank  regulator  may  seek  to  enforce  such  order  in  judicial 
proceedings and to impose civil money penalties.

Dividend and Share Repurchase Restrictions

Green Dot Corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from Green Dot Bank and its other subsidiaries. There 
are limitations on the payment of dividends by Green Dot Bank to Green Dot Corporation, as well as by Green Dot 
Corporation to its shareholders, under applicable banking laws and regulations. In addition, under the U.S. Basel III 
Rules we must obtain prior approval from the Federal Reserve before we may redeem or repurchase our common 
stock.

Federal  banking  regulators  are  authorized  to  determine,  under  certain  circumstances  relating  to  the  financial 
condition of a BHC or a bank, that the payment of dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice and to prohibit 
payment thereof. In particular, federal banking regulators have stated that paying dividends that deplete a banking 
organization's capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice and that banking 
organizations should generally pay dividends only out of current operating earnings.

Under Utah’s Financial Institutions Act, Utah-chartered commercial banks, such as Green Dot Bank, may, subject 
to certain conditions, declare and pay dividends out of their net profits, after providing for all expenses, losses, interest, 
and taxes accrued or due from the bank.

Green Dot Corporation and Green Dot Bank must maintain the applicable capital conservation buffer to avoid 
becoming  subject  to  restrictions  on  capital  distributions,  including  dividends  and  share  repurchases.  The  capital 
conservation buffer is currently at its fully phased-in level of 2.5%. 

In  addition,  Federal  Reserve  policy  provides  that  BHC,  such  as  Green  Dot  Corporation,  should  generally  pay 
dividends to shareholders only if (i) the organization’s net income available to common shareholders over the past 
year has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends; (ii) the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent 
with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition and (iii) the organization will continue 
to meet minimum capital adequacy ratios. The policy also provides that a BHC should inform the Federal Reserve 
reasonably in advance of declaring or paying a dividend that exceeds earnings for the period for which the dividend 
is being paid or that could result in a material adverse change to the BHC’s capital structure. BHCs also are required 
to consult with the Federal Reserve before materially increasing dividends and must receive approval before redeeming 
or repurchasing capital instruments. In addition, the Federal Reserve could prohibit or limit the payment of dividends 
by a BHC if it determines that payment of the dividend would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice.

Source of Strength

Green Dot Corporation is required to serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to Green Dot Bank 
and, under appropriate conditions, to commit resources to support Green Dot Bank. This support may be required by 
the Federal Reserve at times when we might otherwise determine not to provide it or when doing so is not otherwise 
in the interests of Green Dot Corporation or our shareholders or creditors. The Federal Reserve may require a BHC 
to make capital injections into a troubled subsidiary bank and may charge the BHC with engaging in unsafe and unsound 
practices if the BHC fails to commit resources to such a subsidiary bank or if it undertakes actions that the Federal 
Reserve believes might jeopardize the BHC’s ability to commit resources to such subsidiary bank.

Under these requirements, Green Dot Corporation may in the future be required to provide financial assistance to 
Green Dot Bank should it experience financial distress. Capital loans by Green Dot Corporation to Green Dot Bank, if 
any, would be subordinate in right of payment to deposits and certain other debts of Green Dot Bank. In the event of 
Green Dot Corporation’s bankruptcy, any commitment by Green Dot Corporation to a federal banking regulator to 
maintain the capital of Green Dot Bank would be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to a priority of payment.

Receivership or Conservatorship of Green Dot Bank

Upon the insolvency of an insured depository institution, such as Green Dot Bank, the FDIC may be appointed as 
the conservator or receiver of the institution. Acting as a conservator or receiver, the FDIC would have broad powers 
to transfer any assets or liabilities of the institution without the approval of the institution’s creditors or shareholders.

9

Separately, the Commissioner of the Utah DFI also has the authority to take possession of or appoint a receiver 
or liquidator of any Utah state-chartered bank, such as Green Dot Bank, under specified circumstances, including 
where the bank (i) is not in a safe and sound condition to transact its business, (ii) has failed to maintain an adequate 
level of capital or (iii) is conducting its business in an unauthorized or unsafe manner.

Depositor Preference

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act provides that, in the event of the liquidation or other resolution of an insured 
depository institution, including Green Dot Bank, the claims of depositors of the institution (including the claims of the 
FDIC as subrogee of insured depositors) and certain claims for administrative expenses of the FDIC as a receiver 
would have priority over other general unsecured claims against the institution. If Green Dot Bank were to fail, insured 
and  uninsured  depositors,  along  with  the  FDIC,  would  have  priority  in  payment  ahead  of  unsecured,  non-deposit 
creditors, including Green Dot Bank if it were a creditor at that time, with respect to any extensions of credit they have 
made to such insured depository institution.

Transactions between a Bank and its Affiliates

Federal  banking  laws  and  regulations  impose  qualitative  standards  and  quantitative  limitations  upon  certain 
transactions between a bank, such as Green Dot Bank, and its affiliates, including between a bank and its holding 
company  and  companies  that  control  the  BHC  or  that  the  BHC  may  be  deemed  to  control  for  these  purposes. 
Transactions covered by these provisions must be on terms that are at least as favorable to the bank as those that it 
could obtain in a comparable transaction with a non-affiliate, and cannot exceed certain amounts that are determined 
with reference to the bank’s regulatory capital. Moreover, if the transaction is a loan or other extension of credit, it must 
be secured by collateral in an amount and quality expressly prescribed by statute, and if the affiliate is unable to pledge 
sufficient collateral, the BHC may be required to provide it.

Federal banking laws also place similar restrictions on loans and other extensions of credit by FDIC-insured banks, 
such as Green Dot Bank, and their subsidiaries to their directors, executive officers and principal shareholders, as well 
as to entities controlled by such persons. 

Community Reinvestment Act

Under  the  CRA,  an  insured  depository  institution,  such  as  Green  Dot  Bank,  has  a  continuing  and  affirmative 
obligation to help meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate-income neighborhoods. 
The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for insured depository institutions, nor does it 
limit an insured depository institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best 
suited to its particular community, consistent with the CRA. However, insured depository institutions are rated on their 
performance in meeting the needs of their communities.

The CRA requires the appropriate federal banking agency to take an insured depository institution’s CRA record 
into account when evaluating certain applications by the insured depository institution or its holding company, including 
applications for charters, branches and other deposit facilities, relocations, mergers, consolidations, acquisitions of 
assets  or  assumptions  of  liabilities,  and  bank  and  savings  association  acquisitions.  An  unsatisfactory  record  of 
performance may be the basis for denying or conditioning approval of an application by an insured depository institution 
or its holding company. The CRA also requires that all institutions publicly disclose their CRA ratings.

Green Dot Bank’s CRA compliance is currently evaluated under a CRA strategic plan. Green Dot Bank’s strategic 
plan for 2018 through 2020 focuses on supporting the credit needs of its defined assessment area primarily through 
direct community development lending, small business lending, and investments and services in Green Dot Bank’s 
designated Metropolitan Statistical Area of Utah and Juab Counties and the state of Utah.

Leaders of the federal banking agencies recently have indicated their support for revising the CRA regulatory 
framework, and on August 28, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking to solicit ideas for building a new CRA framework. We cannot predict whether any changes will be made 
to applicable CRA requirements.

Insurance of Deposit Accounts

The deposits of Green Dot Bank are insured by the DIF up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount 
of $250,000 per depositor. Green Dot Bank is subject to deposit insurance assessments based on the risk it poses to 
the DIF, as determined by the capital category and supervisory category to which it is assigned. Brokered deposits are 
subject to an assessment rate adjustment of up to 10 basis points, and therefore are generally assessed at a higher 
rate. The FDIC has authority to raise or lower assessment rates on insured deposits in order to achieve statutorily 
required reserve ratios in the DIF and to impose special additional assessments. There is a risk that Green Dot Bank’s 
deposit insurance premiums will increase if failures of insured depository institutions deplete the DIF or if the FDIC 
10

changes its view of the risk Green Dot Bank poses to the DIF or increases the assessment rate adjustment applicable 
to Green Dot Bank’s brokered deposits.

Relationships with Third-Party Issuing Banks

While Green Dot Bank acts as our banking partner for most of our products and services, we offer some products 
and services through arrangements with federally- or state-chartered third-party banks. We are subject to contractual 
requirements with those banks and are indirectly subject to the oversight of our banking partners’ regulators with respect 
to the laws and regulations that apply to each such product or service. These types of third-party relationships are 
subject to increasingly demanding regulatory requirements and attention by federal banking regulators. Regulatory 
guidance requires financial institutions to enhance their due diligence, ongoing monitoring and control over their third 
party vendors and other ongoing third party business relationships.

As a result, our relationships with third-party banks may require us to undertake compliance actions similar to 

those that we or Green Dot Bank must perform for the products and services issued by Green Dot Bank.

Anti-Money Laundering Rules

The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and other laws and regulations require financial 
institutions, among other duties, to institute and maintain an effective anti-money laundering (“AML”) program and file 
suspicious activity and currency transaction reports when appropriate. Among other things, these laws and regulations 
require Green Dot Corporation and Green Dot Bank to take steps to prevent the use of Green Dot Bank to facilitate 
the flow of illegal or illicit money, to report large currency transactions and to file suspicious activity reports. We also 
are  required  to  develop  and  implement  a  comprehensive AML  compliance  program  and  must  also  have  in  place 
appropriate “know your customer” policies and procedures. We have adopted policies and procedures to comply with 
these requirements.

The  bank  regulatory  agencies  have  increased  the  regulatory  scrutiny  of  the  BSA  and  anti-money  laundering 
programs maintained by financial institutions. Significant penalties and fines, as well as other supervisory orders may 
be imposed on a financial institution for non-compliance with BSA/AML requirements. 

Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulation

OFAC  is  responsible  for  administering  economic  sanctions  that  affect  transactions  with  designated  foreign 
countries, nationals and others, as defined by various Executive Orders and Acts of Congress. OFAC-administered 
sanctions take many different forms. OFAC also publishes lists of persons, organizations and countries suspected of 
aiding, harboring or engaging in terrorist acts, known as Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. Blocked 
assets (e.g., property and bank deposits) cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off or transferred in any manner without 
a license from OFAC. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences.

Privacy and Data Security Laws

Green  Dot  Bank  is  subject  to  a  variety  of  federal  and  state  privacy  and  data  security  laws,  which  govern  the 
collection, safeguarding, sharing and use of customer information, and require that financial institutions have in place 
policies regarding information privacy and security. For example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (“GLBA”) requires 
all financial institutions offering financial products or services to retail customers to provide such customers with the 
financial institution’s privacy policy and practices for sharing nonpublic information with third parties, provide advance 
notice of any changes to the policies and provide such customers the opportunity to “opt out” of the sharing of certain 
personal financial information with unaffiliated third parties. It also requires banks to safeguard personal information 
of consumer customers.

Some state laws also protect the privacy of information of state residents and require adequate security for such 
data, and certain state laws may, in some circumstances, require Green Dot Bank to notify affected individuals of 
security breaches of computer databases that contain their personal information. These laws may also require Green 
Dot Bank to notify law enforcement, regulators or consumer reporting agencies in the event of a data breach, as well 
as businesses and governmental agencies that own data.

Data privacy and data security are areas of increasing state legislative focus. For example, in June of 2018, the 
Governor  of  California  signed  into  law  the  California  Consumer  Privacy Act  of  2018  (“CCPA”).  The  CCPA,  which 
becomes effective on January 1, 2020, applies to for-profit businesses that conduct business in California and meet 
certain revenue or data collection thresholds. The CCPA will give consumers the right to request disclosure of information 
collected about them, and whether that information has been sold or shared with others, the right to request deletion 
of personal information (subject to certain exceptions), the right to opt out of the sale of the consumer’s personal 
information  and  the  right  not  to  be  discriminated  against  for  exercising  these  rights.  The  CCPA  contains  several 
exemptions, including an exemption applicable to information that is collected, processed, sold or disclosed pursuant 
11

to the GLBA. The California Attorney General has not yet proposed or adopted regulations implementing the CCPA, 
and the California State Legislature has amended the Act since its passage. Because we have a physical footprint in 
California, we will be required to comply with the CCPA. The impact of the CCPA on our business is yet to be determined. 
In addition, laws similar to the CCPA may be adopted by other states where we do business and the federal government 
may also pass data privacy or data security legislation.

Like  other  lenders,  Green  Dot  Bank  and  other  of  our  subsidiaries  use  credit  bureau  data  in  their  underwriting 
activities. Use of such data is regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), and the FCRA also regulates 
reporting  information  to  credit  bureaus,  prescreening  individuals  for  credit  offers,  sharing  of  information  between 
affiliates and using affiliate data for marketing purposes. Similar state laws may impose additional requirements on 
Green Dot Corporation and Green Dot Bank.

Consumer Protection Laws

The CFPB has broad rulemaking authority over a wide range of federal consumer protection laws that apply to 
banks and other providers of financial products and services, including the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or 
abusive” acts and practices. For example, our deposit operations are subject to the following federal laws, among 
others:

• 

the Truth in Savings Act and Regulation DD issued by the CFPB, which require disclosure of deposit terms to 
consumers;

•  Regulation CC issued by the Federal Reserve, which relates to the availability of deposit funds to consumers;

• 

• 

the Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain the confidentiality of consumer financial 
records and prescribes procedures for complying with administrative subpoenas of financial records; and

the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E issued by the CFPB, which govern automatic deposits to 
and withdrawals from deposit accounts and customers’ rights and liabilities arising from the use of automated 
teller machines and other electronic banking services.

The CFPB has also adopted amendments to Regulation E and Regulation Z to add protections for prepaid accounts 
(“CFPB Prepaid Rule”). The CFPB Prepaid Rule includes requirements related to treatment of funds on lost or stolen 
cards, error resolution and investigation, upfront fee disclosures, access to account information, and overdraft features 
if offered in conjunction with prepaid accounts. The CFPB Prepaid Rule becomes effective April 1, 2019.

Because  it  has  less  than  $10  billion  in  total  consolidated  assets,  the  Federal  Reserve,  and  not  the  CFPB,  is 
responsible  for  examining  and  supervising  Green  Dot  Bank’s  compliance  with  these  and  other  federal  consumer 
financial laws and regulations. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes state attorneys general and state regulators 
to enforce consumer protection rules issued by the CFPB. State authorities have recently increased their focus on and 
enforcement of consumer protection rules.

Money Transmission Licensing and Regulation

Regulations promulgated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury 
(“FinCEN”) require certain persons to register at the federal level as a money services business (“MSB”) and comply 
with anti-money laundering laws and regulations. In addition, most U.S. states require licenses for persons engaged 
in the business of money transmission. These U.S. state licensing laws may subject money transmitters to periodic 
examinations and may require them and their agents to comply with federal and/or state anti-money laundering laws 
and regulations.

We have registered with FinCEN as an MSB and have obtained licenses to operate as a money transmitter in all 

U.S. jurisdictions in which such a license is required for us to conduct our business.

Payment Networks

In order to provide our products and services, we, as well as Green Dot Bank, are contracted members with Visa 
and MasterCard. Therefore, we and Green Dot Bank are subject to Visa and MasterCard’s respective payment network 
rules and standards. These rules and standards implicate a variety of our activities and services, including by imposing 
data security obligations, allocating liability for certain acts or omissions (including liability in the event of a data breach) 
and  providing  rules  governing  how  consumers  and  merchants  may  use  their  cards.  Payment  networks  may,  and 
routinely do, modify these rules and standards as they determine in their sole discretion and with or without advance 
notice to us. These modifications may impose additional costs and expenses on, or may otherwise be disadvantageous 
to, our business. In addition, we are subject to audit by various payment networks. The payment networks may fine or 
penalize us or suspend our registration if those audits find that we have failed to comply with applicable rules and 
standards.

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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 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.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately 1,100 employees globally. 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. 

Other Information

We were incorporated in Delaware in 1999 and became a bank holding company under the BHC Act and a member 

bank of the Federal Reserve System in December 2011. 

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 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.

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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:

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the timing and volume of purchases and use of our products and services;

the timing and volume of tax refunds processed by us, including the impact of any general delays in tax refund 
disbursements from the U.S. and State Treasuries;

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;

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

fluctuations in customer retention rates;

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 BaaS platform partners;

the timing of commencement of new product development and initiatives, the timing of costs of existing product 
roll-outs and the length of time we must invest in those new products, channels or retail distributors before 
they generate material operating revenues;

our ability to effectively sell our products through direct-to-consumer initiatives;

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

costs associated with significant changes in our risk policies and controls;

the amount and timing of costs related to fraud losses;

the  amount  and  timing  of  commencement  and  termination  of  major  advertising  campaigns,  including 
sponsorships;

the amount and timing of costs related to the acquisition of complementary businesses;

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

disruptions in the performance of our products and services, including interruptions in the services we 

provide to other businesses, and the associated financial impact thereof;

the amount and timing of capital expenditures and operating costs related to the maintenance and expansion 
of our business, operations and infrastructure;

continued low interest rate environment or interest rate volatility;

accounting charges related to impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets;

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; and

changes in the political or regulatory environment affecting the banking, electronic payments or tax refund 
processing industries.

14

The loss of operating revenues from Walmart or any of our largest retail distributors would adversely affect 

our business.

A significant portion of our operating revenues are derived from the products and 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 was approximately 37% for the year ended December 31, 2018. We expect that 
Walmart will continue to have a significant impact on our operating revenues in future periods, particularly in our Account 
Services  segment.  It  would  be  difficult  to  replace  Walmart  and  the  operating  revenues  derived  from  products  and 
services sold at their stores. Accordingly, the loss of Walmart would have a material adverse effect on our business 
and results of operations. 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. 

The term of our Walmart Money Card agreement (which governs the MoneyCard program) expires on May 1, 
2020, unless renewed under its automatic renewal provision which provides for a two-year extension. Our contracts 
with our three other largest retail distributors have terms that expire at various dates through 2021. Our contracts with 
Walmart and our three other largest retail distributors 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, and 
our inability or unwillingness to agree to requested pricing changes, be terminated by these retail distributors on relatively 
short  notice.  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 results of operations could suffer if, among other 
things, any of our retail distributors 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 base of tax preparation partners is concentrated and the performance of our Processing and Settlement 

Services segment depends in part on our ability to retain existing partners. 

If one or more of our major tax preparation partners were to substantially reduce or stop offering our services to 
their customers, our tax refund processing services business, a component of our Processing and Settlement Services 
segment, results of operations and financial condition would be harmed. Substantially all the revenues we generate 
from  our  tax  refund  processing  services  business  have  come  from  sales  through  a  relatively  small  number  of  tax 
preparation firms.  We do not have long-term contractual commitments from any of our current tax preparation partners 
and our tax preparation partners may elect to not renew their contracts with us with little or no advance notice. As a 
result, we cannot be assured that any of our current tax preparation partners will continue to partner with us past the 
terms in their current agreements. A termination of our relationships with certain tax preparation partners that provide 
commercial tax preparation software would result in lost revenue and the loss of the ability to secure future relationships 
with new or existing tax preparation firms that use such tax software.

Our future success depends upon the active and effective promotion of our products and services by retail 
distributors and tax preparation partners, 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. 
In addition, a large portion of our Processing and Settlement Services revenues are dependent on tax preparation 
partners as the revenues we generate from our tax refund processing services are largely derived from products and 
services sold through retail tax preparation businesses and income tax software providers. Revenues from our retail 
distributors and tax preparation partners depend on a number of factors outside our control and may vary from period 
to period. Because we compete with many other providers of products and services, including competing prepaid cards 
and tax refund processing services, for placement and promotion of products in the stores of our retail distributors or 
in conjunction with the delivery of tax preparation services by our tax preparation providers, our success depends on 
our  retail  distributors  and  tax  preparation  partners  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 and services; they could give higher priority to the products and services of 
other companies for a variety of reasons.  Accordingly, losing the support of our retail distributors and tax preparation 
partners might limit or reduce the sales of our products and services. Our operating revenues and operating expenses 
may also be negatively affected by operational decisions by our retail distributors and tax preparation partners. For 
example, 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 and we may incur additional 
merchandising costs to ensure our products are appropriately stocked. Similarly, for a variety of reasons, many of our 
tax preparation partners that provide commercial income tax preparation software offer their customers several types 
for tax refund processing services, including those of our competitors. Even if our retail distributors and tax preparation 

15

partners 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.

We make significant investments in 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 
investments in research, development, and marketing for new products and services. 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.

Future revenue growth depends on our ability to retain and attract new long-term users of our products.

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

Seasonal fluctuations in the use of our products and services impact our results of operations and cash 

flows.

Our results of operations and cash flows vary from quarter to quarter, and periodically decline, due to the seasonal 
nature of the use of our products and services. For example, our results of operations for the first half of each year 
have been favorably affected by large numbers of taxpayers electing to receive their tax refunds via direct deposit on 
our accounts, which caused our operating revenues to be typically higher in the first half of those years than they were 
in the corresponding second half of those years. Our tax refund processing services business is also highly seasonal 
as it generates the substantial majority of its revenue in the first quarter, and substantially all of its revenue in the first 
half of each calendar year. To the extent that seasonal fluctuations become more pronounced, or are not offset by 
other factors, our results of operations and cash flows from operating activities could fluctuate materially from period 
to period.  

The industries in which we compete are highly competitive, which could adversely affect our results of 

operations.

