Green Dot, Apple’s economic partner, was fined millions of dollars for paying unrestricted fees.

Green Dot Bank, Apple’s partner in some financial services such as Apple Cash.
Green Dot Bank is an Apple financial partner, and has been fined by the Federal Reserve $44 million for its tax preparation service. The penalty has nothing to do with its role in Apple services. Green Dot is a Utah-based bank that provides financial services to companies like Apple and Walmart. Apple is legally required, despite having huge cash reserves, to use bank partners in order to offer services such as financing installment payments or Apple Cash transactions. The US government found Green Dot guilty of “numerous unfair practices and deceptive practices, as well as a deficient program for consumer compliance risk management” in relation to the services it offered. The bank was penalized because it failed to disclose fees associated with processing tax refunds to customers who used its tax preparation services. The Fed also cited similar deceptive marketing practices in the promotion of its prepaid card products. Green Dot CEO George Gresham told Reuters that the bank stopped using such deceptive tactics “years ago”. Gresham said that the company has taken “meaningful measures to correct and remedy those issues,” which includes better disclosure of possible fees. This includes “significant improvements to our processes, product packaging and marketing.” Green Dot was also ordered by the Federal Reserve to hire a third-party independent firm to review Green Dot’s transaction practices. A second independent company will be hired to help the bank develop better anti-money laundering compliance and consumer laws. The Fed did not impose any restrictions on Green Dot’s ability to service existing clients, which is important for the bank’s relationship with other large companies. The fine is a little lower than the bank expected, and money to pay for it has been set aside. Goldman Sachs was Apple’s original partner for the US only Apple Card and Affirm provided Canadian financing. Apple and Goldman Sachs are expected to part ways in 2025. No new partner has been announced.