Revolution Money
| Company type | Privately held |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | April 2007 |
| Headquarters | St. Petersburg, Florida |
Key people | Jason J. Hogg Founder & CEO Dax Cummings COO Stephanie Fierman CMO Nick Johns General Counsel Darren Thompson CFO |
| Products | Payment systems |
| Parent | American Express |
| Website | www.revolutionmoney.com |
Revolution Money was a financial services firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida, focusing on cutting-edge payment solutions such as a PIN-secured credit card, digital person-to-person payment options, and prepaid gift cards. Its primary offering, the RevolutionCard, distinguished itself by eliminating retailer interchange fees, providing a notable edge within the payments sector. The company expanded its presence through partnerships with entities like Yahoo! Sports and Fifth Third Bank.
The product lineup included RevolutionCard, Revolution MoneyExchange—a digital money transfer platform—and RevolutionGift, a prepaid card product. The MoneyExchange accounts were issued through First Bank and Trust. These services catered to customers desiring alternatives to conventional payment systems, positioning Revolution Money as a challenger to established providers such as PayPal and Google Checkout.
Background
Originally established in April 2007 under the name GratisCard, Revolution MoneyExchange was created as a no-fee online banking service supported by leading financial institutions including Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank AG, along with its parent company, Revolution LLC. The board of directors featured influential figures like Ted Leonsis and Steve Case, reflecting strong strategic governance.
The company’s approach centered on offering free online transfers between accounts. The Revolution MoneyExchange Card allowed users to make purchases within the RevolutionCard network and perform ATM withdrawals across the country. RevolutionGift incorporated advanced security measures by omitting printed account numbers and included integrated money transfer capabilities via platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger.
In November 2009, American Express revealed intentions to acquire Revolution Money for roughly US$300 million, finalizing the deal in January 2010. Following the acquisition, Revolution MoneyExchange was rebranded as Serve Virtual Enterprises, Inc., which introduced the Serve platform and gradually discontinued the original service by March 2011. This transition represented a strategic enhancement of American Express’s digital payments offerings.