The  industries  in  which  we  compete  are  highly  competitive  and  subject  to  rapid  and  significant  changes.  We 
compete  against  companies  and  financial  institutions  across  the  retail  banking,  financial  services,  transaction 
processing, consumer technology and financial technology services industries and may compete with others in the 
market  who  may  in  the  future  provide  offerings  similar  to  ours,  particularly  vendors  who  may  provide  program 
management and other services though a platform similar to our BaaS platform. These and other competitors in the 
banking and electronic payments industries are introducing innovative products and services that may compete with 
ours. We expect that this competition will continue as banking and electronic payments industries continue to evolve, 
particularly if non-traditional payments processors and other parties gain greater market share in these industries. If 
we are unable to differentiate our products and platform from and successfully compete with those of our competitors, 
our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

Many existing and potential competitors are entities substantially larger in size, more highly diversified in revenue 
and substantially more established with significantly more broadly known brand awareness than ours.  As such, many 
of our competitors can leverage their size, robust networks, financial wherewithal, brand awareness, pricing power 
and technological assets to compete with us. Additionally, some of our current and potential competitors are subject 
to fewer regulations and restrictions than we are and thus may be able to respond more quickly in the face of regulatory 
and technological changes. We could also experience increased price competition as a result of new entrants offering 
free or low-cost alternatives to our products and services. If this happens, we expect that the purchase and use of our 
products and services would decline. If price competition materially intensifies, we may have to increase the incentives 

16

that we offer to our retail distributors and our tax preparation partners and decrease the prices of our products and 
services, any of which would likely adversely affect our results of operations.

Our long-term success depends on our ability to compete effectively against existing and potential competitors 
that seek to provide banking and electronic payment products and services or tax refund processing services. If we 
fail to compete effectively against these competitors, our revenues, results of operations, prospects for future growth 
and overall business could be materially and adversely affected.

Our business is dependent on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of computer network systems and 
data centers, including third party systems, and any disruption in the operations of these systems and data 
centers could materially and adversely affect our business.

Our ability to provide reliable service to customers 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 the movement of large sums of money, 
processing of large numbers of transactions and management of the data necessary to do both. Our success in our 
account programs, including our BaaS programs, as well as our processing and settlement services, depends upon 
the efficient and error-free handling of the money that is collected, remitted or deposited in connection with the provision 
of our products and services. We rely on the ability of our employees, systems and processes and those of the banks 
that issue our cards, our retail distributors, tax refund preparation partners, other business partners and third-party 
processors to process and facilitate these transactions in an efficient, uninterrupted and error-free manner. Their failure 
to do so could materially and adversely impact our operating revenues and results of operations, particularly during 
the tax season, when we derive substantially all of operating revenues for our tax refund processing services and a 
significant portion of our other operating revenues.

Our systems and the systems of third-party processors are susceptible to outages and interruptions due to fire, 
natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failures, software or hardware defects, terrorist attacks and similar 
events. We use both internally developed and third-party systems, including cloud computing and storage systems, 
for our services and certain aspects of transaction processing. Interruptions in our service may result for a number of 
reasons. For example, the data center hosting facilities that we use could be closed without adequate notice or suffer 
unanticipated problems resulting in lengthy interruptions in our service.  Moreover, as we continue to add data centers 
and add capacity in our existing data centers, we could experience problems transferring customer accounts and data, 
impairing the delivery of our service. 

Any damage to, or failure of, our processes or systems generally, or those of our vendors (including as a result of 
disruptions at our third-party data center hosting facilities and cloud providers), or an improper action by our employees, 
agents or third-party vendors, could result in interruptions in our service, causing customers, retail distributors and 
other partners to become dissatisfied with our products and services or obligate us to issue credits or pay fines or other 
penalties to them. Sustained or repeated process or system failures could reduce the attractiveness of our products 
and services, including our BaaS platform, and result in contract terminations, thereby reducing operating revenue 
and  harming  our  results  of  operations.  Further,  negative  publicity  arising  from  these  types  of  disruptions  could  be 
damaging to our reputation and may adversely impact use of our products and services, including our BaaS platform, 
and adversely affect our ability to attract new customers and business partners.  Additionally, 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.

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 BaaS platform partners 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. We cannot predict the 
effect of technological changes on our business. We rely in part on third parties 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,  BaaS  platform  partners,  third-party  processors  or  consumers  to  these  changes,  or  by  the  intellectual 

17

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.

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,  reduce  the  use  of  our  tax  refund 
processing services, and may adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities using deposit account products 
(including prepaid cards), reload products, or customer information. Illegal activities involving our products and services 
often include malicious social engineering schemes. Illegal activities may also include fraudulent payment or refund 
schemes and identity theft. We rely upon third parties for transaction processing services, which subjects us and our 
customers 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, have in the past and could in the 
future result in reputational damage to us. Such damage could reduce the use and acceptance of our cards and other 
products and services, cause retail distributors 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, results of operations and financial condition. 

In addition, to address the challenges we face with respect to fraudulent activity, we have implemented risk control 
mechanisms that have made it more difficult for all customers, including legitimate customers, to obtain and use our 
products and services. We believe it is likely that our risk control mechanisms may continue to adversely affect our 
new card activations for the foreseeable future and that our operating revenues 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.

As a bank holding company, we are subject to comprehensive supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve 
Board and the State of Utah Department of Financial Institutions 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 fund stock repurchases, 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.

A substantial portion of Green Dot Bank’s deposit liabilities are currently classified as brokered deposits, 
and the failure by Green Dot Bank to maintain its status as a "well-capitalized" institution could have a serious 
adverse effect on Green Dot Bank’s ability to conduct key portions of its current deposit-taking activity.

In January 2015, the FDIC published industry guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) with 
respect to, among other things, the categorization of deposit liabilities as “brokered” deposits.  This guidance was later 
supplemented in November 2015 and June 2016. Based on this guidance, a vast majority of Green Dot Bank’s deposits 
are currently classified as brokered. If Green Dot Bank ceases to be categorized as “well capitalized” under banking 
regulations, it could be prohibited from accepting, renewing or rolling over brokered deposits without the consent of 
the FDIC. In such a case, the FDIC’s refusal to grant consent to our accepting, renewing or rolling over brokered 
deposits could materially adversely affect the financial condition and operations of Green Dot Bank and the Company 
and could effectively restrict the ability of Green Dot Bank to operate its business lines as presently conducted.  

We  operate  in  a  highly  regulated  environment,  and  failure  by  us,  the  banks  that  issue  our  cards,  the 
businesses that participate in our reload network, the banks that assist with our tax refund processing services, 
and our tax preparation partners 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 or other business partners 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 

18

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.  For example, we are subject to the anti-money 
laundering reporting and recordkeeping requirements the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), as amended by the PATRIOT 
Act. In addition, legal requirements relating to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer, and security 
of personal data continue to increase, along with enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory authorities 
related to data security incidents and privacy violations.

Many of these laws and regulations are evolving, can be unclear and inconsistent across various jurisdictions, and 
ensuring compliance with them is difficult and costly. 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, banks 
that issue our cards and regulators, and could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and 
financial condition.

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.

The banking, financial technology, transaction processing and tax refund processing services industries are highly 
regulated and, from time to time, the federal and state laws and regulations affecting these industries, and the manner 
in which they are interpreted, are subject to change and legal action.  Accordingly, 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. For example, 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. In addition, adverse rulings relating to the industries in which we 
participate could cause our products and services to be subject to additional laws and regulations, which could make 
our products and services less profitable.

If additional regulatory requirements were imposed on the sale of our products and services and our bank, the 
requirements could lead to a loss of retail distributors, tax preparation partners or other business partners, which, in 
turn, could materially and adversely impact our operations. Moreover, if our products are adversely impacted by the 
interpretation or enforcement of these regulations or we or any of our retail distributors or tax preparation partners 
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 products and services through that noncompliant retail distributor or 
tax preparation partner, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of 
operations.

From time to time, federal and state legislators and regulatory authorities, including state attorneys general, increase 
their focus on the banking, consumer financial services and tax preparation industries and may propose and adopt 
new legislation that could result in significant adverse changes in the regulatory landscape for financial institutions and 
financial services companies.

If new regulations or laws result in changes in the way we are regulated, these regulations could expose us 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. Furthermore, limitations placed on fees we 
charge or the disclosures that must be provided with respect to our products and services could increase our costs 
and decrease our operating revenues. 

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 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 MasterCard PTS. The termination of the card association registrations held by us 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 may increase the fees that they charge, which could increase our operating expenses, reduce our profit 
margin and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

19

Furthermore, a substantial portion of our operating revenues is derived from interchange fees. For the year ended  
December 31,  2018,  interchange  revenues  represented  29.8%  of  our  total  operating  revenues,  and  we  expect 
interchange revenues to continue to represent a significant percentage of our total operating revenues. 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 the interchange rates that may be earned by us and our 
subsidiary bank are exempt from the limitations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act, there can be no assurance that future 
regulation or changes by the payment networks will not impact our interchange revenues substantially. If interchange 
rates decline, whether due to actions by the payment networks or future regulation, we would likely need to change 
our fee structure to offset the loss of 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 total 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 issue guidance in our quarterly earnings conference calls, or otherwise, regarding our future 
performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of release. This guidance, which constitutes 
forward-looking statements, is based upon a number of management's 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. While we have stated and we intend to continue to state possible 
outcomes as high and low ranges that are intended to provide a sensitivity analysis as variables are changed, 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. For example, on a 
number of occasions over the last several years we adjusted our revenue guidance when actual results varied from 
our assumptions. 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. 

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 receive important services from third-party vendors. 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.  
We also depend on third-party banks to assist with our tax refund processing services.  It would be difficult to replace 
some of our third-party vendors 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 particular, 
due to the seasonality in our business, any material service interruptions or service delays with key vendors during 
the tax season could result in losses that have an even greater adverse effect on that business than would be the case 
with our overall business.

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, new technologies and a decrease in our distribution partners’ 
willingness to sell these products as a result of a more challenging regulatory environment. If consumers do not continue 
or increase their usage of prepaid cards, including making changes in the way prepaid cards are loaded, our operating 
revenues may decline. Any projected growth for the industry may not occur or may occur more slowly than estimated. 

20

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 and our retail distributors, tax preparation partners, network acceptance members, third-party processors and 
the  merchants  that  accept  our  cards  receive,  transmit  and  store  confidential  customer  and  other  information  in 
connection with the sale and use of our products and 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. Our retail distributors, tax preparation partners, network acceptance members, other business partners, 
third-party processors and the merchants that accept our cards 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 or other customer or end-customer 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, 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 third-party banks that issue our cards or at our retail distributors, tax 
preparation partners, network acceptance members, other business partners, third-party processors or the merchants 
that accept our cards could result in significant reputational harm to us and cause the use and acceptance of our cards 
or other products and services to decline, either of which could have a significant adverse impact on our operating 
revenues  and  future  growth  prospects.  Moreover,  it  may  require  substantial  financial  resources  to  address  and 
remediate any such breach, including additional costs for replacement cards, manufacturing, distribution, re-stocking 
fees, fraud monitoring and other added security measures, among others, which could have a significant adverse 
impact on our operating results.

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

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 securities class actions and other litigation or regulatory or judicial proceedings or investigations.  
The  outcome  of  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 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 against us 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, tax preparation partners, 
network acceptance members, other business partners 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.

21

We  may  be  unable  to  adequately  protect  our  brand  and  our  intellectual  property  rights  related  to  our 

products and services and third parties may allege that we are infringing their intellectual property rights.

The Green Dot, GoBank, MoneyPak, TPG and other brands and marks are important to our business, and we 
utilize trademark registrations and other means to protect them. 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 
11 issued patents and 7 patent applications 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.

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 customer accounts.

Fraudulent activity involving our products may lead to customer disputed transactions, for which we may be liable 
under  banking  regulations  and  payment  network  rules.  Our  fraud  detection  and  risk  control  mechanisms  may  not 
prevent all fraudulent or illegal activity. To the extent we incur losses from disputed transactions, our business, results 
of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Additionally, 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 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. 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.

We consider overdrawn account balances 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 involve a number of special risks and 
challenges, including:

• 

• 

• 

increased regulatory and compliance requirements;

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;

22

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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

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

integration of the acquired company’s accounting, information management, human resource and other 

administrative systems and operations generally with ours;

integration of employees from the acquired company into our organization;

loss or termination of employees, including costs associated with the termination or replacement of those 

employees;

• 

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 special 
risks  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. Unanticipated costs, delays or other operational or financial problems related to integrating the 
acquired company and business with our company may result in the diversion of our management's attention from 
other business issues and opportunities. 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.  Failures or difficulties in integrating the operations of the businesses that we acquire, 
including their personnel, technology, compliance programs, risk management systems, financial systems, distribution 
and general business operations and procedures, marketing, promotion and other relationships, may affect our ability 
to  grow  and  may  result  in  us  incurring  asset  impairment  or  restructuring  charges.  Furthermore,  acquisitions  and 
investments are often speculative in nature and the actual benefits we derive from them could be lower or take longer 
to materialize than we expect.

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 goodwill 
impairment charges, any of which could harm our financial condition and negatively impact our stockholders.

An impairment charge of goodwill or other intangible assets could have a material adverse impact on our 

financial condition and results of operations.

Because we have grown in part through acquisitions, our net goodwill and intangible assets represent a significant 
portion of our consolidated assets. Our net goodwill and intangible assets were $551.1 million as of December 31, 
2018. Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP, we are required to test the 
carrying value of goodwill and intangible assets at least annually or sooner if events occur that indicate impairment 
could exist. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, including a 
significant  sustained  decline  in  a  reporting  unit’s  fair  value,  legal  and  regulatory  factors,  operating  performance 
indicators, competition and other factors.  

U.S. GAAP requires us to assign and then test goodwill at the reporting unit level.  If over a sustained period of 
time we experience a decrease in our stock price and market capitalization, which may serve as an estimate of the 
fair value of our reporting unit, this may be an indication of impairment.  If the fair value of our reporting unit is less 
than its net book value, we may be required to record goodwill impairment charges in the future.  In addition, if the 
revenue and cash flows generated from any of our other intangible assets is not sufficient to support its net book value, 
we may be required to record an impairment charge.  The amount of any impairment charge could be significant and 
could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations for the period in which the 
charge is taken.

23

We  face  settlement  risks  from  our  distributors  and  banking  partners,  which  may  increase  during  an 

economic downturn.

The 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 two business days. If a retail 
distributor becomes insolvent, files for bankruptcy, commits fraud or otherwise fails to remit proceeds to our card issuing 
bank  from  the  sales  of  our  products  and  services,  we  are  liable  for  any  amounts  owed  to  our  customers. As  of 
December 31, 2018, we had assets subject to settlement risk of $154.0 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. If conditions in the United States become uncertain or deteriorate, 
we may experience a reduction in the number of our accounts 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, would materially harm our business, results of 
operations and financial condition.

We must be able to operate and scale our technology effectively.

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 and scale 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 technology development 
personnel. Replacing departing key personnel can involve organizational disruption and uncertainty. We experience 
transitions among our executive officers from time to time. If we fail to manage any future transitions successfully, we 
could experience significant delays or difficulty in the achievement of our development and strategic objectives and 
our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely harmed. 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 
technology development 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 convertible or other debt securities; and

borrowing funds under a credit facility.

24

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.

Some of our operations, including a significant portion of our software development operations, are located 
outside of the United States, which subjects us to additional risks, including increased complexity and costs 
of managing international operations and geopolitical instability.

Since 2015, we have significantly expanded our software development operations in Shanghai, China and we 
expect to continue to increase headcount and infrastructure as we scale our operations in this region.  A prolonged 
disruption at our China facility for any reason due to natural- or man-made disasters or other events outside of our 
control,  such  as  equipment  malfunction  or  large-scale  outages  or  interruptions  of  service  from  utilities  or 
telecommunications  providers,  could  potentially  delay  our  ability  to  launch  new  products  or  services,  which  could 
materially and adversely affect our business. Additionally, as a result of our international operations, we face numerous 
other challenges and risks, including:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

increased complexity and costs of managing international operations;

regional economic instability;

geopolitical instability and military conflicts;

limited protection of our intellectual property and other assets;

compliance with local laws and regulations and unanticipated changes in local laws and regulations, including 
tax laws and regulations;

foreign currency exchange fluctuations relating to our international operating activities;

local business and cultural factors that differ from our normal standards and practices; and

differing employment practices and labor relations.

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 southern California near known earthquake fault zones. If any catastrophic event were to occur, our ability to operate 
our business could be seriously impaired. 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.

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. 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 

25

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 and banking regulators) 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.

Our debt agreements contain restrictive covenants and financial ratio tests that restrict or prohibit our 
ability to engage in or enter into a variety of transactions. If we fail to comply with these covenants or tests, 
our indebtedness under these agreements could become accelerated, which could adversely affect us.

In October 2014 we entered into a $225.0 million term credit agreement with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative 
agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and other lenders. This agreement contains various covenants that 
may have the effect of limiting, among other things, our ability and the ability of certain of our subsidiaries to: merge 
with  other  entities,  enter  into  a  transaction  resulting  in  a  change  in  control,  create  new  liens,  incur  additional 
indebtedness, sell assets outside of the ordinary course of business, enter into transactions with affiliates (other than 
subsidiaries) or substantially change the general nature of our and our subsidiaries’ business, taken as a whole, make 
certain investments, enter into restrictive agreements, or make certain dividends or other distributions. These restrictions 
could limit our ability to take advantage of financing, merger, acquisition or other opportunities, to fund our business 
operations or to fully implement our current and future operating strategies.

Under the agreement, we have agreed to maintain compliance with a maximum consolidated leverage ratio and 
a minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.75 and 1.25, respectively, at the end of any fiscal quarter.  
Our ability to meet these financial ratios and tests will be dependent upon our future performance and may be affected 
by events beyond our control (including factors discussed in this “Risk Factors" section). If we fail to satisfy these 
requirements, our indebtedness under these agreements could become accelerated and payable at a time when we 
are unable to pay them. This would adversely affect our ability to implement our operating strategies and would have 
a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

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;

26

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

business disruptions and costs related to shareholder activism;

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;

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

general economic conditions; 

changes to the indices in which our Class A common stock is included; 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. 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.

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 for non-cumulative voting in the election 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 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 
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.

27

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

ITEM 2. Properties

Our headquarters is located in Pasadena, California where we lease approximately 140,000 square feet. We own 
the  real  property  where  our  subsidiary  bank's  only  office  is  located  in  Provo,  Utah.  Through  our  wholly  owned 
subsidiaries,  we  lease  office  facilities  in  Birmingham,  Alabama;  San  Diego,  California;  San  Ramon,  California; 
Cincinnati, Ohio; Sandy, Utah; and Shanghai, China.  We also lease additional technology development and sale and 
support offices in Tampa, Florida; Rogers, Arkansas; Kingston, New Jersey; West Chester, Pennsylvania and Manila, 
Philippines. We believe that our existing and planned facilities are adequate to support our existing operations and 
that, as needed, we will be able to obtain suitable additional facilities on commercially reasonable terms.

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings

Information with respect to this item may be found under the caption "Litigation and Claims" in Note 20 — Commitments 
and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein, which information is incorporated into 
this Item 3 by reference.

ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

28

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

PART II

Market Information

Our Class A common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “GDOT.”

Holders of Record

As  of  January 31,  2019,  we  had  73  holders  of  record  of  our  Class A  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. Additionally, our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common 
stock is limited by restrictions on our ability to pay dividends or make distributions under the terms of our existing credit 
facility.  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.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

We had no repurchase activity during the year ended December 31, 2018. 

In May 2017, our Board of Directors authorized, subject to regulatory approval, expansion of our stock repurchase 
program by an additional $150 million. However, any additional stock repurchases contemplated and certain other 
uses of capital are subject to regulatory approval and compliance with our internal and regulatory capital and liquidity 
requirements.

29

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, the S&P Small Cap 600 Index and the S&P 500 Financials Index for the period 
beginning on the close of trading on the NYSE on December 31, 2013 and ending on the close of trading on the NYSE 
on December 31, 2018. The graph assumes a $100 investment in our Class A common stock and each of the indices, 
and the reinvestment of dividends. 

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.

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among Green Dot Corporation, the Russell 2000 Index,
the S&P Smallcap 600 Index and the S&P Financials Index

$350

$300

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0

12/13

12/14

12/15

12/16

12/17

12/18

Green Dot Corporation

Russell 2000

S&P Smallcap 600

S&P Financials

*$100 invested on 12/31/13 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.
Fiscal year ending December 31.

Copyright 2019© Standard & Poor’s, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2019© Russell Investment Group. All rights reserved.

Total Return to Shareholders (Includes reinvestment of dividends)

Company/ Index

Green Dot Corporation

Russell 2000

S&P Smallcap 600

S&P Financials

Base Period
12/31/13

$

$

$

$

100

100

100

100

$

$

$

$

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

65

100

104

113

$

$

$

$

94

122

131

139

$

$

$

$

240

139

149

170

$

$

$

$

316

124

136

148

81

105

106

115

$

$

$

$

30

ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data

The following tables present selected historical financial data for our business. This information should be read in 
conjunction 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  statements  of  operations  data  for  the  years  ended  December 31,  2018,  2017,  and  2016, 
respectively, and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 from our audited consolidated financial 
statements  included  in  Item  8  of  this  report.  We  derived  the  statements  of  operations  data  for  the  years  ended 
December 31, 2015 and 2014, and balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, 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.

