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PerkStreet is a relatively new financial product that’s doing everything right: It’s a checking account with a debit card that allows you to earn rewards on things you already and the same zero-liability protection major credit cards have. I asked the founder and CEO of PerkStreet Financial to share all the great things that are happening at PerkStreet.com.
Interview with CEO Dan O’Malley
SOS: Who is Dan O’Malley?
Mr. O’Malley: I am a long-time financial services executive and an entrepreneur as well as a father and a husband. What I really care about as a person is being able to improve lives. I think at the end of the day it’s what we all care about and that’s why I started PerkStreet with the rest of our team. There is such an incredible opportunity right now in banking to change how people relate to their money. We’re at a fulcrum point right now and we got started with PerkStreet because we thought we could change the industry, change lives, and build a great company at the same time and it’s been a lot of fun.
SOS: How long has PerkStreet been around?
Mr. O’Malley: We founded the company in 2008 and formally launched the business in 2009-2010. For the past 2 years we’ve been growing very quickly.
SOS: What is PerkStreet and what makes it different from other banks?
Mr. O’Malley: Our checking accounts are what we call “Personal Profit Engines”. We let our customers earn an incredible amount of cash back by banking the way they were already going to bank and buying what they were already going to buy. How it works is you earn cash back for buying things with our debit card, for setting savings goals, for automating finances, for doing things that are smart. You don’t earn cash back for things that will get you into trouble and into debt which is typically what a bank wants you to do. That’s what makes us different. We let Americans earn cash and improve their financial lives without ever having to worry about getting in to financial trouble. It’s liberating, it’s exciting, and it’s exactly what the industry needs right now.
SOS: PerkStreet is like using your local bank but has ATMs all over the nation instead of physical banks, is that correct?
Mr. O’Malley: That’s right. How we are able to give people such an incredible amount of cash back is by not building branches. Think about it, when was the last time you had to physically walk into a branch – there is no need for it any more. What we do is very similar to how Amazon has changed the way people buy books and music among other things. When you get rid of the branches and locations you can give people an incredible deal. So we have built the best direct checking account in the world.
SOS: How does PerkStreet make money?
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