Greenlight raises $7.5m for kids’ debit card

The funding round was led by Relay Ventures with participation from Social Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and TTV Capital. Greenlight also announced that the company has added its 10,000th paying customer following its January 2017 launch and is on track to process over 1,000,000 transactions this year. Greenlight plans to use this injection of funding to accelerate its growth and fulfill its mission of delivering safe, simple, and family-friendly financial products worldwide. Greenlight is also expanding its team and hiring for several positions in engineering, marketing and customer service.

“Greenlight’s vision is to improve financial literacy for kids through a modern, smart, and easy-to-use debit card solution supported by a mobile app that features an exclusive set of parental controls,” said Alex Baker, Partner at Relay Ventures and new member of Greenlight’s Board of Directors. “Greenlight is helping parents raise financially smart kids, and has already seen significant traction in the market. This is an important investment in financial literacy for the next generation.”

“Greenlight is a true innovator within the Fintech space,” said Vanessa Larco, Partner at NEA. “Its intelligent debit card for kids is a unique solution — the only card with store-level controls that has the potential to make a valuable impact within the family finance market.”

“Greenlight’s vision has won the interest of a number of key partners who understand the value of their family-friendly approach,” said Tom Smith, partner at TTV Capital. “The company has significant growth potential, and they are a welcome addition to our portfolio.”

Greenlight’s Top Three Features
The Greenlight card is the smart debit card for kids that is safer than cash. It enables parents to manage their kid’s spending from their smartphone. For example, a parent can pick the exact stores where their kids can spend, freeze the card if lost or stolen, receive instant spending alerts and automate allowances. Greenlight is ideal for savvy parents of kids aged 8 to 18 who want to empower them to make smart decisions with money while keeping them safe and protected.

1. Store-level controls: Greenlight is the ONLY debit card in the world that offers this unique capability. Through the mobile app, parents can choose the specific stores or categories where their kids can spend money.
2. Instantly transfer money: Money can be instantly transferred from the parent’s bank account onto their kids’ Greenlight Cards through the mobile app. This helps parents provide their kids money immediately when they are not in the same location and makes allowance days much easier by eliminating the need to search for cash.
3. Real-time alerts: Greenlight sends parents a real-time notification every time their son or daughter uses the card, letting them know where they are shopping and how much they spent. Kids also receive the alerts.

“Parents want their children to grow up to be smart with money,” said Tim Sheehan, CEO and co-founder of Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc. “With Greenlight, parents can give all the advantages of digital payments to their kids, while keeping them safe and showing them how to save and spend their money in smart ways.”

Pricing
Greenlight is free for 30 days and then just $4.99/month per family, which includes cards for up to 5 children of any age. This is substantially better than alternatives like having a bank account which has age restrictions, balance requirements, and hidden fees. With Greenlight there are no additional transfer fees, no ATM fees, no overdraft fees, and no late payment fees.