預(yù)付卡之王
|
????一旦“金點(diǎn)子”一敗涂地，大多數(shù)創(chuàng)業(yè)菜鳥們往往就此一蹶不振。但49歲的史蒂芬?W?斯特雷特卻突發(fā)奇想，最終時(shí)來(lái)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。斯特雷特曾做過(guò)“成人時(shí)代”廣播音樂(lè)節(jié)目制作人。1999年，他在位于加利福尼亞州蒙羅維亞的臥室里創(chuàng)立了一家名為iGen的公司。公司的目標(biāo)是：為青少年提供預(yù)付費(fèi)借記卡，使他們可以在線購(gòu)物。 ????然而，這種借記卡推出之后并未引起孩子們的興趣。相反，那些沒(méi)有支票戶頭或無(wú)法申請(qǐng)信用卡的成年人卻蜂擁?yè)屬?gòu)，用這種卡支付日常開(kāi)支，比如家用開(kāi)銷等。斯特雷特回憶說(shuō)：“當(dāng)時(shí)我想：‘我們的產(chǎn)品沒(méi)有問(wèn)題，只是目標(biāo)市場(chǎng)定位出現(xiàn)了偏差。’因此，我們進(jìn)行了調(diào)整。” ????之后，斯特雷特將公司更名為綠點(diǎn)（Green Dot），并獲得了硅谷公司紅杉資本（Sequoia Capital）的投資。目前，綠點(diǎn)公司已經(jīng)成為美國(guó)最大的“非銀行用戶”預(yù)付費(fèi)借記卡提供商。美國(guó)的“非銀行用戶”約有7,300萬(wàn)人。綠點(diǎn)公司于2010年上市。紅杉資本最初持有的580萬(wàn)美元股份，現(xiàn)在的價(jià)值約為2.7億美元。 ????綠點(diǎn)公司真正迎來(lái)突破是在2005年。當(dāng)時(shí)，沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）與其合作發(fā)行了沃爾瑪現(xiàn)金卡（MoneyCard），消費(fèi)者在沃爾瑪將工資或退稅兌現(xiàn)后，可以將現(xiàn)金存入卡中。2011年第一季度，綠點(diǎn)公司的收入達(dá)到1.17億美元，比2010年上漲了26%，而其中僅來(lái)自沃爾瑪業(yè)務(wù)所占比例就高達(dá)60%。目前，綠點(diǎn)公司已發(fā)行借記卡數(shù)量為430萬(wàn)張，遙遙領(lǐng)先于競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手netSpend公司的230萬(wàn)張。去年，受公司良好發(fā)展前景的吸引，沃爾瑪增持該公司9%的股份。就連美國(guó)財(cái)政部（U.S. Treasury）也在綠點(diǎn)公司進(jìn)行試點(diǎn)，通過(guò)其借記卡辦理退稅。 ????然而，綠點(diǎn)公司也面臨諸多不利因素。首先，競(jìng)爭(zhēng)日益激烈：美國(guó)運(yùn)通（American Express）也即將推出其預(yù)付卡，而其他商業(yè)銀行也紛紛暗示，將參與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。雖然運(yùn)通卡瞄準(zhǔn)的是利基市場(chǎng)，以持有一般支票賬戶的客戶為目標(biāo)客戶群，主要功能是用于支付孩子的大學(xué)費(fèi)用，但運(yùn)通卡收取最低的手續(xù)費(fèi)。這將給綠點(diǎn)公司帶來(lái)不小的麻煩，因?yàn)榫G點(diǎn)借記卡購(gòu)卡和充值都需要交費(fèi)，此外每月還要收取維護(hù)費(fèi)。目前，盡管綠點(diǎn)公司堅(jiān)稱自己的收費(fèi)是透明的，但美國(guó)佛羅里達(dá)州首席檢察官正在對(duì)此類公司展開(kāi)調(diào)查。 ????法規(guī)變化是另外一個(gè)不確定因素。在關(guān)于銀行對(duì)借記卡交易的收費(fèi)限制方面，多德?弗蘭克法案》（Dodd-Frank Act ）之《德斌修正案》（The Durbin Amendment）特別將預(yù)付費(fèi)公司排除在外，因?yàn)樗鼈兠鎸?duì)的是低收入市場(chǎng)。但如果預(yù)付費(fèi)卡被廣泛接受，則這一規(guī)定或?qū)⒏淖儭?/p> ????正是這些不確定因素給綠點(diǎn)公司的股票帶來(lái)了負(fù)面影響。目前，該公司股票賣出價(jià)為27美元，比36美元的上市價(jià)格下跌了24%。幾個(gè)月前，公司股價(jià)還曾暴漲至65美元。摩根大通（J. P. Morgan）銀行業(yè)分析師黃天津稱：“由于市場(chǎng)對(duì)公司未來(lái)前景的質(zhì)疑，公司的股票也出現(xiàn)了諸多爭(zhēng)議。”但即便如此，他依然增持了該公司的股票。斯特雷特稱，他對(duì)新競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手表示歡迎，因?yàn)樗麍?jiān)信，競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的出現(xiàn)將擴(kuò)大行業(yè)的業(yè)務(wù)范圍。但公司所面臨的壓力或許需要他再次施展魔法，再來(lái)一次“靈光閃現(xiàn)”。 ????翻譯：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓 |
