Intel Report Digital Banking - Flipbook - Page 16
Greenwood
Greenwood is another banking platform that has attracted venture capital support,
but this time to help Black and Brown communities. Its name recalls Tulsa’s prosperous Greenwood District, a Black community that was destroyed by a white mob
in 1921.
Founded by hip hop star Michael Render, aka Killer Mike, and a group of other
prominent Black investors, the financial technology company raised $40 million in
Series A funding in March from six of the seven largest U.S. banks and financial
companies, including Bank of America Corp., PNC and JPMorgan Chase.
They’re funneling money to a company “whose mission is core to our brand,” wrote
Greenwood President and Chief Technology Officer Aparicio “Reese” Giddins Jr., in
an email. “It’s part of our DNA to speak directly to Black and Brown communities
who have been historically underserved by financial institutions, and that mission is
key to how we approach our business, our products and our brand.”
And this so-called challenger bank isn’t really challenging banking. The platform
introduced a program to share technology advice, co-branded cards, interchange
fees, and deposits and loans with Black-owned banks as a way to support their
operations.
As of publication, Greenwood hadn’t launched yet, but had over 550,000 people on
a waiting list. “When I saw the accounts start pouring in,” Render said in an interview in early 2021 for Bank Director magazine. “I was like, ‘Wow, now people are
Source: Instagram @ bankgreenwood
getting it.’”
Studio Bank
The economics of local commercial banks are fundamentally different, of course.
Take Studio Bank, which got started in 2018. Billing itself as a bank for “creators”
in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, Studio Bank is banking literally on Nashville’s
reputation as “Music City.” But the bank is as enthusiastic about serving entrepreneurs and business leaders of all sorts, even real estate developers, among its more
Aaron Dorn,
CEO and
chairman,
Studio Bank
than 2,500 customers.
The bank’s business model and its branding are built on the concept of networking
and connections, hiring bankers who have decades of experience in town serving
industries such as music, nonprofits, technology and real estate. Its diverse advisory board and board of directors include industry titans such as gospel star CeCe
Winans, the chairman and CEO of Warner Music Nashville, John Esposito, and
developer Pat Emery. At Studio Bank, you can get a loan from someone who once
played on stage with country singer Barbara Mandrell, for example.
14 | FINXTECH INTELLIGENCE REPORT
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