US challenger Branch partners Cardtronics to offer fee-free ATM service
New US challenger bank Branch has teamed up with Cardtronics to give its customers fee-free access to ATMs on the latter’s network.
Branch aims to be a bank for the working American
Branch, founded in 2015, transitioned into full banking services via a partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust. The Branch Mastercard debit card is issued by Evolve Bank & Trust via a license from Mastercard.
The app started life focusing on personal finance and wellness, and now offers payday advance services for hourly workers through integration with employer payroll platforms.
Branch offers other financial wellness tools including budgeting, fee-free checking account, two-day early pay, and instant gas hold refunds.
The challenger initially operated on a $3.99 membership basis but went fee-free in October 2019.
Related: US challenger banks – who’s who and what’s their tech?
“With the majority of today’s workforce living paycheque to paycheque, employees need equitable financial services that can improve their financial health and help them save for a secure future,” says Atif Siddiqi, founder and CEO of Branch.
“An important part of that is giving them ready access to their hard-earned cash without burdening them with ATM fees.”
Carter Hunt, managing director of North America for Cardtronics, says that income volatility is “one of the many challenges workers confront when managing their money.”
He adds: “Having easier, surcharge-free access to funds is a significant benefit to these customers.”
Evolve Bank & Trust picked digital banking provider i2c in October 2019 to support a new range of customisable credit, debit, prepaid, and demand deposit accounts (DDAs), as well as its core banking operations.
