Shares of Pasadena-Based Green Dot Corporation Soar in Wake of Wal-Mart Deal

Shares of Pasadena-based Green Dot Corporation soared 30% in early trading Tuesday after it signed another long-term deal with Wal-Mart stores that will stretch until May 2020.

In a statement last night, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Green Dot and Green Dot Bank will continue to serve as the “program manager and issuing bank for the Wal-Mart MoneyCard suite of prepaid reloadable debit card products.”

In early trading Tuesday, Green Dot shares were up $4.69, or 30%, to $20.00 following the announcement.

Green Dot announced on Monday that it has signed a new five-year deal with what it considers to be its most important customer. The Bentonville, Arkansas retail giant currently makes up about half of Green Dot’s revenue, although in the past that has gone up to 60%.

The existing agreement is set to expire at the end of this year.

Under the new deal, both firms agreed to have a constant revenue-sharing structure until 2020.

In a press release, Green Dot CEO Steven Streit said the new deal “brings a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction for all of us at Green Dot Corporation who work so hard on behalf of customers, our business partners and our investors.”

“We are very proud to serve Wal-Mart and the many millions of Americans who rely on Wal-Mart for low prices on the products and services they want and need.”

Wal-Mart has been a steady source of business for Green Dot since the two firms launched the MoneyCard program in 2007, even when Green Dot was facing stiff competition from other big-name debit card providers like American Express.

Green Dot also announced Monday that it will repurchase up to $150 million worth of the company’s stock pending regulatory approval.

Green Dot Corporation, along with its subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, is a “pro-consumer financial technology innovator with a mission to reinvent personal banking for the masses,” according to the company website.