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

Processing and settlement service revenues

Interchange revenues

Stock-based retailer incentive compensation(1)

Total operating revenues

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing expenses

Compensation and benefits expenses(2)

Processing expenses

Other general and administrative expenses

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Other income

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

Net income

Income attributable to preferred stock

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

(In thousands, except per share data)

$

482,881

$

414,775

$

337,821

$

318,083

$

253,155

247,958

310,919

—

217,454

257,922

—

184,342

196,611

182,614

196,523

179,289

178,040

—

(2,520)

(8,932)

1,041,758

890,151

718,774

694,700

601,552

326,333

221,627

181,160

206,040

935,160

106,598

23,701

(6,482)

—

123,817

5,114

118,703

—

280,561

194,654

161,011

155,601

791,827

98,324

11,243

(6,109)

—

103,458

17,571

85,887

—

249,096

159,456

107,556

139,350

655,458

63,316

7,367

(9,122)

—

61,561

19,961

41,600

(802)

230,441

168,226

102,144

134,560

635,371

59,329

4,737

(5,944)

—

58,122

19,707

38,415

(1,102)

235,227

123,083

79,053

105,200

542,563

58,989

4,064

(1,276)

7,129

68,906

26,213

42,693

(4,842)

Net income allocated to common stockholders

$

118,703

$

85,887

$

40,798

$

37,313

$

37,851

Basic earnings per common share:

Class A common stock

Basic weighted-average common shares issued and
outstanding:

Class A common stock

Diluted earnings per common share:

Class A common stock

Diluted weighted-average common shares issued and
outstanding:

$

2.27

$

1.70

$

0.82

$

0.73

$

0.92

52,222

50,482

49,535

51,332

40,907

$

2.18

$

1.61

$

0.80

$

0.72

$

0.90

Class A common stock

54,481

53,198

50,797

51,875

41,770

31

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(3)

$ 1,095,218

$ 1,010,095

$

744,761

$

777,922

$

728,805

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

As of December 31,

(In thousands)

Investment securities, available-for-sale

Settlement assets(4)

Loans to bank customers

Total assets

Deposits

Obligations to customers(4)

Settlement obligations(4)

Short-term debt

Long-term debt

Total liabilities

Total stockholders' equity

___________

201,183

153,992

21,363

153,509

209,399

18,570

208,426

137,083

6,059

181,539

69,165

6,279

120,431

148,694

6,550

2,287,118

2,197,531

1,740,344

1,691,448

1,614,288

1,005,485

1,022,180

737,414

652,145

565,401

58,370

5,788

58,705

—

95,354

6,956

20,906

58,705

46,043

4,877

20,966

79,720

61,300

5,074

20,966

100,686

1,377,306

1,432,981

1,056,611

1,028,126

909,812

764,550

683,733

663,322

98,052

4,484

20,966

121,651

985,298

628,990

(1)  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. Our right to 
repurchase these shares fully lapsed in May 2015. 

(2)  Includes stock-based compensation expense of $50.1 million, $40.7 million, $28.3 million, $27.0 million, and $20.3 million for 

the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(3)  Includes $0.5 million, $90.9 million, $12.1 million, $5.8 million, and $4.2 million of restricted cash as of December 31, 2018, 
2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. Also includes $0.5 million of federal funds sold as of December 31, 2014. There 
were no federal funds sold as of December 31, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

(4)  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. Our retail 
distributors’ remittance of these funds takes an average of two business days. Settlement assets represent the amounts due 
from our retail distributors and partners for customer funds collected at the point of sale that have not yet been received by our 
subsidiary bank. Also included in this balance are payroll amounts funded in advance (up to two days early) to certain cardholders 
who are eligible to participate in our early direct deposit programs. 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.

32

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 Corporation is a financial technology leader and bank holding company with a mission to power the 
banking  industry’s  branchless  future.  Enabled  by  proprietary  technology  and  our  wholly-owned  commercial  bank 
charter, our “Banking as a Service,” or "BaaS" platform is used by a growing list of America’s most prominent consumer 
and technology companies to design and deploy their own bespoke banking solutions to their customers and partners, 
while we use that same integrated technology and banking platform to design and deploy our own leading collection 
of banking and financial services products directly to consumers through one of the largest retail banking distribution 
platforms  in America.  Our  products  are  marketed  under  brand  names  such  as  Green  Dot,  GoBank,  MoneyPak, 
AccountNow, RushCard and RapidPay, and can be acquired through more than 100,000 retailers nationwide, thousands 
of corporate paycard partners, several “direct-2-consumer” branded websites, thousands of tax return preparation 
offices and accounting firms, thousands of neighborhood check cashing locations and both of the leading app stores. 
We are headquartered in Pasadena, California, with additional facilities throughout the United States and in Shanghai, 
China.

As the regulated entity and issuing bank for substantially all products and services we provide, whether our own 
or on behalf of a BaaS platform partner, we are directly accountable for all aspects of each program’s integrity, inclusive 
of ensuring the program’s compliance with all applicable banking regulations, applicable state and federal law and our 
various internal governance policies and procedures related to all areas of risk and compliance, in addition to deploying 
enterprise-class risk management practices and procedures to ensure each program’s initial and ongoing safety and 
soundness.

Financial Results and Trends

Our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 were as follows:

Total operating revenues

Total operating expenses

Net income

Total operating revenues

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

Change

%

(In thousands, except percentages)

$

1,041,758

$

890,151

$

935,160

118,703

791,827

85,887

151,607

143,333

32,816

17.0%

18.1%

38.2%

Our total operating revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 17.0% over the prior year. Our 
growth was driven by year-over-year increases in both our Account Services and Processing and Settlement Services 
segments. Within our Account Services segment, revenue growth was driven primarily by year-over-year increases in 
active accounts throughout the year and the continuation of greater customer engagement of our new product lines 
as evidenced by growth in gross dollar volume, purchase volume and ATM transactions. Within our Processing and 
Settlement Services segment, total operating revenues also increased as a result of year-over-year growth in the total 

33

number of cash transfers and tax refunds processed, as well as the number of disbursements from our Simply Paid 
platform.

Total operating expenses

Our total operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 18.1% over the prior year. This 
increase was the result of several factors, including higher sales and marketing expenses attributable to the year-over-
year increases in operating revenues generated from products that are subject to revenue share payments to our 
distributors  and  partners,  higher  processing  expenses  as  a  result  of  increased  transactional  usage  and  higher 
compensation and benefits expenses attributable to a growth in employee headcount, principally in late 2017, and 
third-party contractor costs to support our growth initiatives in 2018. We also incurred higher transaction losses, a 
component of other general and administrative expenses, as a result of our increased purchase volume.

Our operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 also increased over the prior year, in part as a 
result of the resolution of the final performance period payment under an earn-out provision for the 2014 acquisition 
of our tax refund processing business. We agreed to a payment of $13.5 million, which is reflected as a component of 
other general and administrative expenses on our consolidated income statement for the year ended December 31, 
2018. 

Income taxes

Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2018 decreased $12.5 million from the prior year as a result 
of a lower effective tax rate. This decrease was principally the result of a lower effective tax rate due to enactment in 
December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act"), which reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate for 
2018 from 35% to 21%.

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 revenues. 

Gross Dollar Volume — represents the total dollar volume of funds loaded to our account products. Our dollar 
volume was $40.0 billion, $31.1 billion, and $21.9 billion for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, 
respectively. We use this metric to analyze the total amount of money moving onto our account programs and determine 
the overall engagement and usage patterns of our account holder base. We believe it serves as a leading indicator of 
revenue generated through our Account Services segment products, inclusive of interest income generated on deposits 
held at Green Dot Bank, fees charged to account holders and interchange revenues generated through the spending 
of account balances. The increase in gross dollar volume of 29% during the year ended December 31, 2018 from the 
comparable prior year period was principally driven by higher dollar volume from direct deposit onto our products and 
the launch of several new programs.

Number of Active Accounts —  represents any bank account within our Account Services segment that is subject 
to United States PATRIOT Act compliance and therefore, requires customer identity verification prior to use and is 
intended to accept ongoing customer cash or ACH deposits. This includes general purpose reloadable prepaid card 
accounts, demand deposit or "checking" accounts, and credit card accounts in our portfolio that had a purchase, deposit 
or ATM withdrawal transaction during the applicable quarter. We had 5.34 million, 5.30 million, and 4.13 million active 
accounts outstanding as of December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. We use this metric to analyze the overall 
size of our active customer base and to analyze multiple metrics expressed as an average across this active account 
base. The increase in the number of active accounts was primarily driven by the launch of several new programs in 
2018 and growth from our existing account programs. Additionally, a subset of our active account base is comprised 
of accountholders that are enrolled in direct deposit ("direct deposit active accounts"). We experienced year-over-year 
double digit growth in our direct deposit active accounts.

Purchase Volume — represents the total dollar volume of purchase transactions made by our account holders. 
This metric excludes the dollar volume of ATM withdrawals. Our purchase volume was $26.0 billion, $21.6 billion, and 
$16.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. We use this metric to analyze 
interchange revenue, which is a key component of our financial performance.  The increase in purchase volume of 
20% during the year ended December 31, 2018, from the comparable prior year periods was driven by an increase in 
Gross Dollar Volume, as described above.

Number of Cash Transfers — represents the total number of cash transfer transactions conducted by consumers, 
such as a point-of-sale swipe reload transaction, the purchase of a MoneyPak or an e-cash mobile remittance transaction 
marketed under various brand names, that we conducted through our retail distributors in a specified period. This 
metric  excludes  disbursements  made  through  our  Simply  Paid  wage  disbursement  platform.  We  processed 42.25 

34

million, 38.60 million, and 37.79 million reload transactions for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, 
respectively. We review this metric as a measure of the size and scale of our retail cash processing network, as an 
indicator of customer engagement and usage of our products and services, and to analyze cash transfer revenue, 
which  is  a  key  component  of  our  financial  performance.  Our  cash  transfers  increased  9%  during  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2018 over the prior year primarily due to year-over-year growth in our swipe reload services and our 
MoneyPak PIN product utilized by our accounts holders, as well as third-party programs, partially offset by an increase 
in direct deposit penetration in our active account portfolio as direct deposit customers, on average, perform fewer 
cash reloads.

Number of Tax Refunds Processed — represents the total number of tax refunds processed in a specified period. 
We processed 11.71 million, 11.17 million and 10.52 million tax refund transactions for the years ended December 31, 
2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We review this metric as a measure of the size and scale of our tax refund processing 
platform and as an indicator of customer engagement and usage of our products and services. The increase in the 
number of tax refunds processed of 5% for the year ended December 31, 2018 from the comparable prior year period 
was primarily driven by an increase of refunds processed through online tax filing software platforms, partially offset 
by a decrease in the number of refunds processed by traditional tax preparation providers.

Key components of our results of operations

Operating Revenues

We currently classify our operating revenues into the following three categories. Beginning with the first quarter of 
2019, we will also present net interest income generated at Green Dot Bank from the investment of customer deposits 
as a component of total operating revenues.

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, checking accounts and certain cash transfer products, 
such  as  MoneyPak,  pursuant  to  the  terms  and  conditions  in  our  customer  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, if applicable, when a consumer purchases a GPR card, gift card, or a checking 
account  product.  Other  revenues  consist  primarily  of  revenue  associated  with  our  gift  card  program,  annual  fees 
associated with our secured credit card portfolio, transaction-based fees and fees associated with optional products 
or services, which we offer to cardholders from time to time.

Our aggregate monthly maintenance fee revenues vary primarily based upon the number of active accounts in 
our portfolio and the average fee assessed per account. Our average monthly maintenance fee per active account 
depends upon the mix of products in our portfolio at any given point in time and upon the extent to which fees are 
waived based on various incentives provided to customers in an effort to encourage higher usage and retention. 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 products in our portfolio at any given 
point in time and the extent to which cardholders use ATMs within our free network that carry no fee for cash withdrawal 
transactions. Our aggregate new card fee revenues vary based upon the number of GPR cards and checking accounts 
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 account fees based on the product and/or the location or source where our 
products are purchased. Our aggregate other fees vary primarily based upon account sales of all types, gift card sales, 
purchase transactions and the number of active accounts in our portfolio.

Processing and Settlement Service Revenues — Processing and settlement service revenues consist of cash 
transfer revenues, tax refund processing service revenues and Simply Paid disbursement revenues. We earn cash 
transfer revenues when consumers fund their cards through a reload transaction at a Green Dot Network retail location. 
Our aggregate cash transfer revenues vary based upon the mix of locations where reload transactions occur, since 
reload fees vary by location. We earn tax refund processing service revenues at the point in time when a customer of 
a  third  party  tax  preparation  company  chooses  to  pay  their  tax  preparation  fee  through  the  use  of  our  tax  refund 
processing services. We earn Simply Paid disbursement fees from our business partners at the point in time payment 
disbursements are made.

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

35

Operating Expenses

We classify our operating expenses into the following four categories:

Sales and Marketing Expenses — Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of the commissions we pay to 
our  retail  distributors,  brokers  and  platform  partners,  advertising  and  marketing  expenses,  and  the  costs  of 
manufacturing  and  distributing  card  packages,  placards  and  promotional  materials  to  our  retail  distributors  and 
personalized GPR and GoBank cards to consumers who have activated their cards. We generally establish commission 
percentages  in  long-term  distribution  agreements  with  our  retail  distributors  and  platform  partners.  Aggregate 
commissions with our retail distributors are determined by the number of prepaid cards, checking account products 
and cash transfers sold at their respective retail stores. Commissions with our platform partners and, in certain cases, 
our retail distributors are determined by the revenue generated from the ongoing use of the associated card programs. 
We incur advertising and marketing expenses for television, sponsorships, 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 and GoBank accounts activated by consumers.

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 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 account 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 processors that maintains the records of our customers' accounts 
and processes transaction authorizations and postings for us and the third-party banks that issue our accounts. These 
costs generally vary based on the total number of active accounts in our portfolio and gross dollar volume transacted 
by those accounts. Also included in processing expenses are bank fees associated with our tax refund processing 
services and gateway and network fees associated with our Simply Paid disbursement services. Bank fees generally 
vary based on the total number of tax refund transfers processed and gateway and network fees vary based on the 
numbers of disbursements made.

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  and  intangible  assets,  changes  in  contingent  consideration,  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  accounts  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, amortization of our acquired 
intangible  assets,  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.    

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.

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.

36

Revenue Recognition

As prescribed under our recent adoption of Accounting Standards Codification 606, Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers, we recognize revenues when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers in 
an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services, as 
determined under a five-step process. 

Our new card fee provides our cardholders a material right and accordingly we defer and recognize new card fee 
revenues on a straight-line basis over the period commensurate with our performance obligation to our customers. 
We consider the performance obligation period to be the average card lifetime, which is currently less than one year 
for our GPR cards and gift cards. For GPR cards, average card lifetime is determined based on recent historical data 
using the period from sale (or activation) of the card through the date of last positive balance. 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 commissions paid to retail distributors related to new card sales as costs to obtain contracts and 

expense ratably over the average card lifetime commensurate with our GPR and gift cards.

Transaction prices related to our account services are based on stand-alone fees stated within the terms and 
conditions and may also include certain elements of variable consideration depending upon the product’s features, 
such as cardholder incentives, monthly fee concessions and reserves on accounts that may become overdrawn. We 
estimate such amounts using historical data and customer behavior patterns to determine these estimates which are 
recorded  as  a  reduction  to  the  corresponding  fee  revenue. Additionally,  while  the  number  of  transactions  that  a 
cardholder may perform is unknown, any uncertainty is resolved at the end of each daily service contract.

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 obtain control 
of the good or service prior to the good or service being transferred to the customer. For all our significant revenue-
generating arrangements, we record revenues on a gross basis except for our tax refund processing service revenues 
which are recorded on a net basis.

Stock-Based Compensation

We record employee stock-based compensation expense based on the grant-date fair value. 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  Class  A  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. 

For performance based awards, we recognize compensation cost for the restricted stock units if and when we 
conclude it is probable that the performance will be satisfied, over the requisite service period based on the grant-date 
fair value of the stock. We reassess the probability of vesting at each reporting period and adjust compensation expense 
based on the probability assessment.  For market based restricted stock units, we base compensation expense on 
the fair value estimated at the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation or similar lattice model. We recognize 
compensation expense over the requisite service period regardless of the market condition being satisfied, provided 
that the requisite service has been provided, since the estimated grant date fair value already incorporates the probability 
of outcomes that the market condition will be achieved.

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 common stock, 
as applicable, and recognize related expense in the same periods that the goods or services are received.

Reserve for Uncollectible Overdrawn Accounts

Our cardholder accounts may become overdrawn as a result of maintenance fee assessments or from purchase 
transactions  that  we  honor,  in  each  case  in  excess  of  the  funds  in  the  cardholder’s  account.  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.  Overdrawn  account  balances  are  deemed  to  be  our 
receivables due from cardholders, and we include them as a component of accounts receivable, net, on our consolidated 

37

balance  sheets.  We  generally  recover  overdrawn  account  balances  from  those  cardholders  that  perform  a  reload 
transaction.  In  addition,  we  recover  some  overdrawn  account  balances  related  to  purchase  transaction  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 any unrecovered overdrawn account balances. 
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. 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 over 
time. 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 customer behavior, product pricing and features that impact the frequency and velocity of reloads and other deposits 
to such accounts.

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 our consolidated statements of operations.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

We review the recoverability of goodwill at least annually or whenever significant events or changes occur, which 
might impair the recovery of recorded costs. Factors that may be considered a change in circumstances indicating 
that  the  carrying  value  of  our  goodwill  may  not  be  recoverable  include  a  decline  in  our  stock  price  and  market 
capitalization, declines in the market conditions of our products, reductions in our future cash flow estimates, and 
significant  adverse  industry  or  economic  market  trends.  We  test  for  impairment  of  goodwill  by  assessing  various 
qualitative factors with respect to developments in our business and the overall economy and calculating the fair value 
of a reporting unit using the discounted cash flow method, as necessary. In the event that the carrying value of assets 
is determined to be unrecoverable, we would estimate the fair value of the reporting unit and record an impairment 
charge for the excess of the carrying value over the fair value. The estimate of fair value requires management to make 
a number of assumptions and projections, which could include, but would not be limited to, future revenues, earnings 
and the probability of certain outcomes.

Intangible and other long lived-assets subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or 
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Certain factors which may occur 
and indicate that an impairment exists include, but are not limited to, the following: significant underperformance relative 
to expected historical or projected future operating results; significant changes in the manner of use of the underlying 
assets;  and  significant  adverse  industry  or  market  economic  trends.  In  reviewing  for  impairment,  we  compare  the 
carrying value of such assets to the estimated undiscounted future net cash flows expected from the use of the assets 
and their eventual disposition. In the event that the carrying value of assets is determined to be unrecoverable, we 
would estimate the fair value of the assets and record an impairment charge for the excess of the carrying value over 
the fair value. The estimate of fair value requires management to make a number of assumptions and projections, 
which could include, but would not be limited to, future revenues, earnings and the probability of certain outcomes. 
We completed our annual goodwill impairment test as of September 30, 2018. Based on the results of step one of the 
annual goodwill impairment test, we determined that step two was not required for each of our reporting units as their 
fair values exceeded their carrying values indicating there was no impairment. No impairment charges were recognized 
related to goodwill or intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016.

38

Comparison of Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 

Operating Revenues

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

processing and settlement service revenues and interchange revenues:

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

(In thousands, except percentages)

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

Processing and settlement service revenues

Interchange revenues

Total operating revenues

$

$

482,881

247,958

310,919

1,041,758

46.4% $

23.8

29.8

100.0% $

414,775

217,454

257,922

890,151

46.6%

24.4

29.0

100.0%

Card  Revenues  and  Other  Fees  —  Card  revenues  and  other  fees  totaled  $482.9  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2018, an increase of $68.1 million, or 16%, from the comparable prior year period. The increase is 
attributable to the year-over-year growth in the number of active accounts throughout the year and greater engagement 
by our account holders, resulting in increased revenues associated with ATM fees, monthly maintenance fees, and 
transaction-based fees earned within our Account Services segment.

Processing  and  Settlement  Service  Revenues  —  Processing  and  settlement  service  revenues  totaled  $248.0 
million for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $30.5 million, or 14%, from the comparable prior year 
period. The increase was driven primarily by a higher volume of cash transfers and revenue earned per cash transfer, 
as well as an increase in disbursement transactions processed by our Simply Paid platform.

Interchange Revenues — Interchange revenues totaled $310.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, 
an increase of $53.0 million, or 21%, from the comparable prior year period. The increase was primarily due to year-
over-year growth in purchase volume from our account holders. 

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:

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

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

$

$

326,333

221,627

181,160

206,040

935,160

31.3% $

21.3

17.4

19.8

89.8% $

280,561

194,654

161,011

155,601

791,827

31.5%

21.9

18.1

17.5

89.0%

Sales  and  Marketing  Expenses  —  Sales  and  marketing  expenses  totaled  $326.3  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31,  2018,  an  increase  of  $45.7  million,  or  16%  compared  to  the  year  ended  December 31,  2017. This 
increase was primarily driven by an increase in sales commissions associated with higher revenues generated from 
products that are subject to revenue-sharing agreements, partially offset by a year-over-year decrease of $1.9 million 
in advertising expenses and $1.5 million in cost of materials.

Compensation and Benefits Expenses — Compensation and benefits expenses totaled $221.6 million for the year 
ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $26.9 million, or 14%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. 
The increase was primarily the result of higher salaries and wages and third-party contractor expenses of $15.8 million 
in support of our growth initiatives in 2018 and $9.4 million increase in employee stock-based compensation expenses.

39

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Processing Expenses — Processing expenses totaled $181.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, an 
increase of $20.2 million, or 13%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. This increase was principally the 
result of higher volume of ATM and purchase transactions initiated by our account holders and higher merchant acquiring 
costs associated with peer-to-peer payment activity on our mobile-only accounts by our account holders within our 
Account  Services  segment.  The  year-over-year  increase  was  also  attributable  to  the  growth  in  disbursement 
transactions processed by our Simply Paid platform within our Processing and Settlement Services segment. 

Other General and Administrative Expenses — Other general and administrative expenses totaled $206.0 million
for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $50.4 million, or 32%, from the comparable prior year period. 
During the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded a $13.5 million expense related to the resolution of the final 
earn-out calculation with the selling shareholders of our tax refund processing business, as well as a $3.3 million 
expense as a result of an estimated change in fair value of our contingent consideration for UniRush. Other general 
and administrative expenses for the comparable prior year period also benefited from $9.7 million in gains associated 
with the change in fair value of contingent consideration related to these acquisitions. The remainder of the increase 
in other general and administrative expenses was due to an increase in transaction losses correlated with the increase 
in purchase volume relative to the comparable prior year period and $5.1 million in higher depreciation and amortization 
of property and equipment.