????Not many fledgling entrepreneurs could survive the discovery that their brainchild was a flop. But Steven W. Streit, 49, had a eureka moment that turned his fortunes around. In 1999, Streit, a former adult-contemporary radio programmer, started a business called iGen in the bedroom of his Monrovia, Calif., apartment. The goal: to give teenagers a debit card loaded with prepaid cash so that they could shop online. ????When the card was rolled out, kids didn't show much interest but adults who couldn't get checking accounts or credit bought the cards in droves, using them for such prosaic tasks as paying household bills. "I thought, 'We have the right product, just the wrong target market,' so we retooled," Streit recalls. ????Streit rechristened the company Green Dot (GDOT), got backing from Silicon Valley venture firm Sequoia Capital, and now is the largest provider of prepaid debit cards to the "underbanked" in America, a class estimated at 73 million people. Green Dot went public in 2010: Sequoia's original $5.8 million stake is now worth around $270 million. ????Its breakthrough came in 2005 when Wal-Mart (WMT) partnered with it for the Walmart MoneyCard, which customers load with money when they cash a paycheck or tax refund at a Wal-Mart. The retailer now accounts for 60% of Green Dot's revenue, which hit $117 million in 2011's first quarter, up 26% over 2010. With 4.3 million cards outstanding, it is far ahead of its closest rival, netSpend (NTSP), with 2.3 million. Wal-Mart was so impressed that it bought 9% of the company last year. Even the U.S. Treasury has started a pilot program to issue tax refunds on Green Dot cards. ????Yet Green Dot is facing some strong headwinds. Competition is heating up: American Express (AXP) is introducing its own prepaid card and commercial banks are hinting they will join the fray. Although the AmEx card appears aimed at a niche market a way for people with normal checking accounts to give money to college kids, for example it is charging minimal fees. That could mean trouble for Green Dot, which charges to buy the cards and reload them, then adds a monthly maintenance fee. Now Florida's attorney general is investigating prepaid firms to see whether they fully disclose their charges. Green Dot insists it does. ????Legislative changes are another uncertainty. The Durbin Amendment tucked into the Dodd-Frank Act specifically excluded prepaid cards from its limits on how much banks can charge for processing debit card transactions, because they serve the low-income market. That could change if prepaid cards become more widely accepted. ????All those doubts have had a dampening effect on Green Dot's stock, which is selling at $27, about 24% below its IPO price of $36. That's down from $65 just a few months ago. "There is a lot of controversy over the stock because of doubts about future growth," says Tien-tsin Huang, a banking analyst at J.P. Morgan, who nonetheless has an overweight on the company. Streit says he welcomes new competitors because he believes they will expand the category. But the pressure may force him to conjure up yet another eureka moment. |
