In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Green Dot has said that its agreement with its issuer (Synovus Bank and Trust) will end at the end of Oct. 2012. Then it will have six months to change over its cards to Green Dot Bank.
On December 6, 2011, the Company was notified by Columbus Bank and Trust Company, a division of Synovus Bank (“CB&T”), the primary issuer of the Company’s Green Dot-branded general purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards, that CB&T would not renew the Program Agreement, dated as of November 1, 2009, with the Company and Synovus Financial Corp. As a result, the agreement will terminate at the end of its initial three year term on October 31, 2012. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company has up to 180 days after expiration of the contract to transition the program to the Company’s newly acquired subsidiary bank.
The company will likely begin the transition well before then as old cards expire and new ones are picked up. While there will likely be some expense to shifting over its portfolio, both in time and money, Green Dot has plenty of time to do so. The question remains as to whether or not the company will be able to hold onto GE Capital Bank as the issuer for Walmart cards and how the relationship will play out.