Dave.com
Dave (sometimes known as Dave.com) is a digital banking service. The service emphasizes no overdraft fees, and provides loans to individuals' accounts at their banks for overdraft protection.[1][2] The company uses an algorithm to predict users ability to repay loans based on their checking account and income history. The algorithm predicts when a user's expenses may exceed their balance, sending a notification and the option for a loan until the user's next paycheck. It doesn't charge overdraft fees, instead charging $1 a month to use the app and giving the option to "tip" after getting a loan. Shark Tank star Mark Cuban invested $3 million in the company, saying he was crushed by overdraft fees in his twenties. Lauren Saunders, of the National Consumer Law Center, expressed concern that some users may feel compelled to tip resulting in it being not too different from paying interest.[3]
The Dave app was the Apple App of the day in April 2017.[4] It has been downloaded 10 million times on iOS,[4] and over a million times on Android devices.[5]
In July 2019, the company was named one of the next billion dollar startups by Forbes.[4]
In October 2019, Dave received a valuation of US$1 billion, and has over 4 million users.[1][2]
Funding
The CEO of Dave, Jason Wilk, was the former creator of AllScreen, a company which was also originally funded by Cuban who put in a $300,000 investment.[6] [7] After the initial investment in Dave by Cuban and other investors, the total funding of the app has increased to $180 million, after the $50 million dollar investment by Norwest Venture Capital.[8]
References
- "Banking App Dave Reaches $1B Valuation, Plans for 100 Hires Next Year".
- "Upstart banking company Dave is now worth $1 billion, as Norwest puts in $50 million".
- Melendez, Steven (May 2, 2017). "Mark Cuban's "Dave" Spots You No-Interest Loans To Avoid Overdraft Fees". Fast Company. Retrieved Oct 30, 2019.
- Feldman, Amy. "Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2019". Forbes.
- "Dave - Banking For Humans - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com.
- CNBC.com, Ron Grover, special to (2017-11-15). "How relentless emailing helped this 25-year-old snare $300,000 from Mark Cuban". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
- "Dave CEO Jason Wilk on the startup's stealth funding, working with Mark Cuban, and more". Built In Los Angeles. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
- "Finance App Dave Inc. Raises $50 Million | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-06-24.