RushCard, the prepaid debit card company founded by Russell Simmons, is being sold to his rival.
On Monday, Green Dot announced they will buy UniRush, the parent company of RushCard, in a $147 million deal.
Via the Associated Press:
RushCard is perhaps best known for a software upgrade that went haywire in 2015, cutting off more than 400,000 customers from their funds for days and even weeks. People told of being unable to purchase necessities for their children, and customer service lines were tied up for weeks.
Simmons apologized and took personal responsibility, and later used some of his personal fortune to cover customers’ expenses. “This whole situation has been devastating for them, and we want to make sure they are made whole,” Simmons told The Associated Press in 2015.
Green Dot CEO Steve Streit said he and Simmons had on-and-off conversations about an acquisition going back years.
Despite RushCard’s 2015 problems, Streit said Green Dot is buying RushCard largely for the name recognition as well as its sizeable customer base of 750,000 people. Green Dot plans to retain the RushCard name and brand along with its other products.
“Having his name associated with RushCard is a big reason why we are buying it,” Streit said in an interview.
Be clear, Green Dot made it very clear they will not be paying any of the settlements associated with the class action lawsuit against Russell Simmons over the 2015 RushCard fiasco.
