Current’s new adult bank account sees strong growth
A new personal banking account for adults has proved to be a hit for US challenger banking service, Current, Jane Connolly writes.
Current started life as a prepaid card for teenagers. But Retail Banker International reports that following the addition of the adult current account earlier this year, the fintech now boasts over 400,000 active accounts.
The Slack-integrated fintech has reportedly become popular with gig economy workers. Account benefits include access to wages two days early, instant payments, an Insights feature and Savings Pods, which help customers to save towards specific goals.
The Current Visa card is issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank and Choice Financial Group.
“Building on the success of our teen banking product, we’ve seen tremendous growth,” says Current CEO Stuart Sopp. “The new personal checking account allows us to grow with our users.”
He adds: “Traditional banks have high fixed costs and overheads. Unless you have a lot on deposit you aren’t a valuable customer, so they pass their cost to you. At Current we built a new bank from the ground up and the cost savings are passed onto our customers.”
CNBC reports that Sopp has accused Facebook of copying Current’s logo for its cryptocurrency project, Calibra. Sopp tells CNBC: “This is a funny way to try and create trust in a new global financial system – by ripping off another fintech firm.” Facebook declined CNBC’s request for comment.
