Greenwood opens financial services to the general public

Atlanta-based financial tech firm aimed at Black and Latino communities ramps up enroll beyond waitlist
Left to right: Michael Render, also known as Killer Mike, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew J. Young and businessman Ryan Glover lead Greenwood, a financial technology company based out of Atlanta.

Credit: Greenwood

Credit: Greenwood

Left to right: Michael Render, also known as Killer Mike, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew J. Young and businessman Ryan Glover lead Greenwood, a financial technology company based out of Atlanta.

Greenwood, the digital banking services company founded in 2020 for Black and Latino individuals, announced Tuesday users will for the first time have general access to the platform.

Since its launch nearly three years ago, the financial technology company has operated on a waitlist that was hundreds of thousands deep, according to Bloomberg. Greenwood said in a news release it has enrolled all interested waitlist users and can now expand to all.

Greenwood’s founders include activist and rapper Michael Render, more commonly known as Killer Mike, and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young. The company, named after the Black Tulsa community that white racists destroyed in 1921, was founded in the wake of the protests over the murder of George Floyd.

“In keeping with our original mission to close the racial wealth gap and address the exclusion Black and brown Americans have faced accessing tools for wealth creation, we’ve worked incredibly hard over the last few years to build a platform ready to take on the challenges that face our communities,” Ryan Glover, CEO and co-founder of Greenwood, said in a statement.

Greenwood offers several online banking services, including savings accounts and early paycheck deposits. Though it is not a bank, customer accounts are held by Community Coast Bank and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. up to $250,000.

Since launching, Greenwood has morphed into a full portfolio of companies whose missions center around supporting the Black community. Last year Greenwood bought two Black-owned companies: the Atlanta-based networking hub and workspace The Gathering Spot, and Valence, an online career development platform.

In November, Greenwood secured a $45 million funding round led by Black-founded investment firm Pendulum. With that funding, the company is now valued at $325 million.

As of December, Greenwood had more than 100,000 customers, The Gathering Spot had more than 11,000 active members and Valence had over 25,000 members.


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