If someone gets a Stockpile card for $100 worth of Google stock - about 14 percent of one share, based on where the stock’s price closed Friday - the $100 easily can be used in some other way. That’s exactly how Stockpile cards work, but in this case, the store is the U.S.
STOCKPILE GIFT CARD AMAZON FULL
Schatt says a full 90 percent of them have used one at some point or another, and they’re familiar with the concept of how they’re supposed to work: You get a set amount of money that can be used to buy anything at a certain kind of store. Yet consumers are comfortable with gift cards. Just 14 percent of American adults directly own stock, and many of them are intimidated by the prospect of having to choose a broker, amass the money necessary to maintain a minimum balance or even pay into accounts they already have. The brokerage and its gift cards, which Stockpile spent nearly three years clearing with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission, represent a novel approach to a long-standing problem. Stock trades cost just 99 cents, there are no minimum balances or monthly fees, and it costs nothing to transfer money in from other accounts. But unlike most other brokerages, Stockpile’s fees are lighter than most traditional brokerages.
Once consumers have set up accounts, they can buy, sell and trade their shares like they might with any other brokerage firm. Technology Credit Union in San Jose, California, encourages its online clients to "get hundreds of top stocks with no age or account minimum.A sampling of some of the gift cards offered by Stockpile, a digital brokerage firm that sells partial shares of blue chip stocks in supermarkets and other large retailers across the country. But it doesn't end with parents buying stocking stuffers for their kids or grandparents purchasing graduation gifts.īanks that don't have their own money management divisions are partnering with Stockpile to promote investing options for their customers. Is Shaq’s Next Slam Dunk an Internet Startup?īy focusing on gift cards, Stockpile has a new way of entering that market.
Other services like Wealthfront and Betterment are designed to automate investing through low-fee, tax-efficient index funds. Robinhood offers no-fee investing, generating revenue on interest from uninvested cash balances. Loyal3 sells fractional shares and charges no fees to consumers, making money instead by advising companies on IPOs and follow-on offerings. Stockpile is among a new crop of companies applying technology to investing with the goal of bringing down fees and opening the market to a wider swath of retail investors. That option has the added benefit of offering about 1,000 available names. The buyer also pays an additional $4.95 to $7.95 charge to cover interchange, brokerage fees and the costs of stocking the card.įor gifters who want to pay lower fees and don't care about the physical card, Stockpile also sells e-gifts, which cost $1.99 for cards $100 and under. It also has a card that allows consumers to choose their favorite stock.Ĭards come in $25, $50 and $100 denominations. In retail stores, Stockpile sells cards for 20 different companies, including non-tech brands like Starbucks, Walt Disney and Pfizer as well as exchange-traded funds for gold and the major stock indexes.
Here, we come to you wherever you are." Stockpile's top e-giftsġ. "Normally you go to a brokerage if you want to buy stock. "We did a lot of work to get all the pieces in place to have a consumer product at a price point that would be of great value, that would be sound with regulators and could get distribution where people are in their daily lives," said Lele, who was a lawyer for over 15 years before co-founding Stockpile in 2011.
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