Green Dot 2011 Annual Report Download - page 15

5
Our Proprietary Technology Platform — Green PlaNET
Green PlaNET is our proprietary technology platform that enables our network participants, which include
consumers, retail distributors and businesses that accept reloads or payments through the Green Dot Network, to
communicate with us in a real-time, secure environment. Green PlaNET is a centralized, client-server based processing
system that gives us the ability to centrally develop and distribute product applications, manage customer accounts,
authorize, process and settle transactions, ensure security and regulatory compliance, and provide customer services
across a variety of points of contact and technologies.
Green PlaNET enables Green Dot cardholders to activate and use their card accounts for a variety of transactions,
including cash loads. Green PlaNET also provides a single and secure point of integration for all our network participants,
enabling them to communicate with us and our customers and facilitating the initiation, authorization and settlement
of transactions.
Green PlaNET has the following components:
• The Green PlaNET front-end processing system communicates with the host systems of retail distributors and
network acceptance members through a proprietary application programming interface and runs a variety of
proprietary and third-party software applications that facilitate the purchase of a card at a retail location as
well as the loading of cash onto a card or MoneyPak. It enables our reload network to interoperate with funds
transfer networks and engages in real-time transaction verification so that cards do not exceed applicable
limits, thus ensuring compliance with our anti-money laundering program.
• The Green PlaNET back-end processing system runs a variety of proprietary and third-party software
applications that enable the activation, daily use and maintenance of our cardholder accounts. It executes a
variety of transaction-enabling processes and initiates several customer verification modules and external
data requests that together ensure compliance with all federal requirements for the opening of a new account.
It interfaces with our database to generate account statements and initiate account notification communications,
such as emails and text messages. It also enables our cards to interoperate with Visa, MasterCard and other
payment or funds transfer networks, interacts with the systems of other processors and executes back-end
batch processes that facilitate the daily accounting, reconciliation and settlement of transactions and account
activity. In addition, the Green PlaNET back-end processing system houses a variety of security applications
that provide customer and card data encryption, fraud monitoring, information security administration and
firewalls that protect the Green PlaNET infrastructure.
• The Green PlaNET customer-facing systems include a service processing system and various communication
systems. The Green PlaNET service processing system includes several customer relationship management
software applications that operate a variety of support services, providing real-time account history access
and pending transaction data, contact information, personal identification number request and issuance
services and balance inquiry applications. It also enables consumers to direct cash transfers using our
MoneyPak product. In addition, Green PlaNET provides our consumers, retail distributors and network
acceptance members with the ability to communicate with us and access accounts using a variety of
technologies. These technologies integrate with our customer care applications and allow us, among other
things, to address customer inquiries and automatically prompt customer support agents to sell upgrades and
make cross-sales. We have also integrated Green PlaNET with our website, www.greentdot.com, to provide
a full range of interactive services, including online card sales, full activation and personalization services,
electronic funds transfers, and access to account histories and management services.
Sales and Marketing
The primary objective of our sales and marketing efforts is to educate consumers on the utility of our products and
services in order to generate demand, and to instruct consumers on where they may purchase our products and
services. We also seek to educate existing customers on the use of our products and services to encourage increased
usage and retention of our products. We accomplish these objectives through various types of consumer-oriented
marketing and advertising and by expanding our group of retail distributors to gain access to additional customers.
Marketing to Consumers
We market our products to a broad group of consumers, ranging from never-banked to fully-banked consumers.
We are focusing our current sales and marketing efforts on acquisition of long-term users of our products, enhancing
our brand and image, building market awareness of our products, improving cardholder retention and increasing card
usage. To achieve these objectives, we highlight to consumers the core benefits of our products, which we believe are
affordability, access to funds, utility, convenience, transparency and security.