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 tax benefit

General business credits

Employee stock-based compensation

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act remeasurement

IRC 162(m) limitation

Other

Effective tax rate

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

21.0%

(0.5)

(2.2)

(17.1)

0.2

2.2

0.5

4.1%

35.0%

(2.3)

(2.8)

(12.4)

(5.0)

1.5

3.0

17.0%

Our income tax expense amounted to $5.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, a decrease of $12.5 
million from the prior year period due to a decrease in our effective tax rate from 17.0% to 4.1%. This decrease is 
primarily due to the Tax Act, which reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and the recognition 
of  significant  excess  tax  benefits  related  to  our  employee  stock-based  compensation  expense.  The  Tax Act  also 
repealed  the  performance-based  exception  to  the  limitation  on  executive  compensation  under  IRC  162(m)  which 
resulted in an increased IRC 162(m) limitation for the year ended December 31, 2018. Refer to Note 14 — Income 
Taxes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein for additional information about income tax expense 
and the impact of the Tax Act.

The "Other" category in our effective tax rate consists of a variety of permanent differences, none of which were 

individually significant.

Results of Operations by Segment 

Information with respect to the results of operations for each of our reportable segments may be found under Note 
24 — Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein, which information is incorporated 
herein by reference.

40

 
 
Comparison of Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 

Operating Revenues

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

processing and settlement service revenues, and interchange revenues:

Year Ended December 31,

2017

2016

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

Amount

% of Total
Operating Revenues

(In thousands, except percentages)

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

Processing and settlement service revenues

Interchange revenues

Total operating revenues

$

$

414,775

217,454

257,922

890,151

46.6% $

24.4

29.0

100.0% $

337,821

184,342

196,611

718,774

47.0%

25.6

27.4

100.0%

Card  Revenues  and  Other  Fees  —  Card  revenues  and  other  fees  totaled  $414.8  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2017, an increase of $77.0 million, or 23%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. We believe 
this increase in revenue reflects the increasing quality of customers within our active card base and improved unit 
economics on our suite of prepaid card products, which increased monthly maintenance fees and ATM fees earned 
within our Account Services segment, as well as our acquisition of UniRush on February 28, 2017.

Processing  and  Settlement  Service  Revenues  —  Processing  and  settlement  service  revenues  totaled  $217.5 
million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $33.2 million, or 18%, compared to the year ended 
December 31, 2016. The increase was driven primarily by a higher volume and revenues earned per cash transfer 
and tax refunds processed, as well as a year-over-year increase in disbursement revenues associated with our Simply 
Paid disbursements program.

Interchange Revenues — Interchange revenues totaled $257.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an 
increase of $61.3 million, or 31%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase was primarily due 
to year-over-year growth in purchase volume, driven by our acquisition of UniRush and higher purchase volume per 
number of active cards as a result of the increasing quality of customers within our active card base.

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:

Year Ended December 31,

2017

2016

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

$

$

280,561

194,654

161,011

155,601

791,827

31.5% $

21.9

18.1

17.5

89.0% $

249,096

159,456

107,556

139,350

655,458

34.7%

22.2

15.0

19.3

91.2%

Sales  and  Marketing  Expenses  —  Sales  and  marketing  expenses  totaled  $280.6  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2017, an increase of $31.5 million, or 13%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. This 
increase was the result of an increase of $26.1 million in sales commissions principally associated with higher organic 
revenues year-over-year generated from products that are subject to revenue-sharing agreements and an increase of 
$13.2 million in marketing expenses primarily driven by the acquisition of UniRush, partially offset by a decrease of 
$7.9 million in cost of materials. The decline in costs of materials relates to our 2016 roll out of our new suite of Green 
Dot branded prepaid and gift card products at our retailer distributors resulting in incremental costs of manufacturing 
and distributing card packages; there were no such roll out expenses in 2017.

41

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Compensation and Benefits Expenses — Compensation and benefits expenses totaled $194.7 million for the year 
ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $35.2 million, or 22%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. 
The increase was primarily the result of higher salaries and wages and third-party contractor expenses of $16.2 million 
and  $3.7  million,  respectively,  driven  by  our  acquisition  of  UniRush,  and  a  $12.4  million  increase  in  stock-based 
compensation expense. 

Processing Expenses — Processing expenses totaled $161.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an 
increase of $53.4 million, or 50%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. This increase was principally the 
result of our acquisition of UniRush, a higher volume of purchase and ATM transactions initiated by our cardholders 
and a higher volume of disbursement services, partially offset by a $6.5 million repayment of incremental processing 
expenses incurred during the first half of 2017 associated with our need to continue to support customer accounts on 
our legacy third-party card processor.

Other General and Administrative Expenses — Other general and administrative expenses totaled $155.6 million
for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $16.2 million, or 12%, compared to the year ended December 31, 
2016, primarily due to increases of $8.3 million of professional fees, $8.1 million in amortization of acquired intangible 
assets driven by the acquisition of UniRush, $5.8 million in transaction losses correlated with the increase in purchase 
volume,  a  $3.5  million expense  in  connection  with  the  settlement  of  a  lawsuit,  $2.3  million  of  telecommunication 
expenses and $1.2 million of impairment charges related to internal-use software. These increases were partially offset 
by a year-over-year increase of $7.2 million in gains associated with the change in fair value of contingent consideration, 
principally related to acquisition of our tax refund processing business, and a decrease of $6.0 million in depreciation 
and amortization of property and equipment.

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 tax benefit

General business credits

Employee stock-based compensation

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act remeasurement

IRC 162(m) limitation

Other

Effective tax rate

Year Ended December 31,

2017

2016

35.0%

(2.3)

(2.8)

(12.4)

(5.0)

1.5

3.0

35.0%

0.4

(3.4)

0.3

—

—

0.1

17.0%

32.4%

Our income tax expense amounted to $17.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, a decrease of $2.4 
million compared to the prior year, principally due to a decrease in our effective tax rate from 32.4% to 17.0%. This 
decrease is primarily due to the impact of our adoption of ASU 2016-09, the remeasurement of our deferred tax assets 
and liabilities associated with the Tax Act, and the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions upon the completion 
of tax examinations and the expiration of the statute of limitations with certain taxing jurisdictions. Under ASU 2016-09, 
all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies related to stock compensation are now recognized as income tax benefit 
or expense, respectively, in the statement of operations instead of additional paid-in capital on the consolidated balance 
sheets. Refer to Note 14 — Income Taxes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein for additional 
information.

The "Other" category in our effective tax rate consists of a variety of permanent differences, none of which were 

individually significant.

Results of Operations by Segment

Information with respect to the results of operations for each of our reportable segments may be found under Note 
24 — Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein, which information is incorporated 
herein by reference.

42

 
 
Capital Requirements for Bank Holding Companies

Our subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, is a member bank of the Federal Reserve System and our primary regulators 
are the Federal Reserve Board and the Utah DFI. We and Green Dot Bank are subject to various regulatory capital 
requirements administered by the 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  and  Green  Dot  Bank  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.

In July 2013, the Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking regulators approved final rules regarding new risk-based 
capital, leverage and liquidity standards, known as “Basel III.” The Basel III rules, which became effective for us and 
our bank on January 1, 2015, are subject to certain phase-in periods that occur over several years. The U.S. Basel III 
rules  contain  new  capital  standards  that  change  the  composition  of  capital,  increase  minimum  capital  ratios  and 
strengthen counter-party credit risk capital requirements. The Basel III rules also include a new definition of common 
equity Tier 1 capital and require that certain levels of such common equity Tier 1 capital be maintained. The rules also 
include a new capital conservation buffer, which 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 Basel 
III rules, we must maintain a ratio of common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 4.5%, a ratio of 
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 6%, a ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 8% and 
a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4.0%.

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, we and Green Dot Bank were categorized as "well capitalized" under applicable 
regulatory standards. To be categorized as "well capitalized," we and Green Dot Bank must maintain specific total risk-
based, Tier 1 risk-based and Tier 1 leverage ratios as set forth in the table below. There were no conditions or events 
since December 31, 2018 which management believes would have changed our category as "well capitalized." 

The definitions associated with the amounts and ratios below are as follows:

Ratio

Tier 1 leverage ratio

Definition

Tier 1 capital divided by average total assets

Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio

Common equity Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets

Tier 1 capital ratio

Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets

Total risk-based capital ratio

Total capital divided by risk-weighted assets

Terms

Definition

Tier 1 capital and
Common equity Tier 1 capital

Total capital

Average total assets

Risk-weighted assets

Primarily includes common stock, retained earnings and accumulated OCI, net of deductions
and adjustments primarily related to goodwill, deferred tax assets and intangibles. Under the
regulatory capital rules, certain deductions and adjustments to these capital figures are phased
in through January 1, 2018.

Tier 1 capital plus supplemental capital items such as the allowance for loan losses, subject to
certain limits

Average total consolidated assets during the period less deductions and adjustments primarily
related to goodwill, deferred tax assets and intangibles assets

Represents the amount of assets or exposure multiplied by the standardized risk weight (%)
associated with that type of asset or exposure. The standardized risk weights are prescribed in
the bank capital rules and reflect regulatory judgment regarding the riskiness of a type of asset
or exposure

43

The actual amounts and ratios, and required "well capitalized" minimum capital amounts and ratios at December 31, 
2018 and 2017, were as follows:

Green Dot Corporation:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

Green Dot Bank:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

Green Dot Corporation:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

Green Dot Bank:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

December 31, 2018

Amount

Ratio

Regulatory
Minimum

"Well-capitalized"
Minimum

(In thousands, except ratios)

353,047

353,047

353,047

357,092

172,518

172,518

172,518

173,838

20.1%

88.8%

88.8%

89.8%

11.7%

100.8%

100.8%

101.5%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

n/a

n/a

6.0%

10.0%

5.0%

6.5%

8.0%

10.0%

December 31, 2017

Amount

Ratio

Regulatory
Minimum

"Well-capitalized"
Minimum

(In thousands, except ratios)

236,885

236,885

236,885

240,509

95,461

95,461

95,461

95,752

15.6%

45.3%

45.3%

46.0%

10.2%

37.5%

37.5%

37.6%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

n/a

n/a

6.0%

10.0%

5.0%

6.5%

8.0%

10.0%

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

44

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 (decrease) in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands)

$

$

251,051

$

218,310

$

114,515

(114,967)

(50,961)

(145,163)

192,187

85,123

$

265,334

$

(71,999)

(75,677)

(33,161)

During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 we financed our operations primarily through our 
cash flows provided by operating activities.  Additionally, during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we 
financed certain investing activities through our borrowings under our senior credit facility.  At December 31, 2018, our 
primary source of liquidity was unrestricted cash and cash equivalents totaling $1.1 billion. We also consider our $201.2 
million of investment securities available-for-sale to be highly-liquid instruments. 

We use trend and variance analysis 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, 
cash flows from operations and borrowing capacity under our senior credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working 
capital, capital expenditure, debt service requirements and any other capital needs for at least the next 12 months.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Our $251.1 million of net cash provided by operating activities in the year ended December 31, 2018 principally 
resulted from $118.7 million of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash operating expenses of $128.1 million, and 
an increase in net changes in working capital assets and liabilities of $4.3 million, driven principally by the timing of 
payments of our accounts payable and accrued liabilities and the settlement of outstanding accounts receivables. Our 
$218.3 million of net cash provided by operating activities in the year ended December 31, 2017 principally resulted 
from $85.9 million of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash operating expenses of $102.8 million and an increase 
in our net changes in working capital assets and liabilities of $29.6 million, driven principally by the timing of payments 
of our accounts payable and accrued liabilities. Our $114.5 million of net cash provided by operating activities in the 
year ended December 31, 2016 principally resulted from $41.6 million of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash 
operating expenses of $92.6 million, offset by a decrease in our net changes in our operating assets and liabilities of 
$19.7 million, driven primarily by a decrease in our accounts payable and accrued liabilities and an increase in tax 
payments made during the year.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Our $115.0 million of net cash used in investing activities in the year ended December 31, 2018 primarily reflects 
payments for acquisition of property and equipment of $61.0 million and purchases of available-for-sale investment 
securities, net of proceeds from sales and maturities of $48.1 million. Our $145.2 million of net cash used in investing 
activities in the year ended December 31, 2017 primarily reflects payment for our acquisition of UniRush, LLC of $141.5 
million, net of cash acquired, and payments for acquisition of property and equipment of $44.1 million, offset by proceeds 
from sales and maturities of available-for-sale investment securities, net of purchases, of $53.0 million. Our $72.0 
million of net cash used in investing activities in the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily reflects payments for 
acquisition of property and equipment of $43.3 million, and purchases of available-for-sale investment securities, net 
of proceeds from sales and maturities of $28.9 million.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Our $51.0 million of net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily the 
result of $46.0 million in taxes paid from net settled equity awards and $22.5 million in repayments of our note payable, 
offset by $21.9 million from stock option exercise and employee stock purchase plan proceeds. Our $192.2 million of 
net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2017 was primarily the result of a $284.8 
million net increase in deposits associated with our card programs and $24.2 million from stock option exercise and 
employee stock purchase plan proceeds, offset by $52.0 million used for our stock repurchase program, $22.5 million in 
repayments of our note payable, $18.1 million in taxes paid from net settled equity awards, and a $20.9 million decrease 
in obligations to our customers. Our $75.7 million of net cash used in financing activities in the year ended December 31, 
2016 was primarily the result of an $83.4 million decrease in obligations to customers, $59.0 million used for our stock 

45

 
 
 
repurchase program, $22.5 million in repayments of our note payable, and $8.2 million in taxes paid from net settled 
equity awards, offset by increases of $85.3 million in deposits to customers associated with our GPR card program 
and $14.9 million from stock option exercise and employee stock purchase plan proceeds.

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 2019, we intend to continue to invest 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 these capital expenditures will exceed the amount of our capital expenditures 
in 2018 as we reinvest a portion of the incremental cash flow generated from operations.

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. As discussed above in Note 4 
— Business Acquisitions to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein, in connection with the completion 
of our acquisition of all the membership interests of UniRush in February 2017, we agreed to pay an annual earn-out 
payment of at least $4 million for five years following the closing. The earn-out payments will be made in each of the 
first five years after closing, with the minimum payment potentially becoming greater if certain revenue growth targets 
for the RushCard GPR card program are met in a given year, although any potential increase is not expected to be 
material to the overall purchase price.

Additionally, we may make periodic 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.

Senior Credit Facility

In October 2014, we entered into a $225 million credit agreement with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative 
agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and other lenders party thereto. The agreement provides for (i) a $75 
million five-year revolving facility (the “Revolving Facility”) and (ii) a five-year $150 million term loan facility (the “Term 
Facility” and, together with the Revolving Facility, the “Senior Credit Facility”).  At our election, loans made under the 
credit agreement bear interest at (1) a LIBOR rate or (2) a base rate as defined in the agreement, plus an applicable 
margin  (5.02%  as  of  December 31,  2018).  The  balance  outstanding  on  the  Term  Facility  was  $58.7  million  at 
December 31, 2018, net of deferred financing fees.  Quarterly principal payments of $5.6 million are payable on the 
loans  under  the  Term  Facility.  The  loans  made  under  the  Term  Facility  mature  and  all  amounts  then  outstanding 
thereunder are payable on October 23, 2019. There were no borrowings on the Revolving Facility at December 31, 
2018.  We are also subject to certain financial covenants, which include maintaining a minimum fixed charge coverage 
ratio and a maximum consolidated leverage ratio at the end of each fiscal quarter, as defined in the agreement, as 
amended. At December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all such covenants.

Share Repurchase Program

Over the course of 2015 through 2017, we repurchased 6.5 million shares of our Class A Common Stock at an 
average price of approximately $23 under our then authorized $150 million stock repurchase program. In May 2017, 
our Board of Directors authorized, subject to regulatory approval, expansion of our stock repurchase program by an 
additional $150 million. Management and our Board of Directors periodically review opportunities for responsible and 
prudent capital allocation, including investing capital to support our strategic initiatives. Any stock repurchases and 
certain other uses of capital are subject to regulatory approval and compliance with our internal and regulatory capital 
and liquidity requirements. 

Contractual Obligations

Our  contractual  commitments  will  have  an  impact  on  our  future  liquidity.  The  following  table  summarizes  our 
contractual  obligations,  including  both  on  and  off-balance  sheet  transactions  that  represent  material  expected  or 
contractually  committed  future  obligations,  at  December 31,  2018.  We  believe  that  we  will  be  able  to  fund  these 
obligations through cash generated from operations and from our existing cash balances. 

46

Debt obligations

Operating lease obligations

Purchase obligations(1)

Total

___________

Payments Due by Period

Total

Less than 1
Year

1-3 Years

3-5 Years

(In thousands)

More than 5
Years

$

60,000

$

60,000

$

— $

— $

27,917

26,300

7,927

13,882

14,618

11,643

5,372

775

$

114,217

$

81,809

$

26,261

$

6,147

$

—

—

—

—

(1)  Primarily future minimum payments under agreements with vendors and our retail distributors. See Note 20 — Commitments 

and Contingencies of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

In addition to the above contractual obligations, our definitive agreement to acquire all of the equity interests of 
UniRush provides for a minimum $4 million annual earn-out payment for five years following the closing, ending in 
February 2022.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 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.

47

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. 

Distribution of Assets, Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

The  following  table  presents  average  balance  data  and  interest  income  and  expense  data  for  our  banking 
operations, as well as the related interest yields and rates for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and 
average balance data for the period ended December 31, 2016:

2018

Interest 
income/
interest 
expense

Average
balance

Year ended December 31,

Yield/
rate

Average
balance

2017

Interest
income/
interest
expense

(In thousands, except percentages)

Period ended
December 31,

2016

Yield/
rate

Average
balance

Assets

Interest-bearing assets

Loans (1)

$

21,742

$

1,847

8.5% $

11,835

$

1,420

12.0% $

6,806

Taxable investment
securities

Non-taxable investment
securities

Federal reserve stock

Fee advances

Cash

Total interest-bearing assets

Non-interest bearing assets

208,359

3,958

423

3,722

7,641

992,138

1,234,025

236,254

15

199

931

18,940

25,890

1.9

3.5

5.3

12.2

1.9

2.1%

Total assets

$

1,470,279

$

296

3,512

689

590,203

759,811

147,530

907,341

153,276

2,464

Liabilities

Interest-bearing liabilities

Checking accounts

$

75,674

$

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

15,244

4,172

1,297

96,387

1,214,396

1,310,783

159,496

Total liabilities and stockholders'
equity

$

1,470,279

1,346

112

32

9

1,499

1.8% $

21,645

$

0.7

0.8

0.7

1.6%

9,983

4,946

1,489

38,063

760,922

798,985

108,356

2

212

291

6,522

10,911

19

23

37

9

88

1.6

0.7

6.0

42.2

1.1

1.4%

$

0.1% $

0.2

0.7

0.6

0.2%

152,941

677

3,953

—

585,701

750,078

127,809

877,887

1,107

11,926

6,217

1,834

21,084

696,747

717,831

160,056

$

907,341

$

877,887

Net interest income/yield on
earning assets

___________

$

24,391

0.5%

$

10,823

1.2%

(1)  Non-performing loans and leases are included in the respective average loan and lease balances. Income, if any, on such 

loans and leases is recognized on a cash basis.

48

The following table presents the rate/volume variance in interest income and expense for the year ended 

December 31, 2018:

December 31, 2018

Loans

Taxable investment securities

Non-taxable investment securities

Federal reserve stock

Fee advances

Cash

Checking accounts

Savings deposits

Time deposits, denominations greater than or equal to $100

Time deposits, denominations less than $100

___________

$

$

$

$

Total Change in
Interest Income/
Expense

Change Due to
Rate (1)

(In thousands)

(356) $

448

8

(24)

(207)

4,745

4,614

366

50

1

1

$

$

Change Due to
Volume (1)

783

1,046

5

11

847

7,673

10,365

961

39

(6)

(1)

993

427

$

1,494

13

(13)

640

12,418

14,979

1,327

$

$

89

(5)

—

1,411

$

418

$

(1)  The change in interest income and expense not solely due to changes in volume or rate has been allocated on a pro-rata basis 

to the volume and rate columns.

Investment Portfolio

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

December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016:

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

Amortized
Cost

Fair Value

Amortized
Cost

Fair Value

Amortized
Cost

Fair Value

(In thousands)

Corporate bonds

$

— $

— $

1,000

$

999

$

15,952

$

15,958

Negotiable certificate of
deposit

Agency bond securities

Agency mortgage-backed
securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

15,000

19,723

87,156

507

79,274

15,000

19,693

86,813

483

79,194

—

—

121,036

742

20,952

—

—

120,034

739

20,861

—

—

117,990

1,460

26,614

—

—

117,490

1,430

26,458

Total fixed-income securities

$

201,660

$

201,183

$

143,730

$

142,633

$

162,016

$

161,336

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

investment portfolio at December 31, 2018:

Due in one year
or less

Due after one
year through
five years

Due after five
years through
ten years

Due after ten
years

Total

(In thousands, except percentages)

Negotiable certificate of deposit

$

15,000

$

— $

— $

— $

Agency bond securities

4,973

14,750

Agency mortgage-backed securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

—

—

—

—

—

74,248

—

7,465

—

5,026

—

79,691

507

—

Total fixed-income securities

$

19,973

$

88,998

$

12,491

$

80,198

$

15,000

19,723

87,156

507

79,274

201,660

Weighted-average yield

2.63%

2.72%

2.99%

3.11%

2.88%

49

Deposits

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

deposits for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016:

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

Average
Balance

Weighted-
Average
Rate

Average
Balance

Weighted-
Average
Rate

Average
Balance

Weighted-
Average
Rate

(In thousands, except percentages)

Interest-bearing deposit accounts

Checking accounts

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

75,674

15,244

4,172

1,297

96,387

943,464

1.8% $

0.7

0.8

0.7

1.6%

21,645

9,983

4,946

1,489

38,063

527,202

0.1% $

0.2

0.7

0.6

0.2%

1,107

11,926

6,217

1,834

21,084

509,777

0.1%

0.1

0.8

0.7

0.4%

Total deposits

$

1,039,851

$

565,265

$

530,861

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

$100,000 at December 31, 2018:

Less than 3 months

3 through 6 months

6 through 12 months

Greater than 12 months

Key Financial Ratios

December 31, 2018

(In thousands)

$

$

104

413

209

3,070

3,796

The following table shows certain of Green Dot Bank’s key financial ratios for the years ended December 31, 2018, 

2017, and 2016:

Net return on assets

Net return on equity

Equity to assets ratio

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

2.3%

21.0

10.9

1.7%

14.0

11.9

1.3%

7.2

18.2

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 significant foreign operations. We do 
not hold or enter into derivatives or other financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Interest rates

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.

