Digital-only bank with ties to NBA star is expanding to Charlotte. Here’s what we know.
A California-based digital-only bank that counts an NBA star among its investors has picked Charlotte for its next hub and is expanding in the city.
Varo Bank, headquartered in San Francisco, has added 120 employees in Charlotte since it started hiring in the area in the second quarter of this year, and is continuing to grow across multiple departments, the bank told the Observer this week.
The bank was attracted to Charlotte in part by its talent pool, said Alex Woie, head of strategic communications. “We also have a large customer base in North Carolina and the Southeast, so we see this as an opportunity to get closer to our core customer base,” Woie said in a statement.
Most employees are working from home, but Varo is looking for office space in the area. It has not selected a site yet, Woie said.
In the last 13 months, the bank has nearly doubled the total number of employees it has, it said in a news release Thursday. Varo has about 800 total employees.
Varo offers online bank accounts and short-term lines of credit, and is working to build a credit-building credit card program. It is the first consumer fintech company to receive a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to the bank’s website.
The bank said it was founded to help address systemic financial inequalities by offering accessible services that improve the financial health of its customers.
In the news release, Varo said it has about 4 million accounts.
Varo just ended a $510 million fundraising round. Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook signed on as an investor and advisor for the bank earlier this year.
In the news release, Westbrook said he partnered with the bank to help address systemic barriers in the financial system.
Varo has also worked to educate consumers about financial literacy, Westbrook said, helping new customers regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
