GoBank Removes Friction From Its Prepaid Option

GoBank has put the connivence factor of mobile banking back in its product and removed the burdensome starter kit initially needed to activate the service, BankInnovation.net reported.

GoBank — the mobile-first bank account from the prepaid company Green Dot Bank — initially started selling starter kits for $2.95 in September to make the prepaid options available to activate for GoBank. The price might not have been an issue, but the convenience sure was. Kits are still available, but GoBank recently announced under the newest updated for iOS and Android the starter kit is no longer needed to activate the cards through the banking app.

The mobile banking option is a popular option at Wal-Mart and sales from its stores make up a large portion of GoBank prepaid sales, the article said. GoBank offers consumers a prepaid MasterCard that creates an account using Green Dot Bank on a mobile phone. Activation is now done at the register when a prepaid card is initially purchased. The checking account was designed for today’s “on-the-go” customer, providing a host of modern features and a linked debit card.

“Forcing users to buy kits at Walmart seemed to close GoBank off from its original audience,” BankInnovation.net reported. “But it now appears GoBank may attempt to appeal to a bifurcated audience, Walmart shoppers on one hand and mobile-savvy millennials on the other. Its marketing in the coming year will be telling.”