As of December 31, 2018, we had a $58.7 million term loan outstanding under our $225.0 million credit agreement.  
Refer to Note 11 — Note Payable to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein for additional information. 
Our term loan and revolving credit facility are, and are expected to be, at variable rates of interest and expose us to 
interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase 
even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income would decrease. Although any short-term 
borrowings under our revolving credit facility would likely be insensitive to interest rate changes, interest expense on 
short-term borrowings will increase and decrease with changes in the underlying short-term interest rates. Assuming 
our credit agreement is drawn up to its maximum borrowing capacity of $225.0 million, based on the applicable LIBOR 
and margin in effect as of December 31, 2018, each quarter point of change in interest rates would result in a $0.6 

50

million change in our annual interest expense. We actively monitor our interest rate exposure and our objective is to 
reduce, where we deem appropriate to do so, fluctuations in earnings and cash flows associated with changes in 
interest rates. In order to accomplish this objective, we may enter into derivative financial instruments, such as forward 
contracts and interest rate hedge contracts only to the extent necessary to manage our exposure. We do not hold or 
enter into derivatives or other financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Credit and liquidity risk

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 Simply Paid 
distribution partners and 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 
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 risk committee of our board of directors.

Our exposure to credit risk associated with our retail distributors and Simply Paid distribution partners 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 and Simply Paid distribution partner. 
We monitor each retail distributor’s and Simply Paid distribution partner'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 and Simply Paid distribution partner exposure and assigning credit limits and reports regularly to the risk 
committee of our board of directors.

51

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 as of December 31, 2018 and 2017  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2018, 2017 
and 2016  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2018, 
2017 and 2016  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016  . . . .

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

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.

52

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Green Dot Corporation

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited Green Dot Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018, based 
on criteria established in Internal Control- Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations 
of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the "COSO criteria"). In our opinion, Green Dot Corporation (the 
"Company") maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 
2018, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 
States) ("PCAOB"), the 2018 consolidated financial statements of the Company and our report dated February 26, 
2019 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’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 are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB 
and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws 
and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. 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.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

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.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Los Angeles, California
February 26, 2019

53

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Green Dot Corporation

Opinion on the Financial Statements  

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Green Dot Corporation (the "Company") as of 
December 31, 2018 and 2017, 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, 2018, and the 
related  notes  (collectively  referred  to  as  the  “consolidated  financial  statements”).  In  our  opinion,  the  consolidated 
financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2018
and 2017, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 
2018, 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) ("PCAOB"), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018, based on criteria 
established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the 
Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated February 26, 2019 expressed an unqualified opinion 
thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an 
opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with 
the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal 
securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and 
perform  the  audit  to  obtain  reasonable  assurance  about  whether  the  financial  statements  are  free  of  material 
misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material 
misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to 
those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures 
in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates 
made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our 
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2005.

Los Angeles, California
February 26, 2019 

54

GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

Assets

Current assets:

Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents

Restricted cash

Investment securities available-for-sale, at fair value

Settlement assets

Accounts receivable, net

Prepaid expenses and other assets

Income tax receivable

Total current assets

Investment securities available-for-sale, at fair value

Loans to bank customers, net of allowance for loan losses of $1,144 and $291 as of December 31, 2018 and
2017, 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

$

$

Amounts due to card issuing banks for overdrawn accounts

Other accrued liabilities

Deferred revenue

Note payable

Income tax payable

Total current liabilities

Other accrued liabilities

Note payable

Net deferred tax liabilities

Total liabilities

Commitments and contingencies (Note 20)

Stockholders’ equity:

Class A common stock, $0.001 par value; 100,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2018 and 2017;
52,917 and 51,136 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively

Additional paid-in capital

Retained earnings

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

Total stockholders’ equity

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands, except par value)

$

1,094,728

$

490

19,960

153,992

40,942

57,070

8,772

1,375,954

181,223

21,363

8,125

120,269

21,201

7,867

551,116

2,287,118

$

38,631

$

1,005,485

58,370

5,788

1,681

134,000

34,607

58,705

67

919,243

90,852

11,889

209,399

35,277

47,086

7,459

1,321,205

141,620

18,570

8,179

97,282

21,791

6,507

582,377

2,197,531

34,863

1,022,180

95,354

6,956

1,371

123,397

30,875

20,906

74

1,337,334

1,335,976

30,927

—

9,045

30,520

58,705

7,780

1,377,306

1,432,981

53

380,753

529,143

(137)

909,812

$

2,287,118

$

51

354,789

410,440

(730)

764,550

2,197,531

See notes to consolidated financial statements

55

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands, except per share data)

$

482,881

$

414,775

$

Operating revenues:

Card revenues and other fees

Processing and settlement service revenues

Interchange revenues

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 available to common stockholders

Basic earnings per common share:

Diluted earnings per common share:

Basic weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding:

Diluted weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding:

$

$

$

247,958

310,919

1,041,758

326,333

221,627

181,160

206,040

935,160

106,598

23,701

(6,482)

123,817

5,114

118,703

—

118,703

2.27

2.18

52,222

54,481

$

$

$

217,454

257,922

890,151

280,561

194,654

161,011

155,601

791,827

98,324

11,243

(6,109)

103,458

17,571

85,887

—

85,887

$

1.70

1.61

$

$

50,482

53,198

337,821

184,342

196,611

718,774

249,096

159,456

107,556

139,350

655,458

63,316

7,367

(9,122)

61,561

19,961

41,600

(802)

40,798

0.82

0.80

49,535

50,797

See notes to consolidated financial statements

56

 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Net income

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Unrealized holding income (loss), net of tax

Comprehensive income

2018

Year Ended December 31,

2017

(In thousands)

2016

118,703

$

85,887

$

41,600

593

119,296

$

(549)

85,338

$

34

41,634

$

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements

57

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8
5

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands)

2016

$

118,703

$

85,887

$

41,600

Operating activities

Net income

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

Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment

Amortization of intangible assets

Provision for uncollectible overdrawn accounts

Employee stock-based compensation

Amortization of premium on available-for-sale investment securities

Change in fair value of contingent consideration

Amortization of deferred financing costs

Impairment of capitalized software

Deferred income tax (benefit) expense

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable, net

Prepaid expenses and other assets

Deferred expenses

Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities

Deferred revenue

Income tax receivable/payable

Other, net

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

Payments for acquisition of property and equipment

Net (increase) decrease in loans

Acquisition, net of cash acquired

Net cash used in investing activities

Financing activities

Borrowings from notes payable

Repayments of borrowings from notes payable

Borrowings on revolving line of credit

Repayments on revolving line of credit

Proceeds from exercise of options

Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards

Net (decrease) increase in deposits

Net increase (decrease) in obligations to customers

Contingent consideration payments

Repurchase of Class A common stock

Deferred financing costs

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

38,581

32,761

79,790

50,093

1,042

3,298

1,594

922

(234)

(85,455)

(9,930)

590

12,471

4,675

(1,253)

3,403

251,051

(186,884)

60,449

78,385

(61,030)

(5,887)

—

(114,967)

—

(22,500)

—

—

21,880

(46,007)

(16,733)

17,255

(4,856)

—

—

(50,961)

33,470

31,110

77,145

40,734

1,510

(9,672)

1,589

1,326

2,780

(68,368)

(16,841)

(2,098)

27,982

4,689

5,067

2,000

218,310

(58,665)

71,338

40,310

(44,142)

(12,511)

(141,493)

(145,163)

20,000

(42,500)

335,000

(335,000)

24,161

(18,077)

284,766

(20,926)

(3,104)

(51,969)

(164)

192,187

Net increase (decrease) in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

Cash paid for interest

Cash paid for income taxes

Reconciliation of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of
period:

Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents

Restricted cash

Total unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

85,123

1,010,095

1,095,218

4,888

6,233

1,094,728

490

1,095,218

$

$

$

$

$

265,334

744,761

1,010,095

4,520

9,603

919,243

90,852

1,010,095

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements

59

39,460

23,021

74,841

28,321

1,357

(2,500)

1,534

142

1,270

(74,851)

1,131

(2,138)

(19,156)

2,004

(3,662)

2,141

114,515

(135,920)

105,544

1,430

(43,273)

220

—

(71,999)

—

(22,500)

145,000

(145,000)

14,917

(8,223)

85,269

(83,372)

(2,755)

(59,013)

—

(75,677)

(33,161)

777,922

744,761

7,586

22,316

732,676

12,085

744,761

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GREEN DOT CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1—Organization

Green Dot Corporation (“we,” “our,” or “us” refer to Green Dot Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries), is a 
financial technology leader and bank holding company with a mission to power the banking industry’s branchless future. 
Enabled by proprietary technology and our wholly-owned commercial bank charter, our “Banking as a Service,” or 
"BaaS" platform is used by a growing list of America’s most prominent consumer and technology companies to design 
and deploy their own bespoke banking solutions to their customers and partners, while we use that same integrated 
technology and banking platform to design and deploy our own leading collection of banking and financial services 
products directly to consumers through one of the largest retail banking distribution platforms in America. Our products 
are marketed under brand names such as Green Dot, GoBank, MoneyPak, AccountNow, RushCard and RapidPay, 
and can be acquired through more than 100,000 retailers nationwide, thousands of corporate paycard partners, several 
“direct-2-consumer” branded websites, thousands of tax return preparation offices and accounting firms, thousands 
of neighborhood check cashing locations and both of the leading app stores. We are headquartered in Pasadena, 
California, with additional facilities throughout the United States and in Shanghai, China.

As the regulated entity and issuing bank for substantially all products and services we provide, whether our own 
or on behalf of a BaaS platform partner, we are directly accountable for all aspects of each program’s integrity, inclusive 
of ensuring the program’s compliance with all applicable banking regulations, applicable state and federal law and our 
various internal governance policies and procedures related to all areas of risk and compliance, in addition to deploying 
enterprise-class risk management practices and procedures to ensure each program’s initial and ongoing safety and 
soundness.

Our products and services:

We offer consumers a broad collection of financial products and services managed through several diverse business 
lines which are then made available to consumers through a widely-available “branchless" distribution network in the 
United States. Many of the products and services we internally create and distribute are marketed under the Green 
Dot brand name, which we believe is both a well-known and highly trusted brand name for millions of consumers. Our 
branchless network consists of:

• 

• 

• 

distribution arrangements with more than 100,000 mostly major chain retail locations, which we refer to as 
“retail distributors” and thousands of neighborhood Financial Service Center locations;

several differently branded, Green Dot-owned and operated direct-to-consumer online and direct mail customer 
acquisition platforms;

corporate distribution partnerships with businesses that provide payroll cards to their employees to receive 
wage disbursements;

•  more than 25,000 small and large tax preparation companies and individual tax preparers, which are sometimes 
referred to as electronic return originators, or “EROs”, who are able to offer our products and services to their 
customers through the use of various tax preparation industry software packages with which our products are 
integrated; 

• 

• 

apps compatible with the iOS and Android operating systems downloaded through the corresponding app 
store; and 

platform partners’ distribution channels that those partners use to acquire customers for their bespoke products 
and services that are powered by our BaaS Platform. 

Our products and services include several deposit account programs, such as network-branded reloadable prepaid 
debit cards marketed under several leading consumer brand names, which we collectively refer to as "GPR cards," 
consumer checking accounts, small business checking accounts, network-branded gift cards (known as open-loop), 
secured credit cards and other financial services.

We  also  offer  several  products  and  services  that  specialize  in  facilitating  the  movement  of  cash  on  behalf  of 
consumers and businesses. These products and services include: our proprietary swipe reload system for crediting 
cash  onto  an  enabled  payment  card  by  swiping  the  payment  card  at  the  point  of  sale  at  any  Green  Dot  Network 
participating retailer; MoneyPak, a product that allows a consumer to add funds to accounts we issue or accounts 
issued by affiliated United States chartered and regulated third party banks; and e-cash remittance services, a service 
that allows a consumer to transfer money to a smartphone for fulfillment at a Green Dot participating retailer. We refer 
to these services collectively as our cash transfer products. We also provide disbursement services through our Simply 
Paid platform that enables a payment solution for companies to pay their workforce and customers in the time and

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1—Organization (continued)

manner they desire and provide tax refund transfers that provide the processing technology to facilitate receipt of a 
taxpayers' refund proceeds.

Our BaaS Platform: 

Through our BaaS Platform, we currently offer the following types of products and services on behalf of several 

of America’s largest retail, consumer, technology and financial services companies: 

•  Mobile banking;

• 

Loan disbursement accounts;

•  Spend-based Mobile P2P services, such as Apple Pay Cash;

•  Money transfer services;

•  GPR cards;

•  Network branded "open loop" gift cards;

• 

Instant payment and wage disbursements;

•  Small business checking accounts and debit cards; and

•  Consumer checking accounts.

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

Our  consolidated  financial  statements  include  the  results  of  Green  Dot  Corporation  and  our  wholly-owned 
subsidiaries. We prepared the accompanying consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted 
accounting principles in the United States of America, or GAAP. We eliminate all significant intercompany balances 
and  transactions  on  consolidation.  We  include  the  results  of  operations  of  acquired  companies  from  the  date  of 
acquisition.

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 

We  consider  all  unrestricted  highly  liquid  investments  with  an  original  maturity  of  three  months  or  less  to  be 

unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. 

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 maturities 
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 

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

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

At the point of sale, our retail distributors collect customer funds for purchases of new cards and balance reloads 
and then remit these funds directly to the banks that issue our cards. Our retail distributors’ remittance of these funds 
takes an average of two business days.

Settlement assets represent the amounts due from our retail distributors and other partners for customer funds 
collected at the point of sale that have not yet been received by our subsidiary bank. Also included in this balance are 
payroll amounts funded in advance (up to two days early) to certain cardholders who are eligible to participate in our 
early direct deposit programs. 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. Once the underlying products have 
been activated, the customer funds are reclassified as deposits in a bank account established for the benefit of the 
customer. Settlement obligations represent the customer funds received by our subsidiary bank that are due to third-
party card issuing banks upon activation.

Accounts Receivable, net

Accounts  receivable  is  comprised  principally  of  receivables  due  from  card  issuing  banks,  overdrawn  account 
balances due from cardholders, trade accounts receivable, fee advances 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 held at the third-party card issuing banks related to our gift card program 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. Fee advances represent short-term advances to in-
person tax return preparation companies made prior to and during tax season. These advances are collateralized by 
their clients' tax preparation fees and are generally collected within a short period of time as the in-person tax preparation 
companies begin preparing and processing their clients' tax refunds.

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

Our cardholder accounts may become overdrawn as a result of maintenance fee assessments or from purchase 
transactions that we honor, in excess of the funds in a cardholder’s account. We are exposed to losses from any 
unrecovered overdrawn account balances. 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 last 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 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

As  of  December 31,  2018  and  2017,  restricted  cash  amounted  to  $0.5  million  and  $90.9  million,  respectively.  
Restricted cash as of December 31, 2017 primarily consisted of funds required to collateralize a pre-funding obligation 
with a counter-party. We are no longer restricted by this pre-funding obligation as of December 31, 2018.  

Loans to Bank Customers

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

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

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Nonperforming Loans

Nonperforming loans generally include 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 nonaccrual 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. For our secured credit card portfolio, 
when an account is past due 90 days, collateral deposits are applied against outstanding credit card balances. Any 
balance in excess of the collateral balance is charged off at 120 days.

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, 
including our secured credit cards. For each portfolio of loans, our estimate of inherent losses is separately calculated 
on an aggregate basis for groups of loans and are considered to have similar credit characteristics and risk of loss. 
We analyze historical loss rates for these groups to determine a loss rate for each group of loans. We 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 
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 land, which is 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.

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.

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

3-10 years

3 years

3-7 years

Shorter of the useful life or the lease term

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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 estimate the fair value of the assets. 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. We recorded impairment charges of $0.9 million, $1.3 million and $0.1 million for the years ended 
December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, associated with capitalized internal-use software we determined to 
no longer be utilized and any remaining carrying value was written off. These impairment charges are included in other 
general and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of operations. 

Business Acquisitions

We allocate the purchase price of business acquisitions to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on 
their estimated fair value. The excess of the purchase price over estimated fair value of the net identifiable assets is 
allocated to goodwill. Determining the fair value of assets and liabilities requires various assumptions and estimates. 
These estimates and assumptions are refined with adjustments recorded to goodwill as information is gathered and 
final  valuations  are  completed  over  a  one-year  measurement  period. The  changes  in  these  estimates  or  different 
assumptions used in determining these estimates could impact the amount of assets, including goodwill, and liabilities 
recorded on our consolidated balance sheet and could impact our operating results subsequent to such acquisition.

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 an operating 
segment or one level below an operating segment, referred to as a component. We may in any given period bypass 
the  qualitative  assessment  and  proceed  directly  to  a  two-step  method  to  assess  and  measure  impairment  of  the 
reporting  unit's  goodwill.  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  subject  to  amortization,  we  recognize  an  impairment  loss  if  the  carrying  amount  of  the 
intangible asset is not recoverable and exceeds its estimated 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.

No impairment charges were recognized related to goodwill or intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 

2018, 2017 and 2016.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which is 
our best estimate of the pattern of economic benefit, based on legal, contractual, and other provisions. The estimated 
useful lives of the intangible assets, which consist primarily of customer relationships and trade names, range from 
3-15 years.

Amounts Due to Card Issuing Banks for Overdrawn Accounts

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 two months. 

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Fair Value

Under applicable accounting guidance, fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or 
paid to transfer a liability. As such, fair value reflects an exit price 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.

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, processing and settlement service revenues and 
interchange revenues. The core principle of the recent revenue standard is that these revenues will be recognized 
when  control  of  the  promised  goods  or  services  is  transferred  to  our  customers,  in  an  amount  that  reflects  the 
consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services, as determined under a five-step 
process. 

A description of our principal revenue generating activities is as follows:

Card Revenues and Other Fees

Card revenues and other fees consist of monthly maintenance fees, new card fees, ATM fees, and other card 
revenues. We earn these fees based upon the underlying terms and conditions with each of our cardholders that 
obligate us to stand ready to provide account services to each of our cardholders over the contract term. Agreements 
with our cardholders are considered daily service contracts as they are not fixed in duration. 

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 each day in the monthly bill cycle in which the fee 
is assessed, which represents the period our cardholders receive the benefits of our services and our performance 
obligation is satisfied.

We charge new card fees when a consumer purchases a new card in a retail store. The new card fee provides 
our cardholders a material right and accordingly, we defer and recognize new card fee revenues on a straight-line 
basis over our average card lifetime, which is currently less than one year for our GPR cards and gift cards. For GPR 
cards, average card lifetime is determined based on recent historical data using the period from sale (or activation) of 
the card through the date of last positive balance.  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. See Contract Balances 
discussed in Note 3 — Revenues, for further information.

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  point  in  time  our  performance  obligation  is  satisfied  and  service  is  performed.  Since  our  cardholder 
agreements are considered daily service contracts, our performance obligations for these types of transactional based 
fees are satisfied on a daily basis, or as each transaction occurs. 

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Other revenues consist primarily of revenue associated with our gift card program, transaction-based fees and 
fees  associated  with  optional  products  or  services,  which  we  offer  our  cardholders  at  their  election.  Since  our 
performance obligations are settled daily, we recognize most of these fees at the point in time the transactions occur 
which is when the underlying performance obligation is satisfied. In the case of our gift card program, we record the 
related revenues using the redemption method.

Substantially all our fees are collected from our cardholders at the time the fees are assessed and debited from 

their account balance.

Processing and Settlement Service Revenues

Our processing and settlement services consist of cash transfer revenues, Simply Paid disbursement revenues, 

and tax refund processing service revenues.

We generate cash transfer revenues when consumers purchase our cash transfer products (reload services) in a 
retail store. Our reload services are subject to the same terms and conditions in each of the applicable cardholder 
agreements as discussed above. We recognize these revenues at the point in time the reload services are completed. 
Similarly, we earn Simply Paid disbursement fees from our business partners as payment disbursements are made. 

We earn tax refund processing service revenues when a customer of a third-party tax preparation company chooses 
to pay their tax preparation fee through the use of our tax refund processing services. Revenues we earn from these 
services are generated from our contractual relationships with the tax software transmitters. These contracts may be 
multi-year agreements and vary in length, however, our underlying promise obligates us to process each refund transfer 
on a transaction by transaction basis as elected by the taxpayer. Accordingly, we recognize tax refund processing 
service revenues at the point in time we satisfy our performance obligation by remitting each taxpayer’s proceeds from 
his or her tax return. 

