Amscot
Amscot is a Florida-based alternative financial services provider operating 230+ retail branches statewide, offering cash advances, installment loans, check cashing, free money orders, bill payment, and prepaid cards to underbanked households and Florida consumers seeking in-person, no-credit-check financial services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersTampa, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Amscot does
Amscot Corporation is a Florida-based, privately held alternative financial services (AFS) provider founded in 1989 by Ian MacKechnie. The company operates more than 230 retail branches across roughly 100 Florida cities, organized around the counter-service distribution of cash advances (up to $500), installment cash advances ($100-$1,000) with no credit checks required, check cashing at published per-branch fee schedules, free money orders, bill payment processing, and Western Union money transfers. The company targets Florida's underbanked households — including Hispanic, working-class, and tourist-adjacent populations — who rely on in-person access to cash and money-transaction services 365 days a year, with some branches operating 24 hours and bilingual (English/Spanish) support.
The firm's core products combine legacy AFS services with newer fintech adjacencies. Most consequential is the November 2025 partnership with Green Dot Corporation, which layers Green Dot's Arc embedded finance platform onto the branch network to deliver demand deposit accounts, a secured credit card, and access to more than 25,000 ATMs. Amscot's own Azulos Plus Account and Azulos Prepaid Mastercard products extend the offering into stored-value debit. Branches also serve as SunPass sales and reload points. The technology backbone is therefore a hybrid of traditional retail counter-service workflows with an externally powered embedded-finance stack; no proprietary AI/ML stack, patents, or research pipeline is disclosed.
Revenue is generated almost entirely through per-transaction fees — cash advance fees, check cashing fees, prepaid card load/maintenance fees, Western Union transfer commissions, and bill-payment processing fees — rather than subscription or interchange revenue. Pricing is structured to remain visibly below Florida state maximums (up to 70% below on payroll checks, 66% below on government checks), with free money orders used as a customer-acquisition and foot-traffic anchor. The company is licensed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and registered with FinCEN as a Money Service Business, and discloses no parent company, institutional investor, or secondary ownership transaction.
Amscot firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Amscot
- Legal name
- Amscot Corporation
- Website
- https://amscot.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Amscot is a Florida-based alternative financial services provider operating 230+ retail branches statewide, offering cash advances, installment loans, check cashing, free money orders, bill payment, and prepaid cards to underbanked households and Florida consumers seeking in-person, no-credit-check financial services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Amscot industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Alternative Financial Services
- NAICS
- Sales Financing (52222)
- SIC
- Personal Credit Institutions (6141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Prepaid Reload Networks & Distribution (Retail Top-Up) (FSAMANAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- International Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) (FSAMAIAE)
Keywords
Where Amscot is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tampa
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
Amscot business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Cash Advance Fees: Fees charged for cash advance and installment cash advance services. Cash advances up to $500, installment advances from $100 to $1,000. No credit checks required.
- Check Cashing: Fees charged for cashing various types of checks including payroll, government, insurance, tax refunds, and personal checks. Rates published at branch entrances.
- Prepaid Cards: Revenue from Azulos Prepaid Mastercard and Azulos Plus Account products including loading fees and card maintenance
- Bill Payment Services: Fees charged for processing bill payments for utility companies, auto loans, and other service providers
- Western Union Transfers: Fees for money transfer services through Western Union partnership
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Cash Advance (Payday): Up to $500 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Installment Cash Advance: $100 to $1,000 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Free Money Orders |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Check Cashing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Amscot product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Amscot provides alternative retail financial services to Florida consumers through a network of 230+ physical branches, offering cash advances (up to $500), installment cash advances ($100 to $1,000), check cashing for payroll, government, insurance, tax-refund and personal checks, free money orders, bill payment processing, prepaid debit card products (Azulos Prepaid Mastercard and Azulos Plus prepaid checking), and Western Union money transfer services. Through a 2025 partnership with Green Dot Corporation, Amscot also distributes demand deposit accounts, secured credit cards, and access to over 25,000 ATMs via Green Dot's Arc embedded finance platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Azulos Plus Account: Prepaid debit account service offered by Amscot
- Azulos Prepaid Mastercard
Products and services
- Cash Advance Short-term payday cash advance product providing Florida consumers up to $500 in cash, repayable on the next payday, with no credit checks required. Available in-branch to customers seeking immediate short-term liquidity.
