Greenlight Financial, maker of a smart debit card for kids, is already making moves just six months after launch. On the heels of a $7.5 million fundraise we reported earlier this month, the company is announcing a major hire in its executive ranks and new features to its cards.
Greenlight has hired Nancy Cox as its new CTO to bolster its tech team as the company looks to expand its engineering organization. As the former CIO of Fiserv and CTO of WorldPay, Cox is an industry veteran who brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Greenlight CEO Tim Sheehan, who worked with her at Fiserv, says Cox “has a perfect background… She’s also an exceptional leader and manager of people. People loved to work for her and follow her.”
That’ll come in handy as Greenlight expands its technology team to meet growing demand for its product. With more than 10,000 customers signed up after six months in business, Sheehan said he was looking for a leader who could scale Greenlight’s business from 10,000 users to 10 million users.
With that in mind, the company also announced some new features to its debit cards, including Apple Pay integration and the ability to be used internationally.
While Greenlight was U.S.-only at launch, kids will now be able to make purchases abroad, which will be important now that school is out and families are on vacation. Instead of carrying cash or needing to convert currency, kids will be able to make purchases while giving parents all the same controls around how much they can spend and where.
Another big feature being added is integration with Apple Pay, which will allow kids to connect accounts with their Apple devices. When not carrying a Greenlight card, they’ll be able to complete transactions with an iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad.
With millennials increasingly using mobile devices to make payments, Greenlight is trying to get ahead of the trend and capture a young, tech-savvy consumer audience. So far, that seems to be working, and the company will probably look to add more features aimed at the younger generation over time.