Interchange 

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 account holders make purchase transactions using 
our card products and services. We recognize interchange revenues at the point in time the transactions occur, as our 
performance obligation is satisfied.

Principal vs Agent

For all our significant revenue-generating arrangements, we record revenues on a gross basis except for our tax 

refund processing service revenues which are recorded on a net basis.

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, 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 less than one year for our GPR and 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.

Included in sales and marketing expenses are advertising and marketing expenses of $23.2 million, $25.1 million
and $11.9 million and shipping and handling costs of $2.0 million, $3.0 million and $3.7 million for the years ended 
December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Also included in sales and marketing expenses 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.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Employee Stock-Based Compensation

We record employee stock-based compensation expense based on the grant-date fair value of the award. 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 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  have  issued  performance  based  and  market  based  restricted  stock  units  to  our  executive  officers  and 
employees. For performance based awards, we recognize compensation cost for the restricted stock units if and when 
we conclude it is probable that the performance will be satisfied, over the requisite service period based on the grant-
date fair value of the stock. We reassess the probability of vesting at each reporting period and adjust compensation 
expense based on the probability assessment.  For market based restricted stock units, we base compensation expense 
on the fair value estimated at the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation or similar lattice model. We recognize 
compensation expense over the requisite service period regardless of the market condition being satisfied, provided 
that the requisite service has been provided, since the estimated grant date fair value incorporates the probability of 
outcomes that the market condition will be achieved.

In April 2018, the compensation committee of our board of directors adopted a policy applicable to all employees 
that provides for vesting of equity awards in connection with a qualifying retirement (as defined in the policy), with the 
settlement or payout of those awards to be made in accordance with the applicable vesting schedule pertaining to 
such awards. The policy applies only with respect to restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock 
units granted after January 1, 2018. Under the policy, following a qualified retirement, any substantial risk of forfeiture 
of the award by the eligible employee is eliminated. Accordingly, the related compensation expense is recognized 
immediately for awards granted to eligible employees or over the period from the grant date to the date a qualifying 
retirement is achieved, if less than the stated vesting period.

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.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law and made significant changes to U.S. 
income tax law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, 
required companies to pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously 
tax deferred, created new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings, eliminated certain deductions, and enhanced 
and  extended  through  2026  the  option  to  claim  accelerated  depreciation  deductions  on  qualified  property. As  of 
December 31, 2018, we have completed our accounting for all enactment date income tax effects of the Tax Act, which 
resulted in a $0.3 million tax expense, or an increase in our effective tax rate by 0.2%. Refer to Note 14 — Income 
Taxes for additional information.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (CONTINUED)

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Earnings Per Common Share

For the periods applicable, we apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per common share, or EPS, 
because our preferred stockholders are entitled to participate with our common stockholders in the distributions of 
earnings through dividends. 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.

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, restricted stock units (including performance based restricted stock units), 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, restricted stock units and stock options from the computation of diluted 
EPS  in  periods  in  which  the  effect  would  be  anti-dilutive. Additionally,  we  have  excluded  any  performance  based 
restricted stock units for which the performance contingency has not been met as of the end of the period. 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

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

Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in 
a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract ("ASU 2018-15"), which amends ASC 350-40 to address 
implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement (CCA) that is a service contract. ASU 2018-15 aligns 
the accounting for costs incurred to implement a CCA that is a service arrangement with the guidance on capitalizing 
costs associated with developing or obtaining internal-use software. As a result, certain implementation costs incurred 
by companies under hosting arrangements will be deferred and amortized. ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years 
beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We 
intend to early adopt the standard effective January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis, the effect of which we do not 
expect to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other ("ASU 2017-04"): Simplifying 
the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the existing two-step guidance for goodwill impairment testing by 
eliminating the second step resulting in a write-down to goodwill equal to the initial amount of impairment determined 
in step one. The ASU is to be applied prospectively for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. We are 
currently evaluating the impact of the provisions of ASU 2017-04 on our consolidated financial statements; however, 
we do not anticipate it will have any impact upon adoption.

68

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

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement 
of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments ("ASU 2016-13") that requires financial assets measured at amortized cost 
be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. Credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities should be 
recorded through an allowance for credit losses limited by the amount that the fair value is less than amortized cost. 
ASU 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those 
fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2016-13 on our consolidated 
financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) ("ASU 2016-02") in order to increase 
transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance 
sheet for those leases classified as operating leases under previous GAAP. The guidance has been modified through 
additional technical corrections since its original issuance, including optional transition relief as provided for under ASU 
No.  2018-11- Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements. ASU 2016-02 requires that a lessee should recognize a 
liability to make lease payments and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for leases 
with a term greater than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, 
including interim periods within those periods. 

We will adopt the new lease standard effective January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis and have substantially 
completed our assessment of the impact on our consolidated financial statements. We have elected the package of 
practical expedients, the short-term lease exemption, as well as the election to not separate lease and non-lease 
components,  as  applicable,  for  selected  classes  of  assets.  We  have  not  identified  any  adjustments  related  to 
classification of our operating lease contracts and therefore, no adjustment to retained earnings is expected upon 
adoption. Based on our current assessment, we expect the gross up effect to our consolidated balance sheet upon 
adoption to be in the range of approximately $25 million, which we do not believe to be material. We will provide 
expanded lease disclosures and the final quantitative impact as required beginning in the first quarter of 2019. 

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) ("ASU 
2014-09"), which has been modified through additional technical corrections since its original issuance (collectively 
ASC 606).  ASU 2014-09 superseded nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under then current GAAP. The 
core principle of ASU 2014-09 is to recognize revenues when promised goods or services are transferred to customers 
in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled for those goods or services. The 
standard defines a five step process to achieve this core principle and, in doing so, more judgment and estimates may 
be required within the revenue recognition process than are required under previous GAAP. The standard allowed 
companies to apply either a full retrospective approach, which requires applying the standard to each prior year reporting 
period presented, or a modified retrospective approach with a cumulative effect adjustment recognized upon adoption. 
We adopted the provisions of the standard on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective approach, which did 
not result in any cumulative adjustment to opening retained earnings nor did it have a material impact on our consolidated 
financial statements. The adoption of ASU 2014-09, however, requires expanded disclosures under the new guidance.  
See Note 3 — Revenues for further information and additional discussion around changes identified to our policies 
under the new accounting pronouncement. 

In  January  2016,  the  FASB  issued  ASU  No.  2016-01,  Financial  Instruments  –  Overall  (Subtopic  825-10): 
Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities ("ASU 2016-01"). ASU 2016-01 revises the 
classification and measurement of investments in certain equity investments and the presentation of certain fair value 
changes for certain financial liabilities measured at fair value. ASU 2016-01 requires the change in fair value of many 
equity investments to be recognized in net income. We adopted the provisions of ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018, 
the result of which did not have any impact upon our consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Restricted Cash ("ASU 2016-18"), to require that restricted 
cash and restricted cash equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-
period and end-of-period total cash amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. Consequently, transfers between 
cash and restricted cash will not be presented as a separate line item in the operating, investing or financing sections 
of the cash flow statement. The amendments should be applied retrospectively to each period presented. We adopted 
the provisions of ASU 2016-18 on January 1, 2018, the effect of which resulted in an immaterial reclassification in 
presentation on our statement of cash flows and had no effect on our consolidated financial results. 

69

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

Note 3—Revenues

Adoption of ASC 606

On January 1, 2018, we adopted ASC 606 using the modified retrospective method applied to contracts which 
were not completed upon adoption, the impact of which did not result in any cumulative adjustment to our retained 
earnings.  Results  for  reporting  periods  beginning  after January 1,  2018 are  presented  under ASC  606,  while  prior 
period  amounts  have  not  been  adjusted  and  continue  to  be  reported  in  accordance  with  our  historical  accounting 
policies. 

The impact of our adoption of ASC 606 was limited to a change in presentation of certain incentive agreements. 
Prior to the adoption of ASC 606, incentive payments with our retail distributors and other partners had generally been 
recorded as a reduction to revenues over the related period of benefit the incentive payment related. Upon the adoption 
of ASC 606, such payments are classified as sales and marketing expenses since these contractual arrangements 
have been determined to be outside the scope of contracts with our customers under the new accounting standard. 
The total amount of incentive payments recognized was $7.1 million, $4.8 million and $3.4 million for the years ended 
December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively.

Disaggregation of Revenues

Our products and services are offered only to customers within the United States. We determine our operating 
segments based on how our chief operating decision maker manages our operations, makes operating decisions and 
evaluates operating performance. Within our segments, we believe that the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of 
our revenue and cash flows and how they are affected by economic factors can be further illustrated based on the 
timing in which revenue for each of our products and services is recognized.

The following table disaggregates our revenues by the timing in which the revenue is recognized:

Timing of revenue recognition

Transferred at a point in time

Transferred over time

Operating revenues

Year Ended December 31, 2018

Account Services

Processing and
Settlement Services

$

$

(In thousands)

500,629

$

289,714

790,343

$

247,942

3,473

251,415

Within  our  Account  Services  segment,  revenues  recognized  at  a  point  in  time  are  comprised  of  ATM  fees, 
interchange, and other similar transaction-based fees. Revenues recognized over time consists of new card fees, 
monthly  maintenance  fees  and  revenue  earned  from  gift  cards.  Substantially  all  of  our  processing  and  settlement 
services are recognized at a point in time.

Refer to Note 24 — Segment Information for our revenues disaggregated by our products and services and the 
components to our total operating revenues on our consolidated statements of operations for additional information. 

Significant Judgments and Estimates

Transaction prices related to our account services are based on stand-alone fees stated within the terms and 
conditions and may also include certain elements of variable consideration depending upon the product’s features, 
such as cardholder incentives, monthly fee concessions and reserves on accounts that may become overdrawn. We 
estimate such amounts using historical data and customer behavior patterns to determine these estimates which are 
recorded  as  a  reduction  to  the  corresponding  fee  revenue. Additionally,  while  the  number  of  transactions  that  a 
cardholder may perform is unknown, any uncertainty is resolved at the end of each daily service contract.

Contract Balances

As disclosed on our consolidated balance sheets, we record deferred revenue for any upfront payments received 
in advance of our performance obligations being satisfied. These contract liabilities consist principally of unearned new 
card fees and monthly maintenance fees. We recognized approximately $28.7 million for the year ended December 31, 
2018, or substantially all of the amount of contract liabilities included in deferred revenue at the beginning of the period 
and did not recognize any revenue during these periods from performance obligations satisfied in previous periods. 

70

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

Note 3—Revenues (continued)

Changes in the deferred revenue balance are driven primarily by the amount of new card fees recognized during the 
period, offset by the deferral of new card fees associated with cards sold during the period.

Costs to Obtain or Fulfill a Contract

Our incremental direct costs of obtaining a contract consist primarily of revenue share payments we make to our 
retail  partners  associated  with  new  card  sales.  These  commissions  are  generally  capitalized  upon  payment  and 
expensed over the period the corresponding revenue is recognized. These deferred commissions are not material and 
are included in deferred expenses on our consolidated balance sheets.

Practical Expedients and Exemptions

Any unsatisfied performance obligations at the end of the period relate to contracts with customers that either have 
an original expected length of one year or less or are contracts for which we recognize revenue at the amount to which 
we have the right to invoice for services performed. Therefore, no additional disclosure is provided for these performance 
obligations.

Note 4—Business Acquisitions

On February 28, 2017, we completed our acquisition of all the membership interests of UniRush, LLC ("UniRush"), 
an online direct-to-consumer GPR card and corporate payroll card provider. The fair value of the total consideration 
in connection with the acquisition was approximately $163.7 million, which included cash and contingent consideration 
in the form of an earn-out. We paid for the transaction with $142.2 million in cash, of which $95 million was raised from 
a combination of our Revolving Facility, as discussed in Note 11 — Note Payable, and subordinated notes payable of 
$20  million  to  the  selling  shareholders  of  UniRush. The  subordinated  notes  were  repaid  shortly  after  close  of  the 
acquisition during the three months ended March 31, 2017. The transaction terms include an earn-out equal to the 
greater of (i) a specified percentage of the revenue generated by the online direct-to-consumer GPR card portfolio for 
the five-year period following the closing or (ii) $20 million, payable quarterly over the five years.

The following table summarizes the fair value of consideration transferred: 

Cash, including proceeds from notes payable

Fair value of contingent consideration

Total consideration

The allocation of the purchase price is as follows:

Assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

Accounts receivable, net

Prepaid expenses and other assets

Property and equipment, net

Intangible assets

Goodwill

Total assets:

Liabilities:

Accounts payable

Other liabilities

Total liabilities:

Net assets acquired

71

Consideration

(In thousands)

$

$

142,154

21,500

163,654

February 28, 2017

(In thousands)

$

656

5,745

5,146

4,233

69,000

93,435

178,215

10,861

3,700

14,561

$

163,654

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

Note 4—Business Acquisitions (continued)

Goodwill of approximately $93.4 million represents the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value 
of the underlying identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The goodwill arises from 
the opportunity for synergies and economies of scale from the combined companies and expanding our reach into the 
online direct-to-consumer and corporate payroll distribution channels. Although the goodwill will not be amortized for 
financial  reporting  purposes,  it  is  anticipated  that  substantially  all  of  the  goodwill  will  be  deductible  for  federal  tax 
purposes over the statutory period of 15 years.

Intangible assets consist primarily of customer relationships and trade name of approximately $58.5 million and 
$5.5 million, respectively. The customer relationships will be amortized over its estimated useful life of 5-10 years and 
the trade name will be amortized over a period of 15 years.

Our acquisition of UniRush was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting, with the operating 
results of UniRush included in our consolidated statements of operations beginning March 1, 2017. Transaction costs 
incurred in connection with the acquisition were not material.

Unaudited pro forma financial information

The following unaudited pro forma summary financial results present the consolidated results of operations as if 
the acquisition of UniRush had occurred as of January 1, 2016, after the effect of certain adjustments, including interest 
expense on the debt used to fund the purchase, amortization of certain identifiable intangible assets, income and 
expense items not attributable to ongoing operations and related tax effects. The unaudited pro forma condensed 
consolidated  statements  of  operations  does  not  include  any  adjustments  for  any  restructuring  activities,  operating 
efficiencies or cost savings.  The pro forma results have been presented for comparative purposes only and are not 
indicative of what would have occurred had the UniRush acquisition been made as of January 1, 2016, or of any 
potential results which may occur in the future.

Net revenues

Net income attributable to common stock

Basic earnings per common share

Diluted earnings per common share

Basic weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding

Diluted weighted-average common shares issued and outstanding

Year Ended December 31,

2017

2016

(In thousands, except per share data)

$

$

$

$

(Pro Forma)

$

$

$

$

909,436

77,471

1.53

1.46

50,482

53,198

821,987

45,871

0.93

0.90

49,535

50,797

72

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

Note 5—Investment Securities

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

December 31, 2018

Negotiable certificate of deposit

Agency bond securities

Agency mortgage-backed securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total investment securities

December 31, 2017

Corporate bonds

U.S. Treasury notes

Agency mortgage-backed securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total investment securities

Amortized cost

Gross unrealized
gains

Gross unrealized
losses

Fair value

(In thousands)

$

$

$

$

15,000

$

— $

— $

19,723

87,156

507

79,274

201,660

$

6

53

—

14

73

(36)

(396)

(24)

(94)

$

(550) $

1,000

$

— $

— $

10,921

121,037

742

20,952

154,652

$

—

52

4

—

56

(46)

(1,055)

(7)

(91)

$

(1,199) $

15,000

19,693

86,813

483

79,194

201,183

1,000

10,875

120,034

739

20,861

153,509

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, 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, 2018

Agency bond securities

$

14,937

$

(36) $

— $

— $

14,937

$

28,939

353

50,980

(103)

(14)

(70)

8,743

130

7,333

(293)

(10)

(24)

37,682

483

58,313

95,209

$

(223) $

16,206

$

(327) $

111,415

$

(36)

(396)

(24)

(94)

(550)

4,588

$

(21) $

6,288

$

(25) $

10,876

$

(46)

62,683

—

2,134

(453)

—

(2)

44,159

193

18,727

(602)

(7)

(89)

106,842

193

20,861

(1,055)

(7)

(91)

Total investment securities

$

69,405

$

(476) $

69,367

$

(723) $

138,772

$

(1,199)

We did not record any other-than-temporary impairment losses during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 
2017 on our available-for-sale investment securities. We do not intend to sell these investments and 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.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded a realized loss of approximately $1.5 million as a result of 
the sale of certain investment securities. Any gross realized gains or losses for the years ended December 31, 2017 
and 2016 were de minimis. 

73

Agency mortgage-backed
securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total investment securities

December 31, 2017

U.S. Treasury notes

Agency mortgage-backed
securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

$

$

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

Note 5—Investment Securities (continued)

As of December 31, 2018, 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

Mortgage and asset-backed securities

Total investment securities

Amortized cost

Fair value

$

$

(In thousands)

19,973

$

14,750

—

507

166,430

201,660

$

19,960

14,733

—

483

166,007

201,183

The expected payments on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities may not coincide with their contractual 

maturities because the issuers have the right to call or prepay certain obligations.

Note 6—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

Fee advances

Other receivables

Accounts receivable, net

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

$

(In thousands)

17,848

$

(13,888)

3,960

6,505

(59)

6,446

6,688

19,576

4,272

$

40,942

$

17,856

(14,471)

3,385

4,231

(3)

4,228

6,309

16,194

5,161

35,277

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

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands)

14,471

$

11,932

$

7,999

67,348

12,442

(80,373)

69,912

7,233

(74,606)

13,888

$

14,471

$

67,798

7,043

(70,908)

11,932

$

$

74

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

Note 7—Loans to Bank Customers

The following table presents total outstanding loans, gross of the related allowance for loan losses, 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

Total Current or
Less Than 30 Days
Past Due

Total
Outstanding

(In thousands)

December 31, 2018

Residential

Commercial

Installment

Secured credit card

Total loans

Percentage of outstanding

December 31, 2017

Residential

Commercial

Installment

Secured credit card

Total loans

$

$

$

$

2

—

—

1,383

1,385

$

$

— $

—

2

1,315

1,317

7

—

—

$

$

9

—

2

3,812

3,823

$

$

3,329

$

3,338

193

905

14,257

18,684

$

193

907

18,069

22,507

1,114

1,121

$

6.2%

5.9%

5.0%

17.0%

83.0%

100.0%

— $

— $

— $

— $

3,554

$

—

1

1,223

1,224

$

—

—

593

593

$

—

—

424

424

$

—

1

2,240

2,241

315

1,378

11,373

$

16,620

$

3,554

315

1,379

13,613

18,861

Percentage of outstanding

6.5%

3.1%

2.3%

11.9%

88.1%

100.0%

Nonperforming Loans

The following table presents the carrying value, gross of the related allowance for loan losses, of our nonperforming 
loans. See Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for further information on the criteria for classification 
as nonperforming.

Residential

Installment

Secured credit card

Total loans

Credit Quality Indicators

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

$

$

(In thousands)

$

403

169

1,114

1,686

$

502

191

424

1,117

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.

The table below presents the carrying value, gross of the related allowance for loan losses, of our loans within the 

primary credit quality indicators related to our loan portfolio:

Residential

Commercial

Installment

Secured credit card

Total loans

$

$

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

Non-Classified

Classified

Non-Classified

Classified

(In thousands)

2,935

$

403

$

3,038

$

—

275

1,114

315

1,059

13,189

1,792

$

17,601

$

1,260

516

—

320

424

193

632

16,955

20,715

$

75

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

Note 7—Loans to Bank Customers (continued)

Impaired Loans and Troubled Debt Restructurings

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, or TDR. 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. The following table presents our 
impaired loans and loans that we modified as TDRs as of December 31, 2018 and 2017:

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

Unpaid Principal
Balance

Carrying Value

Unpaid Principal
Balance

Carrying Value

$

$

403

190

(In thousands)

329

$

53

$

516

262

452

120

Residential

Installment

Allowance for Loan Losses

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

Balance, beginning of period

Provision (benefit) for loans

Loans charged off

Recoveries of loans previously charged off

Balance, end of period

Note 8—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

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands)

$

$

291

$

3,094

(2,657)

416

$

277

430

(472)

56

1,144

$

291

$

426

(151)

(25)

27

277

December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands)

$

205

$

1,105

60,110

27,276

187,723

12,533

288,952

(168,683)

$

120,269

$

205

1,105

52,132

25,579

157,477

10,030

246,528

(149,246)

97,282

Depreciation and amortization expense was $38.6 million, $33.5 million and $39.5 million for the years ended 
December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Included in those amounts are depreciation expense related to 
internal-use software of $25.5 million, $20.0 million and $25.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017
and 2016, respectively. We recorded impairment charges of $0.9 million, $1.3 million and $0.1 million for the years 
ended  December 31,  2018,  2017  and  2016,  respectively,  associated  with  capitalized  internal-use  software  we 
determined to no longer be utilized and any remaining carrying value was written off. The net carrying value of capitalized 
internal-use software was $93.8 million and $69.9 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

76

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

Note 9—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

Balance, end of period

December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands)

301,790

$

249,326

551,116

$

301,790

280,587

582,377

December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands)

301,790

$

—

301,790

$

208,355

93,435

301,790

$

$

$

$

We completed our annual goodwill impairment test as of September 30, 2018. Based on the results of step one 
of the annual goodwill impairment test, we determined that step two was not required for each of our reporting units 
as their fair values exceeded their carrying values indicating there was no impairment.