- Installment Cash Advance Installment-style cash advance product typically ranging from $100 to $1,000, repayable over time rather than as a single lump sum on the next payday. No credit checks required; subject to approval and Florida state database check.
- Check Cashing In-branch check cashing service for payroll, government, insurance, tax refund, and personal checks. Fees are set materially below Florida state maximums (up to 70% lower on payroll checks and 66% lower on government checks) and are posted at branch entrances.
- Free Money Orders Money orders issued free of purchase fee at all Amscot branch locations. Designed to drive branch foot traffic and cross-sell other fee-based services.
- Bill Payment Services In-branch bill payment service that processes payments on behalf of customers to utility companies, auto loan servicers, and other billers, with fees per transaction.
- Azulos Plus Account Prepaid checking account product offered to consumers who lack traditional banking access, enabling them to receive direct deposits, make purchases, and manage funds without a standard bank account.
- Azulos Prepaid Mastercard Prepaid debit Mastercard product offered to unbanked or underbanked customers, funded with cash loads at Amscot branches and usable anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
- Western Union Money Transfers Counter-service money transfer product offered through Amscot's Western Union partnership, enabling customers to send and receive money domestically and internationally from any Amscot branch.
- SunPass Sales and Reload Walk-in sale and reload service for Florida SunPass toll transponders, offered at Amscot branch locations as a convenience for commuters.
- Amscot Modern Banking Services (Green Dot Partnership) Embedded banking offering enabled by Green Dot's Arc platform, including demand deposit accounts, a secured credit card, and ATM network access (25,000+ ATMs) for Amscot's underbanked Florida customers, distributed through 230+ Amscot branch locations.
Companies that use Amscot
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Amscot technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Amscot partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Green Dot CorporationcoreAmscot Financial partnered with Green Dot Corporation to offer modern banking services powered by Green Dot's embedded finance platform, Arc. The partnership enables Amscot to provide demand deposit accounts, secured credit cards, and access to over 25,000 ATMs to customers across 230+ Florida locations. This expands Amscot's offerings to include traditional banking services for underbanked Americans.
- Western UnioncoreAmscot offers Western Union money transfer services at its branch locations, allowing customers to send and receive money globally.
- INFiN A Financial Services AllianceminorAmscot is a member of INFiN (Financial Service Centers of America), a trade association representing the check cashing and financial services industry.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Amscot competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Amscot social profiles
Digital presenceAmscot financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Amscot leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Amscot funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Amscot M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Amscot
What does Amscot do?
Amscot provides alternative retail financial services to Florida consumers through a network of 230+ physical branches, offering cash advances (up to $500), installment cash advances ($100 to $1,000), check cashing for payroll, government, insurance, tax-refund and personal checks, free money orders, bill payment processing, prepaid debit card products (Azulos Prepaid Mastercard and Azulos Plus prepaid checking), and Western Union money transfer services. Through a 2025 partnership with Green Dot Corporation, Amscot also distributes demand deposit accounts, secured credit cards, and access to over 25,000 ATMs via Green Dot's Arc embedded finance platform.
Is Amscot a public or private company?
Amscot is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Amscot founded?
Amscot was founded in 1989. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Amscot based?
Amscot is headquartered in Tampa, United States, in the North America region.
How does Amscot make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Cash Advance Fees are the primary driver. The others are check Cashing, prepaid Cards, bill Payment Services and western Union Transfers.
Does Amscot have an API?
No public API is recorded for Amscot.
What industry is Amscot in?
Amscot's product category is Consumer Alternative Financial Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMANAO, Prepaid Reload Networks & Distribution (Retail Top-Up), with a secondary code of FSAMAIAE, International Money Transfer Operators (MTOs). Its NAICS code is 52222 and its SIC code is 6141.