AUSTIN, Texas — Financial tech company Green Dot, the largest U.S. provider of prepaid debit cards, is moving its headquarters from California to Austin.
“We are thrilled to plant roots in Austin as we build a more creative, dynamic, performance-driven workforce committed to seamlessly connecting more people and businesses to their money,” said Dan Henry, CEO of Green Dot.
“Austin’s location, tech talent pool and other connections and benefits will play an important role in building the Green Dot of tomorrow for our employees, customers and partners," Henry said.
The company did not say where it plans to locate its Austin offices or how many workers it expects to employ here.
Founded in 1999, Green Dot offers financial services to consumers and businesses including debit, checking, prepaid and payroll cards as well as money processing services, tax refunds, cash deposits and disbursements.
Green Dot says it has worked with more than 33 million customers directly and millions more through its partners. The Green Dot Network has more than 90,000 retail distribution locations nationwide.
Last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Green Dot announced plans to embrace a fully remote, work-from-anywhere model. The company has about 1,300 workers in the U.S. and China.
The company, which is moving from Pasadena, California, is recruiting for more than 100 positions nationwide, primarily in technology, engineering and product management, as well as marketing, data science and analytics, partnerships and customer support.
Green Dot will let the lease on its 160,000 square-foot headquarters in Pasadena lapse but will maintain a presence there, Henry said.
“Green Dot’s announcement validates the Austin region’s continued growth in the fintech arena and ability to attract these types of headquarters,” said Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president of economic development for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “Their platform demonstrates some of the innovative technologies changing the financial services industry.”
According to a report by CNBC in May, Green Dot will focus on four hubs – the new headquarters in Austin, as well as WeWork-style offices in Florida, Ohio and California – as it embraces a permanent remote working model. Henry said internal company surveys found that 70% of employees were fine with never coming into the office.
“I want the best and brightest people we can find to join our team to help us be successful, and you can live anywhere you want,” Henry told CNBC.
Corporate and individual migration to the metro area continue to be a driver for Austin's economy, according to research firm JLL.
"Of the 53 headquarters that left California in the first half of 2021, 20% of those companies chose to relocate to Austin," JLL said in a recent report.
The list of recent relocations includes software giant Oracle, which in December said it was moving its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin.
“Oracle is implementing a more flexible employee work location policy and has changed its corporate headquarters from Redwood City, California to Austin, Texas," the company said in a statement at the time. "We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work."
