Galileo's Technology Powers H&R Block's New Mobile Banking App, Spruce

By: Galileo Financial Technologies via Business Wire

February 15, 2022 at 09:00 AM EST

Full-suite app leverages Galileo’s powerful financial technology platform and flexible APIs to create seamless digital banking experiences for customers

Galileo Financial Technologies, a leading financial technology company owned and operated independently by SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), today announced that its API-enabled financial technology powers Spruce℠, the mobile banking platform¹ built by H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), which launched on January 20, 2022. Spruce includes a spending account with a debit card, a connected savings account that allows for specific budgeting goals, early paycheck availability and overdraft protection―all of which are delivered seamlessly through Galileo’s award-winning platform.

Spruce has entered the market at a time when consumers across demographics are adopting more digital banking solutions. In fact, 44% of U.S. consumers use digital-only banks as a primary or secondary account, while 61% of consumers say they are somewhat or highly likely to switch to a digital-only bank as their primary provider, Galileo research shows.

“Consumers are embracing digital financial services at an unprecedented pace,” said Derek White, CEO, Galileo Financial Technologies. “As a trusted brand built on more than six decades of experience in money management, H&R Block recognizes this behavioral change in consumer interaction with money and created Spruce to meet consumers where they are and to increase financial inclusion and stability for all.”

Galileo's cloud-based financial technology platform is built with flexibility, speed and scale in mind, enabling new and established brands to launch innovative financial services that can adapt to evolving customer needs.

“Helping customers have financial confidence is our ultimate goal at H&R Block. We want them to be able to easily, quickly and reliably access, deposit, transfer and grow their money through Spruce,” said Les Whiting, Chief Financial Services Officer at H&R Block. “When seeking a partner to help us launch and scale Spruce, Galileo was the right choice thanks to its decades-long history of supporting the world’s most innovative digital banks and financial services providers. We are excited to continue our collaboration with Galileo as we expand Spruce.”

For more information about Galileo’s platform and powerful APIs, visit galileo-ft.com.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) provides help and inspires confidence in its clients and communities everywhere through global tax preparation services, financial products, and small-business solutions. The company blends digital innovation with human expertise and care as it helps people get the best outcome at tax time and also be better with money using its mobile banking app, Spruce. Through Block Advisors and Wave, the company helps small-business owners thrive with innovative products like Wave Money, a small-business banking and bookkeeping solution, and the only business bank account to manage bookkeeping automatically. For more information, visit H&R Block News or follow @HRBlockNews on Twitter.

About Galileo Financial Technologies

Galileo is a leading financial technology company and its platform, open API technology and proven expertise enable fintechs, emerging and established brands to create differentiated financial solutions that expand the financial frontier. Galileo removes the complexity from payments and financial services innovation by providing flexible, open API building blocks and a secure, scalable, future-proof platform. Trusted by digital banking heavyweights, early-stage innovators and enterprise clients alike, Galileo supports issuing physical and virtual payment cards, mobile push provisioning and more, across industries and geographies. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Galileo has offices in Mexico City, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle.

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¹Spuce is a financial technology platform built by H&R Block, which is not a bank. Spruce^SM Spending and Savings Accounts are established at, and the Spruce debit card is issued by, MetaBank^®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard^® and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.