Intangible Assets

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

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

Gross
Carrying
Value

Accumulated
Amortization

Net Book
Value

(In thousands)

Gross
Carrying
Value

Accumulated
Amortization

Net Book
Value

(In thousands)

Weighted
Average
Useful Lives

(Years)

Customer relationships

$

309,773

$

(98,305) $

211,468

$

309,773

$

(70,295) $

239,478

Trade names

Patents

Other

44,086

3,000

7,464

(12,517)

(1,091)

(3,084)

31,569

1,909

4,380

44,086

3,000

5,964

(9,347)

(818)

(1,776)

34,739

2,182

4,188

12.8

14.6

11.0

4.6

Total intangible assets

$

364,323

$

(114,997) $

249,326

$

362,823

$

(82,236) $

280,587

Amortization expense on finite-lived intangibles, a component of other general and administrative expenses, was 
$32.8 million, $31.1 million, and $23.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. 
None of our intangible assets were considered impaired as of December 31, 2018 or 2017. 

The  following  table  shows  our  estimated  amortization  expense  for  intangible  assets  for  each  of  the  next  five 

succeeding years and thereafter:

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Thereafter

Total

77

December 31,

(In thousands)

$

$

33,496

28,867

28,588

28,088

28,088

102,199

249,326

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

Note 10—Deposits

Deposits are categorized as non-interest or 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

Checking accounts

Savings

GPR deposits

Time deposits, denominations greater than or equal to $100

Time deposits, denominations less than $100

Total interest-bearing deposit accounts

Total deposits

December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands)

$

817,124

$

97,442

914,566

67,758

8,894

9,224

3,796

1,247

90,919

$

1,005,485

$

803,549

61,264

864,813

140,555

10,523

—

4,752

1,537

157,367

1,022,180

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

Due in 2019

Due in 2020

Due in 2021

Due in 2022

Due in 2023

Total time deposits

December 31,

(In thousands)

$

$

1,425

1,448

1,040

790

340

5,043

As of December 31, 2018, we had aggregate time deposits of $1.5 million in denominations that met or exceeded 

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance limit.

Note 11—Note Payable

In October 2014, we entered into a $225.0 million credit agreement with Bank of America, N.A., as an administrative 
agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and the other lenders party thereto. The credit agreement provides for 
1) a $75.0 million five-year revolving facility (the "Revolving Facility") and 2) a five-year $150.0 million term loan facility 
("Term Facility" and, together with the Revolving Facility, the "Senior Credit Facility"). The credit agreement also includes 
an accordion feature that, subject to securing additional commitments from existing lenders or new lending institutions, 
will allow us to increase the aggregate amount of these facilities by up to an additional $50.0 million. We use the 
proceeds of any borrowings under the Revolving Facility for working capital and other general corporate purposes, 
subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the credit agreement.

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, our outstanding debt consisted of the following, net of deferred financing 

costs of $1.3 million and $2.9 million, respectively:

Term facility

Revolving facility

Total notes payable

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

$

$

(In thousands)

58,705

$

—

58,705

$

79,611

—

79,611

78

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

Note 11—Note Payable (continued)

Interest and other fees

At our election, loans made under the credit agreement bear interest at 1) a LIBOR rate (the “LIBOR Rate") or 2) 
a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) the Bank of America prime rate, (b) the United States federal 
funds rate plus 0.50% and (c) a daily rate equal to one-month LIBOR rate plus 1.0% (the “Base Rate"), plus in either 
case an applicable margin. The applicable margin for borrowings depends on our total leverage ratio and varies from 
2.50% to 3.00% for  LIBOR  Rate  loans  and 1.50% to 2.00% for  Base  Rate  loans.  The  effective  interest  rate  on 
borrowings  outstanding as of December 31, 2018 was 5.02%. Cash interest expense related to our Senior Credit 
Facility  was  $3.5  million,  $4.1  million,  and  $4.0  million  for  the  years  ended  December 31,  2018,  2017  and  2016, 
respectively.

We also pay a commitment fee, which varies from 0.30% to 0.40% per annum on the actual daily unused portions 
of the Revolving Facility. Letter of credit fees are payable in respect of outstanding letters of credit at a rate per annum 
equal to the applicable margin for LIBOR Rate loans.

Maturity and payments

The  Revolving  Facility  matures,  the  commitments  thereunder  terminate,  and  all  amounts  then  outstanding 
thereunder are payable on October 23, 2019. Quarterly principal payments of $5.6 million are payable on the loans 
under the Term Facility. The loans made under the Term Facility mature and all amounts then outstanding thereunder 
also become payable on October 23, 2019.

We have the option to prepay the borrowings under the Senior Credit Facility without premium or penalty (other 
than customary breakage costs). The credit agreement requires us to repay certain amounts outstanding thereunder 
with (1) net cash proceeds of certain asset sales or other dispositions that exceed certain thresholds, to the extent 
such  proceeds  are  not  reinvested  or  committed  to  be  reinvested  in  the  business  in  accordance  with  customary 
reinvestment provisions and (2) net cash proceeds of the incurrence of certain indebtedness. Borrowings under the 
Senior Credit Facility are guaranteed by each of our domestic subsidiaries (the "Guarantor"), other than certain excluded 
subsidiaries (including bank subsidiaries) and subject to certain other exceptions set forth in the credit agreement.  
Obligations under the Senior Credit Facility are secured by first priority liens on, and security interests in, substantially 
all of our assets and each Guarantor, subject to certain customary exceptions. 

Covenants and restrictions

The Senior Credit Facility contains customary representations and warranties relating to us and our subsidiaries. 
The Senior Credit Facility also contains certain affirmative and negative covenants including negative covenants that 
limit  or  restrict,  among  other  things,  liens,  indebtedness,  investments  and  acquisitions,  mergers  and  fundamental 
changes, asset sales, restricted payments, changes in the nature of the business, transactions with affiliates and other 
matters customarily restricted in such agreements.  We must maintain a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio and a 
maximum  consolidated  leverage  ratio  at  the  end  of  each  fiscal  quarter,  as  set  forth  in  the  credit  agreement. At 
December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all such covenants.

If an event of default shall occur and be continuing under the Senior Credit Facility, the commitments may be 
terminated and the principal amounts outstanding under the Senior Credit Facility, together with all accrued unpaid 
interest and other amounts owing in respect thereof, may be declared immediately due and payable. 

79

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

Note 12—Stockholders’ Equity

Convertible Preferred Stock

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.

 As of December 31, 2016, all shares of our Series A Preferred shares were converted into equivalent shares of 

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.

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 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 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.

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 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

Our Class A common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights or subject to redemption. 

Comprehensive Income

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

2018, 2017 and 2016 was approximately $0.1 million, $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

Stock Repurchase Program

In June 2015, our Board of Directors authorized, subject to regulatory approval, a repurchase of shares of our 
Class A Common Stock in an amount up to $150 million under a stock repurchase program ("Repurchase Program") 
with no expiration date. As of December 31, 2017 we completed our repurchase of all $150 million of Class A Common 
Stock authorized under the Repurchase Program. 

Accelerated Share Repurchases

We have entered into accelerated share repurchase arrangements (“ASRs”) with a financial institution from time 
to  time  under  the  Repurchase  Program.  The  following  table  summarizes  our ASR  activity  since  inception  of  the 
Repurchase Program:

80

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

Note 12—Stockholders’ Equity (continued)

March 2017 ASR

April 2016 ASR

September 2015 ASR

Purchase Period
End Date

November 2017

October 2016

January 2016

Number of
Shares (In
thousands)

Average
repurchase price
per share

ASR Amount
(In  thousands)

1,326

2,219

2,342

$

$

$

38.64

22.54

17.08

$

$

$

50,000 (1)

50,000

40,000

(1) We elected to cash settle approximately $2.0 million worth of shares owed back to the counterparty under our March 2017

accelerated share repurchase agreement.

In exchange for an up-front payment, the financial institution delivers shares of our Class A Common Stock during 
the purchase periods of each ASR. Upon settlement, we either receive additional shares from the financial institution 
or we may be required to deliver additional shares or cash to the financial institution, at our election. The final number 
of shares received upon settlement for the ASR is determined based on the volume-weighted average price of our 
common stock over the term of the agreement less an agreed upon discount and subject to adjustments pursuant to 
the terms and conditions of the ASR. 

The up-front payments are accounted for as a reduction to shareholders’ equity on our consolidated balance sheets 
in the periods the payments are made.  The ASRs are accounted for in two separate transactions: 1) a treasury stock 
repurchase for the initial shares received and 2) a forward stock purchase contract indexed to our own stock for the 
unsettled portion of the ASR. The par value of the shares received are recorded as a reduction to common stock with 
the remainder recorded as a reduction to additional paid-in capital and retained earnings.  The ASRs meet all of the 
applicable criteria for equity classification, and therefore are not accounted for as derivative instruments. The initial 
repurchase of shares resulted in an immediate reduction of the outstanding shares used to calculate the weighted-
average common shares outstanding for basic and diluted earnings per share. The shares are retired upon repurchase, 
but remain authorized for registration and issuance in the future. 

Other

In  connection  with  the  Repurchase  Program,  we  entered  into  a  repurchase  plan  in  December  2015  under 
Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act for $10 million. The timing, nature and amount of purchases depend on a variety of 
factors, including market conditions and the volume limit defined by Rule 10b-18. We completed all repurchases under 
this plan during the first quarter of 2016 and total repurchases amounted to approximately 0.6 million shares at an 
average price of $16.15. 

Note 13—Employee Stock-Based Compensation

Employee Stock-Based Compensation

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. At our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our stockholders approved amendments to our 2010 
Equity Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance by 2.8 million. Approximately 2.6 million
shares are available for grant under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan as of December 31, 2018.

Stock-based compensation for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 includes expense related to 
awards of stock options, performance and service based restricted stock units and purchases under the 2010 Employee 
Stock Purchase Plan. Total stock-based compensation expense and the related income tax benefit were as follows: 

81

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

Note 13—Employee Stock-Based Compensation (continued)

Total stock-based compensation expense

$

Related income tax benefit

Restricted Stock Units

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands)

50,093

$

3,783

40,734

$

9,440

28,321

9,167

The following table summarizes restricted stock units with only service conditions granted under our 2010 Equity 

Incentive Plan:

Restricted stock units granted

Weighted-average grant-date fair value

$

452

74.33

$

656

48.72

$

1,416

22.59

Restricted stock unit activity for the year ended December 31, 2018 was as follows:

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands, except per share data)

Outstanding at December 31, 2017

Restricted stock units granted

Restricted stock units vested

Restricted stock units canceled

Outstanding at December 31, 2018

Shares

Weighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair
Value

(In thousands, except per share data)

2,223

452

$

$

(906) $

(215) $

1,554

$

28.64

74.33

25.74

22.77

44.38

The total fair value of restricted stock vested for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $67.5 
million, $41.5 million and $23.2 million, respectively, based on the price of our Class A common stock on the vesting 
date. 

Performance Based Restricted Stock Units

We grant performance-based restricted stock units to certain employees which are subject to the attainment of 
minimum pre-established annual performance targets. The majority of these awards are tied to the achievement of an 
annual non-GAAP earnings per share target for the grant year. The actual number of shares subject to the award is 
determined at the end of the annual performance period and may range from zero to 150% percent of the target shares 
granted. These awards contain an additional service component after each annual performance period is concluded 
and the unvested balance of the shares determined at the end of the annual performance period will vest over the 
remaining requisite service period. Compensation expense related to these awards is recognized using the accelerated 
attribution method over the four-year vesting period based on the fair value of the closing market price of our Class A 
common stock on the date of the grant and the estimated performance that is expected to be achieved. In the case of 
our Chief Executive Officer, vesting of performance awards is based on the achievement of a total shareholder return 
("TSR") relative to the S&P 600 index over a three-year performance period. Compensation expense related to these 
awards is recognized over the performance period based on the grant date fair value through the use of a Monte Carlo 
simulation and are not subsequently re-measured.

The  following  table  summarizes  the  performance-based  restricted  stock  units  granted  under  our  2010  Equity 

Incentive Plan:

82

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

Note 13—Employee Stock-Based Compensation (continued)

Performance based restricted stock units granted

Weighted-average grant-date fair value

$

276

71.70

$

616

36.13

$

287

25.24

Performance based restricted stock unit activity for the year ended December 31, 2018 was as follows:

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands, except per share data)

Outstanding at December 31, 2017

Performance restricted stock units granted (at target)

Performance restricted stock units vested

Performance restricted stock units canceled

Actual adjustment for certified performance periods

Outstanding at December 31, 2018

Shares

Weighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair
Value

(In thousands, except per share data)

924

276

$

$

(632) $

(67) $

336

837

$

$

30.20

71.70

28.23

40.22

30.42

45.41

The total fair value of performance based restricted stock vested for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017
and 2016 was $45.1 million, $4.4 million and $0 million, respectively, based on the price of our Class A common stock 
on the vesting date. 

Stock Options

Stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2018 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, 2017

Options exercised

Options canceled

Outstanding at December 31, 2018

Exercisable at December 31, 2018

1,023

$

(771)

(1)

251

251

$

21.05

21.19

23.54

20.63

20.63

3.38

3.38

$

$

14,759

14,759

The total intrinsic value of options exercised was $36.2 million, $24.1 million and $6.4 million for the years ended 

December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. 

We have not issued any new stock option awards from our equity plan since the year ended December 31, 2014.  
Accordingly, any additional required disclosures with respect to fair value assumptions of our stock options have been 
omitted for the periods presented on these consolidated financial statements. 

As  of  December 31,  2018,  there  was  $76.1  million  of  aggregate  unrecognized  compensation  cost  related  to 
unvested restricted stock units (including performance based awards) expected to be recognized in compensation 
expense in future periods, with a weighted-average period of 2.67 years. As of December 31, 2018, we had no unvested 
stock options and thus, no remaining unrecognized compensation cost. 

83

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

Note 14—Income Taxes

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

Current:

Federal

State

Foreign

Current income tax expense

Deferred:

Federal

State

Foreign

Deferred income tax (benefit) expense

Income tax expense

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands)

$

4,011

$

15,545

$

894

443

5,348

1,136

(1,370)

—

(234)

(1,122)

368

14,791

4,596

(1,816)

—

2,780

$

5,114

$

17,571

$

16,540

1,934

217

18,691

2,362

(1,142)

50

1,270

19,961

Income tax expense differs from the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to income 

before income taxes. The sources and tax effects of the differences are as follows:

U.S. federal statutory tax rate

State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit

General business credits

Employee stock-based compensation

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act remeasurement

IRC 162(m) limitation

Other

Effective tax rate

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

21.0%

(0.5)

(2.2)

(17.1)

0.2

2.2

0.5

4.1%

35.0%

(2.3)

(2.8)

(12.4)

(5.0)

1.5

3.0

17.0%

35.0%

0.4

(3.4)

0.3

—

—

0.1

32.4%

On December 22, 2017 (the “enactment date”), H.R. 1, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act") was 
signed into law and made significant changes to U.S. income tax law. The Tax Act reduced the U.S. federal corporate 
income tax rate from 35% to 21%, required companies to pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign 
subsidiaries  that  were  previously  tax  deferred,  created  new  taxes  on  certain  foreign-sourced  earnings,  eliminated 
certain deductions, and enhanced and extended through 2026 the option to claim accelerated depreciation deductions 
on qualified property. 

As of December 31, 2017 and through the period ending September 30, 2018, we recorded provisional amounts 
for certain enactment date effects of the Tax Act by applying the guidance under Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 
(“SAB 118”) as we had not yet completed our enactment date accounting for these effects. As of December 31, 2017, 
we had not completed our accounting for all of the enactment date income tax effects of the Tax Act under Accounting 
Standards Codification 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), for the following aspects: application of the Tax Act's transition 
rule for IRC 162(m) limitations, one-time transition tax, and tax on global intangible low-taxed income ("GILTI"). During 
the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, we recorded tax expense related to the enactment date effects of the 
Tax Act that included adjusting deferred tax assets and liabilities, adjusting limitations under Section 162(m) of the 
Internal Revenue Code (“IRC 162(m)”) in accordance with transition rule guidance, and recording a one-time transition 
tax liability related to undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiary that was not previously subject to U.S. tax. 

As of December 31, 2018, we have completed our accounting for all enactment date income tax effects of the Tax 
Act, which resulted in a $0.3 million tax expense, or an increase in our effective tax rate by 0.2% and is included as a 
component of income tax expense on our consolidated statement of operations.

84

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

Note 14—Income Taxes (continued)

The Tax Act subjects a US shareholder to tax on GILTI earned by certain foreign subsidiaries. Under FASB Staff 
Q&A, Topic 740, No. 5, Accounting for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income, an entity can make an accounting policy 
election to either recognize deferred taxes for temporary basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI in future years 
or provide for the tax expense related to GILTI in the year the tax is incurred. We have made a policy election to account 
for GILTI in the year the tax is incurred. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the provision for GILTI expense was 
not material to our financial statements. 

The decrease in the effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the year ended 
December 31, 2017 is primarily due to the Tax Act, which reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% 
and the recognition of significant excess tax benefits related to our employee stock-based compensation expense.  
The Tax Act also repealed the performance-based exception to the limitation on executive compensation under IRC 
162(m) which resulted in an increased IRC 162(m) limitation for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The tax effects of temporary difference 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

Tax credit carryforwards

Other

Total deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities:

Internal-use software costs

Property and equipment, net

Deferred expenses

Intangible assets

Gift card revenue

Other

Total deferred tax liabilities

Net deferred tax liabilities

December 31,

2018

2017

(In thousands)

7,379

$

8,007

3,838

11,206

7,014

—

37,444

$

22,351

$

2,803

4,909

6,246

1,413

900

38,622

(1,178) $

7,746

9,137

3,516

8,782

5,873

10

35,064

16,860

1,274

4,418

11,901

1,884

—

36,337

(1,273)

$

$

$

$

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. As of December 31, 2018, we do not have a valuation allowance on any of our deferred 
tax assets as we believe it is more-likely-than-not that we will realize the benefits of our deferred tax assets.

We are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, and various state tax authorities. We 
remain subject to examination of our federal income tax returns for the years ended December 31, 2015 through 2017. 
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.

As of December 31, 2018, we have net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $34.7 million and $33.7 
million for federal and state tax purposes, respectively, which will be available to offset future income. If not used, these 
carryforwards will expire between 2020 and 2035. These net operating losses are subject to an annual IRC Section 
382 limitation which restricts their utilization against taxable income in future periods. In addition, we have state business 
tax credits of approximately $11.7 million that can be carried forward indefinitely and other state business tax credits 
of approximately $1.1 million that will expire between 2023 and 2027.

85

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

Note 14—Income Taxes (continued)

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, we had a liability of $6.9 million and $5.6 million, respectively, for unrecognized 
tax benefits related to various federal and state income tax matters excluding interest, penalties and related tax benefits. 
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

Decreases related to positions settled with tax authorities

Decreases due to a lapse of applicable statute of limitations

Ending balance

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

$

$

$

2018

Year Ended December 31,

2017

(In thousands)

5,560

$

7,314

$

2016

462

1,607

—

(664)

404

1,099

(1,865)

(1,392)

6,965

$

5,560

$

7,371

134

1,023

(1,105)

(109)

7,314

6,918

$

5,560

$

7,314

We  recognized  accrued  interest  and  penalties  related  to  unrecognized  tax  benefits  for  the  years  ended 

December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, of approximately $0.3 million, $0.2 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

Note 15—Earnings per Common Share

The calculation of basic and diluted EPS was as follows:

Basic earnings per Class A common share

Net income

Income attributable to preferred 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

Re-allocated earnings

Diluted net income allocated to Class A common stockholders

Weighted-average Class A shares issued and outstanding

Dilutive potential common shares:

Stock options

Service based restricted stock units

Performance based restricted stock units

Employee stock purchase plan

Diluted weighted-average Class A shares issued and outstanding

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands, except per share data)

$

$

$

$

$

118,703

$

85,887

$

—

118,703

$

52,222

2.27

$

—

85,887

$

50,482

1.70

$

118,703

$

85,887

$

—

118,703

$

52,222

—

85,887

$

50,482

327

1,135

796

1

54,481

809

1,445

462

—

53,198

Diluted earnings per Class A common share

$

2.18

$

1.61

$

41,600

(802)

40,798

49,535

0.82

40,798

20

40,818

49,535

507

650

103

2

50,797

0.80

For the periods presented, we excluded all shares of convertible preferred stock and certain restricted stock units 
and stock options outstanding, which could potentially dilute basic EPS in the future, from the computation of diluted 
EPS as their effect was anti-dilutive. Additionally, we have excluded any performance based restricted stock units for 
which the performance contingency has not been met as of the end of the period, or whereby the result of including 
such awards was anti-dilutive. The following table shows the weighted-average number of anti-dilutive shares excluded 
from the diluted EPS calculation:

86

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

Note 15—Earnings per Common Share (continued)

Class A common stock

Options to purchase Class A common stock

Service based restricted stock units

Performance based restricted stock units

Conversion of convertible preferred stock

Total options, restricted stock units and convertible preferred stock

Note 16—Fair Value Measurements

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

(In thousands)

—

20

143

—

163

56

20

199

—

275

124

2

67

974

1,167

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. There are three levels of inputs used to measure fair value. 

For more information regarding the fair value hierarchy and how we measure fair value, see Note 2 — Summary 

of Significant Accounting Policies.

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, our assets and liabilities carried at fair value on a recurring basis were as 

follows:

December 31, 2018

Assets

Negotiable certificate of deposit

Agency bond securities

Agency mortgage-backed securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total assets

Liabilities

Contingent consideration

December 31, 2017

Assets

Corporate bonds

U.S. Treasury notes

Agency mortgage-backed securities

Municipal bonds

Asset-backed securities

Total assets

Liabilities

Contingent consideration

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total Fair Value

(In thousands)

— $

15,000

$

— $

—

—

—

—

19,693

86,813

483

79,194

—

—

—

—

— $

201,183

$

— $

15,000

19,693

86,813

483

79,194

201,183

— $

— $

15,800

$

15,800

— $

1,000

$

— $

—

—

—

—

10,875

120,034

739

20,861

—

—

—

—

— $

153,509

$

— $

1,000

10,875

120,034

739

20,861

153,509

— $

— $

17,358

$

17,358

$

$

$

$

$

$

We based the fair value of our fixed income securities held as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 on quoted prices 
in active markets for similar assets. We had no transfers between Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 assets or liabilities during 
the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.

