Powered by Arc, Xpectations!® Plus Debit Card offered by PLS nationwide is fueling customer satisfaction, transactions and engagement

“At PLS, we believe everyone deserves better. Our aim every day is to raise our customers’ expectations. The new Xpectations! Plus Debit Card does just that since it has so many excellent features and benefits.” - Rob Fisher, SVP of Support Operations, PLS

Opportunity:

As one of Green Dot’s newest retail partners, PLS aimed to elevate the financial services experience for its 5 million-plus customers by offering the Xpectations! Plus Debit Card, which includes seamless access to FDIC-insured banking.

Solution:

The Xpectations!® Plus Debit Card, powered by Green Dot’s single-source embedded finance platform, Arc.

PLS is a financial hub serving millions of underbanked Americans.

For over 25 years, PLS has been a one-stop shop for a wide variety of financial services. In addition to being one of the nation’s leading providers of check cashing services, PLS offers money transfer services, bill payment services, free money orders, and much more in its more than 200 locations across the U.S. PLS’ ability to offer customers a full range of financial services in a single outing makes it indispensable to its consumer base.

The need for alternative financial services remains high in the U.S., with 4.5 percent of U.S. households unbanked and another 14.1 percent underbanked (households that do have a bank account but still use nonbank transaction services) according to the FDIC’s National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.

With Arc by Green Dot, PLS launched a debit card packed with valuable benefits.

In summer 2024, PLS launched the new Xpectations!® Plus debit card, which includes a suite of online banking services, such as an FDIC-insured demand deposit account (DDA) powered by Green Dot’s single-source embedded finance platform, Arc. The Xpectations!® Plus Debit Card now offers PLS’ five million-plus customers access to seamless, affordable and useful banking tools and services, including early access to direct deposits, overdraft protection, free nationwide ATM access, and much more.

The product allows PLS customers to open a DDA with a debit card featuring a variety of traditional bank benefits. Customers have the convenience to bank digitally or transact at one of PLS’ more than 200 locations. The debit card also lets customers receive direct deposits of their paychecks up to two days early and features up to $200 in overdraft protection along with access to a nationwide ATM network.

How Arc technology powers the Xpectations!® Plus Debit Card.

Built on the Arc single-source platform

Our comprehensive, configurable platform features enterprise-grade APIs and offers end-to-end program management including operations and compliance, customer service and support, and more, all in one. That’s how PLS was able to get the new Xpectations! Plus debit card program to its customers so quickly.

Integrated with a licensed bank

Arc is integrated with Green Dot Bank (member FDIC), bringing more than 20 years of experience and deep expertise building and delivering secure financial services with comprehensive regulatory and compliance oversight and support. 

Leveraging our nationwide network

PLS expanded access for its customers by leveraging Green Dot’s vast retail network of thousands of cash access locations nationwide, providing customers with more seamless financial experiences.

“By building this new offering on Arc’s single-source embedded finance platform, PLS is able to provide its customers with a more modern, comprehensive digital banking experience that simplifies their financial lives.” - Jamison Jaworski, GM/SVP of Consumer Division

Arc and PLS - Building Engagement and Loyalty Through Xpectations! Plus

The Xpectations! Plus Debit Card launched in all of PLS’ 200+ stores with strong demand from their customers. People who had relied on PLS for years for a variety of individual financial services now had access to a seamless, secure and useful debit product to support a breadth of their financial needs in a single demand deposit account. For PLS, monthly active users, account activity and more continue to grow, setting them up to continue improving their customer experience and build engagement and loyalty with their customers.

About Arc

With more than 20 years of experience delivering seamless banking and payment services to consumers and businesses, Arc by Green Dot is the single-source embedded finance platform from Green Dot Corporation. We power some of the world’s most trusted brands with financial tools and experiences that create value, retain customers and accelerate growth.

See how your business can benefit from embedded finance solutions from Arc’s single-source platform > greendot.com/arc