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Varo Bank Expands Fee-Free In-Store Cash Add Capabilities Nationwide

Varo Bank Expands Fee-Free In-Store Cash Add Capabilities Nationwide

Powered by Green Dot, Varo customers can add cash to their account right in the check-out lane at more than 2,000 Kroger Family of stores across the U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Varo Bank, N.A., the first all-digital, nationally chartered consumer bank in the U.S., recently announced the launch of fee-free digital cash add capabilities for Varo customers across more than 2,000 Kroger Family of store locations.

Powered by Green Dot’s embedded finance platform and money processing network, this expansion launched as a four-week pilot program (ending on August 18, 2026) supported by a comprehensive co-marketing campaign reaching both existing and prospective customers.

Through this initiative, Varo customers can:

  • Add cash into their accounts fee-free at participating stores

  • Utilize Green Dot Network’s barcode API scanning capability to generate a unique barcode within the Varo app, which a cashier scans to add the cash to their account

  • Save cash by not paying the $4.95 retail service fee.1

“Nobody should have to pay a fee just to deposit their own money,” said Gavin Michael, chief executive officer at Varo Bank. “Now that Varo customers can add cash fee-free at stores nationwide, they can take care of their banking right in the grocery line. With this new offering, we are making it as simple as possible for our customers to manage their cash where they already shop.”

“Adding cash to your bank account should be as simple as buying groceries,” said Renata Caine, senior vice president and general manager, embedded finance at Green Dot. “Our money processing technology brings Varo’s fee-free digital cash add capabilities straight to checkout lanes nationwide, making everyday money management that much easier.”

The pilot builds on Varo’s successful fee-free retail cash load network footprint and is designed to deepen consumer engagement. The fee-free cash barcode load feature is available now at customer service and checkout lanes across more than 2,000 participating Kroger Family of stores nationwide.

About Varo Bank

Varo Bank is the first nationally chartered consumer tech bank in the U.S., built from the ground up specifically for the millions of everyday Americans who want to make more progress and do more with their money. From credit building to savings to faster payments, Varo has a complete solution to help everyday Americans make progress in their financial lives. Varo combines the capabilities and nimbleness of a technology company with the security and oversight of a regulated financial institution, enabling agile product design that provides technology-first solutions. Varo has been named as one of the Inc. 5000 2025 fastest growth companies in the U.S., CNBC’s 2023-2026 list of the World’s Top Fintech Companies, one of Forbes’ World’s Best Banks, and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. For more information on Varo Advance, Varo Believe, and other offerings such as Perks, visit www.varomoney.com. Follow us on Instagram, X and LinkedIn @varobank. ©2026 Varo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

About Green Dot Corporation

Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) is a financial technology platform and registered bank holding company that builds banking and payment solutions to create value, retain and reward customers, and accelerate growth for businesses of all sizes. For more than two decades, Green Dot has delivered financial tools and services that address the most pressing financial needs of consumers and businesses, and that transform the way people and businesses manage and move money.

Green Dot delivers a broad spectrum of financial products to consumers and businesses through its portfolio of brands, including: GO2bank, a leading digital and mobile bank account offering simple, secure and useful banking for Americans living paycheck to paycheck; the Green Dot Network of more than 90,000 retail distribution and cash access locations nationwide; Arc by Green Dot, the single-source embedded finance platform combining all of Green Dot’s secure banking and money processing capabilities to power businesses at all stages of growth; rapid! wage and disbursements solutions, providing pay card and earned wage access services to more than 7,000 businesses and their employees; and Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, the company’s tax division, which processes more than 14 million tax refunds annually.

Founded in 1999, Green Dot has managed more than 80 million accounts to date both directly and through its partners. Green Dot Bank2 is a subsidiary of Green Dot Corporation and Member of the FDIC. For more information about Green Dot’s products and services, please visit greendot.com.

 

1 Customers can also use traditional swipe-based debit card cash loads, which will continue to incur the standard fee.

2 Green Dot Bank also operates under the following registered trade names: GO2bank, GoBank and Bonneville Bank. All of these registered trade names are used by, and refer to, a single FDIC-insured bank, Green Dot Bank. Deposits under any of these trade names are deposits with Green Dot Bank and are aggregated for deposit insurance coverage up to the allowable limits.

Media Contacts:

Varo Bank

[email protected]

Whit Chapman

Director, Communications, Green Dot

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: California United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Professional Services Retail Supermarket Finance Fintech Banking

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