87

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

Note 16—Fair Value Measurements (continued)

The following table presents changes in our contingent consideration payable for the years ended December 31, 

2018, 2017 and 2016, which is categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy:

Balance, beginning of period

Issuance

Payments of contingent consideration

Change in fair value of contingent consideration

Balance, end of period

Note 17—Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Year Ended December 31,

2018

2017

2016

$

$

(In thousands)

17,358

$

8,634

$

—

(4,856)

3,298

21,500

(3,104)

(9,672)

15,800

$

17,358

$

13,889

—

(2,755)

(2,500)

8,634

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

not such instruments are carried at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets.

Short-term Financial Instruments

Our short-term financial instruments consist principally of unrestricted and restricted cash and cash equivalents, 
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.

Investment Securities

The fair values of investment securities have been derived using methodologies referenced in Note 2 — Summary 

of 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.

Contingent Consideration

The fair value of contingent consideration obligations are estimated through valuation models designed to estimate 
the probability of such contingent payments based on various assumptions.  Estimated payments are discounted using 
present value techniques to arrive at an estimated fair value.  Our contingent consideration payable is classified as 
Level  3  because  we  use  unobservable  inputs  to  estimate  fair  value,  including  the  probability  of  achieving  certain 
earnings thresholds and appropriate discount rates. Changes in fair value of contingent consideration are recorded 
through operating expenses.

Note Payable

The  fair  value  of  our  note  payable  is  based  on  borrowing  rates  currently  required  of  loans  with  similar  terms,  
maturity and credit risk.  The carrying amount of our note payable approximates fair value because the base interest 
rate charged varies with market conditions and the credit spread is commensurate with current market spreads for 
issuers of similar risk.  The fair value of the note payable is classified as a Level 2 liability in the fair value hierarchy.

88

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

Note 17—Fair Value of Financial Instruments (continued)

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying values and fair values of certain financial instruments that were not carried at fair value, excluding 
short-term  financial  instruments  for  which  the  carrying  value  approximates  fair  value,  at  December 31, 
2018 and 2017 are presented in the table below.

Financial Assets

Loans to bank customers, net of allowance

Financial Liabilities

Deposits

Note payable

$

$

$

Note 18—Concentrations of Credit Risk

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

Carrying Value

Fair Value

Carrying Value

Fair Value

(In thousands)

21,363

$

21,088

$

18,570

$

18,102

1,005,485

58,705

$

$

1,005,435

58,705

$

$

1,022,180

79,611

$

$

1,022,102

79,611

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.  With  respect  to  our  loan  portfolio  (excluding  secured  credit  cards), 
approximately  92.8%  of  our  borrowers  reside  in  the  state  of  Utah  and  approximately  43.3%  in  the  city  of  Provo. 
Consequently, this loan portfolio is susceptible to any adverse market or environmental conditions that may impact 
this specific geographic region. Credit risk associated with our secured credit card portfolio is mitigated by collateral 
provided by the borrower in the amount of their credit limit. Credit risk for our settlement assets is concentrated with 
our retail distributors, which we periodically monitor.

Note 19—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. Currently, 
employer contributions amount to 50% of the first 5% of a participant's eligible compensation. Our contributions are 
allocated in the same manner as that of the participant’s elective contributions. We made contributions to the plan of 
$1.7 million, $1.1 million, and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. 

Note 20—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. Through  our  wholly  owned  subsidiaries,  we  also  lease  various  office  facilities  and 
maintain smaller administrative or project offices. Our total rental expense for these and former leases amounted to 
$7.6 million, $7.2 million and $8.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

89

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

Note 20—Commitments and Contingencies (continued)

At December 31, 2018, the future minimum aggregate rental commitment under all operating leases and minimum 

annual payments through various agreements with vendors and retail distributors was as follows:

Year ending December 31,

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Total of future commitments

Operating Leases

Vendor/Retail Distributor
Commitments

(In thousands)

7,927

$

7,929

6,689

5,372

—

27,917

$

13,882

7,486

4,157

450

325

26,300

$

$

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. These future minimum obligations 
are included in our vendor and retail distributor commitments.

In addition to the above contractual obligations, our definitive agreement to acquire all of the equity interests of 
UniRush provides for a minimum $4 million annual earn-out payment for five years following the closing, ending in 
February 2022. As of December 31, 2018, the estimated fair value of our remaining earn-out payments amounted to 
$15.8 million. 

Litigation and Claims

In the ordinary course of business, we are a party to various legal proceedings, including, from time to time, actions 
which are asserted to be maintainable as class action suits. We review these actions on an ongoing basis to determine 
whether it is probable and estimable that a loss has occurred and use that information when making accrual and 
disclosure decisions. We have provided reserves where necessary for all claims and, based on current knowledge 
and in part upon the advice of legal counsel, all matters are believed to be adequately covered by insurance, or, if not 
covered, we do not expect the outcome in any legal proceedings, individually or collectively, to have a material adverse 
impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

The third and final performance period under an earn-out provision for the acquisition of our tax refund processing 
business ended on June 30, 2017. We believed that our tax refund processing business did not achieve its earn-out 
performance target for the fiscal year performance period based on the provisions of the contract and therefore, the 
total potential payout of $26 million had not been accrued in any period subsequent to June 30, 2017. We were in the 
process of resolving the final earn-out calculation with the selling shareholders with the assistance of a neutral third 
party pursuant to the terms of the contract. Prior to the final outcome of that process, we and the sellers mutually 
agreed to a payment of $13.5 million. This payment was made in October of 2018 and is reflected as a component of 
other general and administrative expenses on our consolidated income statement for the year ended December 31, 
2018.

During the quarter ended June 30, 2016, we were in the process of our planned conversion of customer files from 
our legacy third-party card processor to our current third-party card processor. As part of the conversion process, a 
small percentage of our active account holders experienced limited disruptions in service, which resulted in two putative 
class action complaints filed during the second quarter of 2016. We previously recorded an accrual of approximately 
$2.3 million, which represented our portion of the estimated total settlement amount, all of which our insurance carrier 
agreed to reimburse us. As of December 31, 2018, substantially all payments have been made to members of the 
class for open claims and the matter is considered resolved. 

Other Matters

We monitor the laws of all 50 states to identify state laws or regulations that apply (or may apply) to our products 
and services. 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.

90

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

Note 20—Commitments and Contingencies (continued)

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  claims  arising  from  certain  of  our  actions,  omissions,  violations  of  law  and/or 
infringement of patents, trademarks, copyrights and/or other intellectual property rights.

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.

For additional information regarding overdrafts on cardholders’ accounts, refer to Note 6 — Accounts Receivable.

Note 21—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.

Revenue Concentrations

Revenues derived from our products sold at retail distributors constituting greater than 10% of our total operating 

revenues were as follows:

Walmart

Year Ended December 31,

2018

37%

2017

40%

2016

45%

No other retail distributor or partner made up greater than 10% of our total operating revenues for the years ended 

December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016. 

Settlement Asset Concentrations

Settlement assets derived from our products sold at retail distributors constituting greater than 10% of the settlement 

assets outstanding on our consolidated balance sheets were as follows:

Walmart

Note 22—Regulatory Requirements

December 31, 2018

December 31, 2017

18%

33%

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  and  Green  Dot  Bank  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  and  Green  Dot  Bank  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.

91

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

Note 22—Regulatory Requirements (continued)

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, we and Green Dot Bank were categorized as "well capitalized" under applicable 
regulatory standards. There were no conditions or events since December 31, 2018 which management believes would 
have caused us or Green Dot Bank not to be considered "well capitalized." Our capital ratios and related regulatory 
requirements were as follows:

Green Dot Corporation:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

Green Dot Bank:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

Green Dot Corporation:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

Green Dot Bank:

Tier 1 leverage

Common equity Tier 1 capital

Tier 1 capital

Total risk-based capital

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

December 31, 2018

Amount

Ratio

Regulatory
Minimum

"Well-capitalized"
Minimum

(In thousands, except ratios)

353,047

353,047

353,047

357,092

172,518

172,518

172,518

173,838

20.1%

88.8%

88.8%

89.8%

11.7%

100.8%

100.8%

101.5%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

n/a

n/a

6.0%

10.0%

5.0%

6.5%

8.0%

10.0%

December 31, 2017

Amount

Ratio

Regulatory
Minimum

"Well-capitalized"
Minimum

(In thousands, except ratios)

15.6%

45.3%

45.3%

46.0%

10.2%

37.5%

37.5%

37.6%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

4.0%

4.5%

6.0%

8.0%

n/a

n/a

6.0%

10.0%

5.0%

6.5%

8.0%

10.0%

236,885

236,885

236,885

240,509

95,461

95,461

95,461

95,752

92

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

Note 23—Selected Unaudited Quarterly Financial Information

The following tables set forth a summary of our quarterly financial information for each of the four quarters in 2018 

and 2017:

Total operating revenues

Total operating expenses

Operating income (loss)

Interest income, net

Income (loss) before income taxes

Income tax (benefit) expense

Net income

Earnings per common share

Basic

Class A common stock

Diluted

Class A common stock

Total operating revenues

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income, net

Income before income taxes

Income tax (benefit) expense

Net income

Earnings per common share

Basic

Class A common stock

Diluted

Class A common stock

2018

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

(In thousands, except per share data)

237,834

$

230,577

$

258,349

$

229,712

8,122

4,207

12,329

(1,943)

235,662

(5,085)

4,765

(320)

(4,893)

231,168

27,181

4,163

31,344

1,517

14,272

$

4,573

$

29,827

$

0.27

$

0.09

$

0.57

$

0.26

$

0.08

$

0.55

$

2017

Q4

Q3

Q2

Q1

(In thousands, except per share data)

212,989

$

201,613

$

222,548

$

209,284

3,705

1,917

5,622

(6,606)

12,228

$

188,561

13,052

1,238

14,290

651

202,357

20,191

790

20,981

1,715

13,639

$

19,266

$

0.24

$

0.27

$

0.39

$

0.23

$

0.26

$

0.37

$

314,998

238,618

76,380

4,084

80,464

10,433

70,031

1.36

1.29

253,001

191,625

61,376

1,189

62,565

21,811

40,754

0.81

0.78

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

Note 24—Segment Information

Our operations are comprised of two reportable segments: 1) Account Services and 2) Processing and Settlement 
Services. We identified our reportable segments based on factors such as how we manage our operations and how 
our chief operating decision maker views results. Our chief operating decision maker organizes and manages our 
business primarily on the basis of product and service offerings and uses operating income to assess profitability. 

The Account Services segment consists of revenues and expenses derived from our deposit account programs, 
such as prepaid cards, debit cards, consumer and small business checking accounts, secured credit cards, payroll 
debit cards and gift cards. These deposit account programs are marketed under several of our leading consumer brand 
names and under the brand names of our Banking as a Service, or "BaaS," partners. The Processing and Settlement 
Services  segment  consists  of  revenues  and  expenses  derived  from  our  products  and  services  that  specialize  in 
facilitating the movement of cash on behalf of consumers and businesses, such as consumer cash processing services, 
wage  disbursements  and  tax  refund  processing  services. The  Corporate  and  Other  segment  primarily  consists  of 
eliminations of intersegment revenues and expenses, unallocated corporate expenses, depreciation and amortization, 
and other costs that are not considered when management evaluates segment performance. We do not evaluate 
performance or allocate resources based on segment asset data, and therefore such information is not presented.

93

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

Note 24—Segment Information (continued)

The following tables present certain financial information for each of our reportable segments for the periods then 

ended:

Operating revenues

Operating expenses

Operating income

Operating revenues

Operating expenses

Operating income

Operating revenues

Operating expenses

Operating income

Account Services

Processing and
Settlement Services

Corporate and Other

Total

Year Ended December 31, 2018

820,539

$

642,506

178,033

$

(In thousands)

252,909

$

180,245

72,664

$

(31,690) $

112,409

(144,099) $

1,041,758

935,160

106,598

Account Services

Processing and
Settlement Services

Corporate and Other

Total

Year Ended December 31, 2017

693,103

$

549,375

143,728

$

(In thousands)

228,444

$

166,444

62,000

$

(31,396) $

76,008

(107,404) $

890,151

791,827

98,324

Account Services

Processing and
Settlement Services

Corporate and Other

Total

Year Ended December 31, 2016

544,271

$

454,187

90,084

$

(In thousands)

203,569

$

137,296

66,273

$

(29,066) $

63,975

(93,041) $

718,774

655,458

63,316

$

$

$

$

$

$

94

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, 2018, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework by the Committee of 
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework). 

Our  management  concluded  that,  as  of  December 31,  2018,  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, 2018, which is included in Part II, Item 
8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Change in internal control over financial reporting — There was no 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, 2018 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.

95

ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

PART III

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from our proxy statement for our 2019 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders under the captions “Proposal No. 1 Election of Directors,” “Our Executive Officers,” “Corporate 
Governance and Director Independence -- Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,” “Corporate Governance and Director 
Independence - Committees of Our Board of Directors - Audit Committee,”  “Additional Information -- Section 16(a) 
Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance.” 

ITEM 11. Executive Compensation

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from our proxy statement for our 2019 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders under the caption “Executive Compensation” excluding the sub-caption “Equity Compensation 
Plan Information.”

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

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from our proxy statement for our 2019 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders under the captions “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and 
“Executive Compensation - Equity Compensation Plan Information”.

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

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from our proxy statement for our 2019 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders under the captions “Corporate Governance and Director Independence of Directors” and 
“Transactions with Related Parties, Founders and Control Persons.”

ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference from our proxy statement for our 2019 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders under the caption “Proposal No. 2 Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered 
Public Accounting Firm - Principal Accountant Fees and Services.”

96

ITEM 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a) The following documents are filed as exhibits to this report:

1. Financial Statements

PART IV

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:

Exhibit
Number
3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

10.1*

10.2*

10.3*

10.4*

10.5

10.6†

10.7†

Exhibit Title
Tenth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation 
of the Registrant.

Form
S-1(A2)

Date
April 26, 2010

Number
3.02

Filed
Herewith

Incorporated by Reference

Certificate of Amendment to Tenth Amended and 
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Green Dot 
Corporation.

Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant.

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

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.

8-K

May 31, 2017

3.1

8-K

8-K

December 19,
2016

December 14,
2011

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

S-1(A3)

June 2, 2010

3.1

3.01

10.01

10.02

Green Dot Corporation 2010 Equity Incentive Plan, as 
amended (including related form agreements).

8-K

May 31, 2017

10.1

2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

S-1(A4)

June 29, 2010

10.19

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

Amended and Restated Walmart MoneyCard Program 
Agreement dated as of May 1, 2015 by and among the 
Registrant, Green Dot Bank, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 
Walmart Stores Texas L.P., Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC, 
Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores East, 
L.P. and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc.

Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Walmart 
MoneyCard Program Agreement dated as of May 2, 2016 
by and among the Registrant, Green Dot Bank, Wal-Mart 
Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC, Wal-Mart 
Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-
Mart Stores East, L.P., and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc.

10-K

February 29, 2012

10.8

10-Q

August 10, 2015

10.01

10-K

February 27, 2018

10.7

97

Exhibit
Number
10.8†

10.9†

10.10

10.11†

10.12†

10.13†

10.14†

10.15*

10.16*

10.17*

10.18*

Exhibit Title

Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Walmart 
MoneyCard Program Agreement dated as of June 20, 
2016 by and among the Registrant, Green Dot Bank, Wal-
Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC, Wal-Mart 
Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-
Mart Stores East, L.P., and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc.

Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Walmart 
MoneyCard Program Agreement dated as of August 1, 
2017 by and among the Registrant, Green Dot Bank, Wal-
Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC, Wal-Mart 
Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-
Mart Stores East, L.P., and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc.

Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Walmart 
MoneyCard Program Agreement dated as of September 
15, 2017 by and among the Registrant, Green Dot Bank, 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC, Wal-
Mart Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, 
Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, 
Inc.

Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Walmart 
MoneyCard Program Agreement dated as of March 8, 
2018 by and among Green Dot Corporation, Wal-Mart 
Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas L.L.C., Wal-Mart 
Louisiana, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-
Mart Stores East, L.P. and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc. and 
Green Dot Bank.

Amendment No. 6 to Amended and Restated Walmart 
MoneyCard Program Agreement dated as of May 1, 2018 
by and among Green Dot Corporation, Wal-Mart Stores, 
Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas L.L.C., Wal-Mart Louisiana, 
LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores 
East, L.P. and Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc. and Green Dot 
Bank.

Processing Services Agreement dated as of December 
19, 2013 by and among the Registrant and MasterCard 
International Incorporated.

Amendment to the Processing Services Agreement dated 
as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Registrant 
and MasterCard International Incorporated.

Employment letter agreement, dated September 16, 
2016, between the Registrant and Steven W. Streit.

Employment letter agreement, dated April 13, 2017, 
between the Registrant and Mark L. Shifke.

Incorporated by Reference

Form
10-K

Date
February 27, 2018

Number
10.8

Filed
Herewith

10-K

February 27, 2018

10.9

10-K

February 27, 2018

10.10

10-Q

May 10, 2018

10.1

10-Q

August 9, 2018

10.1

10-Q/A

June 7, 2017

10.1

10-Q

November 9, 2018

10.1

8-K

8-K

September 22,
2016

10.01

April 17, 2017

10.01

Employment letter agreement, dated November 3, 2016, 
between the Registrant and Brett Narlinger.

10-K

February 27, 2018

10.19

Employment letter agreement, dated September 29, 
2017, between the Registrant and Konrad Alt.

10-K

February 27, 2018

10.20

10.19*

Form of Executive Severance Agreement.

S-1(A2)

April 26, 2010

10.12

10.20*

Performance-based restricted stock units award 
agreement between the Registrant and Steven W. Streit.

8-K

March 31, 2016

10.02

98

Exhibit
Number
10.21*

Exhibit Title

Performance-based restricted stock units award 
agreement between the Registrant and Steven W. Streit.

10.22*

Green Dot Corporation Corporate Transaction Policy.

10.23*

2018 Executive Officer Incentive Bonus Plan.

Form
8-K

8-K

8-K

Date
April 5, 2017

Number
10.02

Filed
Herewith

April 9, 2015

10.01

March 20, 2018

10.01

Incorporated by Reference

21.1

23.1

24.1

31.1

31.2

32.1**

32.2**

Subsidiaries of Green Dot Corporation.

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).

Certification of Steven W. Streit, Chief Executive 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 Mark Shifke, 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, 
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant 
to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certification of Mark Shifke, 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.

_______________

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

*  

** 

†  

Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

Furnished, not filed.

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 or Rule 24b-2 promulgated under the Securities Act or Rule 24b-2 promulgated 
under the Exchange Act.

99

ITEM 16. Form 10-K Summary

None.

100

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:

February 26, 2019

Green Dot Corporation

By:
Name:

Title:

/s/ Steven W. Streit

Steven W. Streit
President, Chief Executive Officer, Director

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS that each individual whose signature appears below constitutes 
and appoints Steven W. Streit, John C. Ricci, and Mark Shifke, 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.

Signature

By:

/s/ Steven W. Streit

Name:

Steven W. Streit

By:

/s/ Mark Shifke

Name: Mark Shifke

By:

/s/ Jess Unruh

Name:

Jess Unruh

By:

/s/ William I. Jacobs

Name: William I. Jacobs

By:

/s/ Kenneth C. Aldrich

Name:

Kenneth C. Aldrich

By:

/s/ J. Chris Brewster

Name:

J. Chris Brewster

Title
President, Chief Executive Officer, and
Director (Principal Executive Officer)

Date

February 26, 2019

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
Officer)

February 26, 2019

Chief Accounting Officer (Principal
Accounting Officer)

February 26, 2019

Chairman/Presiding Director

February 26, 2019

Director

Director

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

By:

  /s/ Glinda Bridgforth Hodges

Director

February 26, 2019

Name: Glinda Bridgforth Hodges

By:

/s/ Rajeev V. Date

Name:

Rajeev V. Date

By:

  /s/ Saturnino Fanlo

Name:

Saturnino Fanlo

By:

/s/ George W. Gresham

Name: George W. Gresham

By:

  /s/ George T. Shaheen

Name: George T. Shaheen

Director

Director

Director

Director

101

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

 
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Kenneth C. Aldrich
President, The Aldrich Company

Steven W. Streit
President and Chief Executive Officer

J. Chris Brewster
Former Chief Financial Officer, Cardtronics, Inc.

Glinda Bridgforth Hodges
Founder, Bridgforth Financial & Associates, LLC

Rajeev V. Date
Managing Partner, Fenway Summer LLC

Mark L. Shifke
Chief Financial Officer

Rob Strub
Chief Operating Officer

Konrad Alt
Chief Banking Officer

Saturnino “Nino” Fanlo
Former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, 
Human Longevity, Inc.

Kuan Archer
President, Chief Product and Technology Officer

George W. Gresham
Chief Executive Officer, Granite Reef Advisers, Inc.

William I. Jacobs
Chairman, Global Payments, Inc.

George T. Shaheen
Former Chairman, Korn/Ferry International

Steven W. Streit
President and Chief Executive Officer

Jason Bibelheimer
Chief Human Resources Officer

Brett Narlinger
Chief Revenue Officer

John C. Ricci
General Counsel and Secretary

INVESTOR RELATIONS
ir@greendot.com

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED 
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Ernst & Young LLP, Los Angeles

STOCK LISTING & SYMBOL
New York Stock Exchange Symbol: GDOT

 
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
3465 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
(626) 765-2000
www.GreenDot.com

©2019 Green Dot Corporation.