Apple, Walmart banking partner fined millions over tax-prep fees

Green Dot Bank, an Apple financial partner for Apple Cash and other services, has been fined $44 million by the Federal Reserve over its tax-preparation service. The penalty is unrelated to its role in any Apple services.

Green Dot, based in Utah, is one of the banks used by companies such as Apple and Walmart to provide backing for financial services. Despite enormous cash reserves, Apple is legally required to use bank partners for offerings such as financing instalment payments, or Apple Cash transactions.

The US government found that Green Dot engaged in "numerous unfair and deceptive practices and a deficient consumer compliance risk management program" related to services the bank itself offered. The bank was penalized for failing to disclose fees related to processing tax refunds for customers using its tax-preparation services.

The Fed also pointed out similar deceptive practices with the marketing of its prepaid debit card products. Green Dot CEO George Gresham noted that the bank had ceased such deceptive practices "years ago," news agency Reuters reported.

Gresham added that the company had taken "meaningful steps to correct and remediate those issues," including better disclosure of potential fees. This includes "significant updates to our processes, our product packaging and marketing."

In addition to the $44 million fine, the Federal Reserve ordered Green Dot to hire an independent third party firm to review its transaction practices. Another independent company will also be brought on to help the bank develop stronger anti-money laundering and consumer law compliance programs.

Importantly for the bank's relationship with other large businesses, the Fed did not place any penalty restrictions on Green Dot's ability to serve existing clients. The fine is slightly below the bank's expectations, and the money to pay it has already been set aside.

Other Apple financial partners have included Goldman Sachs, originally its partner for the US-only Apple Card, and Affirm for Canadian financing. Apple and Goldman Sachs look to be parting ways in 2025, with no new partner yet announced.

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7 Comments

Ofer 269 comments · 8 Years

About 4 months ago

Until the fines for these sort of deceptive practices outweigh the profit corporations make, they’ll never have any positive outcome.

Luis.A.Masanti 64 comments · New User

quote: “Green Dot Bank, an Apple financial partner for Apple Cash and other services, has been fined $44 million by the Federal Reserve over its tax-preparation service. The penalty is unrelated to its role in any Apple services.”

The title of this article is the highest level of page view harvesting!
It is not false… but has nothing to REALLY do with the news!

It similar to say that… Apple's chip manufacturer TSMC did a faulty chip… for Intel.

But blaming Apple and showing it fails… bring page views… aka a revenues!

In the times of Ones wars… it was called FUD.

chasm 3590 comments · 10 Years

Luis.A.Masanti said:

quote: “Green Dot Bank, an Apple financial partner for Apple Cash and other services, has been fined $44 million by the Federal Reserve over its tax-preparation service. The penalty is unrelated to its role in any Apple services.”

The title of this article is the highest level of page view harvesting!
It is not false… but has nothing to REALLY do with the news!

1. If Apple is using an at-least-sometimes unethical company that has access to YOUR financial data, you wouldn't want to know this? Really?

2. "Page view harvesting" appears to work especially well on YOU, doesn't it? :lol:

Stabitha_Christie 569 comments · 3 Years

chasm said:

Luis.A.Masanti said:

quote: “Green Dot Bank, an Apple financial partner for Apple Cash and other services, has been fined $44 million by the Federal Reserve over its tax-preparation service. The penalty is unrelated to its role in any Apple services.”

The title of this article is the highest level of page view harvesting!
It is not false… but has nothing to REALLY do with the news!

1. If Apple is using an at-least-sometimes unethical company that has access to YOUR financial data, you wouldn't want to know this? Really?
2. "Page view harvesting" appears to work especially well on YOU, doesn't it? :lol:

In point one is a wild exaggeration. Green Dot is responsible for Apple Cash. Apple Cash is only available in the U.S. and is opt in. Since the majority of iPhone users don't live in the U.S. Green Dot is completely irrelevant. Further the only people that Green Dot gets info on are people that opt in to using Apple Cash.

So, for the group of people that do use Apple Cash, what information does Green Dot get? Per Apple;
"When you set up Apple Cash, your identifying information and contact information, as well as the same information as when you add a credit or debit card may be shared with Green Dot Bank and with Apple Payments Inc."
It isn't a whole lot. Hardly my "financial data", my finical data includes laundry list of things like account balance at various institutions, credit score, income and any debt I may carry (credit card, loans, mortgage).

So what about how I am spending my money or whom I am sending it too? Again, from Apple:

"Apple created Apple Payments Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary and licensed money transmitter, to protect your privacy. Your Apple Cash account registration information (name, address), balance, transaction amount, and to which individuals you send money are stored separately by Apple Payments Inc. in a way that the rest of Apple doesn’t know."
All of the good stuff doesn't go to them, it stays with Apple Payments Inc.

So, let's tone down the hair on fire rhetoric and stick with what is actually happening.

Stabitha_Christie said:

In point one is a wild exaggeration. Green Dot is responsible for Apple Cash. Apple Cash is only available in the U.S. and is opt in. Since the majority of iPhone users don't live in the U.S. Green Dot is completely irrelevant. Further the only people that Green Dot gets info on are people that opt in to using Apple Cash.

So, for the group of people that do use Apple Cash, what information does Green Dot get? Per Apple;
"When you set up Apple Cash, your identifying information and contact information, as well as the same information as when you add a credit or debit card may be shared with Green Dot Bank and with Apple Payments Inc."
It isn't a whole lot. Hardly my "financial data", my finical data includes laundry list of things like account balance at various institutions, credit score, income and any debt I may carry (credit card, loans, mortgage).

So what about how I am spending my money or whom I am sending it too? Again, from Apple:

"Apple created Apple Payments Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary and licensed money transmitter, to protect your privacy. Your Apple Cash account registration information (name, address), balance, transaction amount, and to which individuals you send money are stored separately by Apple Payments Inc. in a way that the rest of Apple doesn’t know."
All of the good stuff doesn't go to them, it stays with Apple Payments Inc.

So, let's tone down the hair on fire rhetoric and stick with what is actually happening.

First: love that handle!

Second: Green Dot Bank is a partner in Apple Payments, Inc as well as Apple Cash.

The point I was trying to make with Mr Didn't Quite Comprehend the Article up there is that a partner of Apple's getting in ethical trouble is newsworthy, even if it doesn't mean you or anyone else is in immediate danger. The only hair on fire here is apparently yours.

Third: Per your own quote above, Apple Payments gets more than just your name and address, because they have to. The REST of Apple doesn't get this information (good), but the BANK they use (Green Dot) is part of Apple Payments and therefore does.

Again: I'm not saying pull your money out of Apple Card, or Apple Cash, etc. I was simply defending the reason the article ran -- Green Dot is a partner in Apple Payments, and they got caught (some time ago) doing something shady, and got fined for it. The current CEO says they've cleaned up their act (again, that's from the article) and I have no reason at present to not believe that.

I'm just glad that journalists keep making sure that's still the case.