Source: Greenwood / Greenwood
Killer Mike‘s mission to assist in building Black wealth and spending within the community has kicked off with major success.
After announcing his latest venture Greenwood, a digital bank launched with his close friend, Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover, the leadership team at Greenwood, which includes former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, unveiled their new platform on Thursday after raising more than $3 million in seed funding in June.
“It’s no secret that traditional banks have failed the Black and Latinx community,” Ryan Glover said in a statement. “We needed to create a new financial platform that understands our history and our needs going forward, a banking platform built by us and for us, a platform that helps us build a stronger future for our communities. This is our time to take back control of our lives and our financial future. That is why we launched Greenwood, modern banking for the culture.”
While the bank doesn’t open until January, the company launched its website on Thursday and there is already a waiting list for those who want to open a Greenwood account.
“I will say we’re in the tens of thousands,” Glover told CNN Business on Friday. “That number is increasing by the day.”
Killer Mike states that his aim with the new partnership is to increase the frequency and circulation life that the average dollar spends in the Black community as opposed to our spending with other communities overall.
“Today, a dollar circulates for 20 days in the white community but only six hours in the Black community,” said Michael ‘Killer Mike’ Render. “Moreover, a Black person is twice as likely as a white person to be denied a mortgage. This lack of fairness in the financial system is why we created Greenwood.”
Greenwood’s initial products are savings and spending accounts, with advanced features available like Apple, Samsung, and Android pay, virtual debit cards, peer-to-peer transfers, mobile check deposits, and free ATM usage in over 30,000 locations are offered with no hidden fees.
Additionally, Greenwood plans to work with brick and mortar minority-owned backs to provide deposits to help strengthen historically black banks.
“The work that we did in the civil rights movement wasn’t just about being able to sit at the counter. It was also about being able to own the restaurant,” said Ambassador Andrew Young. “We have the skills, talent, and energy to compete anywhere in the world, but to grow the economy, it has to be based on the spirit of the universe and not the greed of the universe. Killer Mike, Ryan, and I are launching Greenwood to continue this work of empowering black and brown people to have economic opportunity.”
To sign up for a Greenwood account, click here.
