How Coinstar Brought Early Direct Deposit to Cash-Preferred Consumers with Lithic

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Coinstar has spent decades building one of the most recognizable consumer self-service financial networks, with more than 25,000 kiosks operating globally. The company’s mission is to give cash‑preferred consumers more flexible ways to manage their money by converting loose change and cash into spendable digital funds within minutes.

With the launch of the CINQ by Coinstar™ Debit Card, a general‑purpose reloadable (GPR) card program powered by Lithic and issued by Lead Bank, Coinstar introduced a natural extension of that original mission promise. Where the kiosk gave consumers a way to digitize their cash, the CINQ by Coinstar™ Debit Card gives them more ways to access and manage their money. Cardholders enjoy a virtual and physical card usable anywhere Mastercard® is accepted, quick access to funds loaded at any kiosk, and a digital wallet experience designed to help customers manage and access their money. Kiosk-loaded funds are available in near real time, so a consumer who cashes in change can use their virtual card within minutes, transforming a single transaction into an ongoing relationship.

To understand what features mattered most to their cardholders, Coinstar surveyed early adopters directly. Half of respondents named early access to their paycheck as their top priority. That signal was unambiguous: backed by Lithic’s full-stack issuer processor infrastructure and collaborative partnership, Coinstar launched Early Direct Deposit (EDD) as the program's next major feature.

With Early Direct Deposit, CINQ by Coinstar cardholders can receive their paychecks up to two days before standard settlement,1 giving Coinstar customers expanded access to the kind of financial flexibility and peace of mind that comes from reliable, early access to funds.

From the kiosk to early paycheck access

Historically, the kiosk interaction was a single moment. A consumer walked up, converted cash, and walked away. There was no built-in mechanism to bring them back, no recurring relationship, and no clear path from a spare-change transaction to deeper financial engagement.

Direct deposit changes that calculus by helping Coinstar serve cash-preferred consumers in an entirely new way. When a cardholder routes their paycheck to their CINQ by Coinstar account, Coinstar becomes a recurring part of their financial life rather than an occasional stop.

EDD takes that value even further: when cardholders receive funds early, they have the flexibility to access and use funds whenever they wish. That could mean anything from paying a bill on time or covering an unexpected expense to advancing an important purchase or simply having a financial cushion that makes the rest of the week more manageable. That kind of immediate impact is what makes the CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card a natural addition to cardholders’ financial lives. Lithic's issuer processing infrastructure makes it possible.

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The platform powering the CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card

As the CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card’s full-stack issuer processor, Lithic is responsible for every layer of the card program's infrastructure, from the moment a consumer loads funds at a kiosk to when those funds settle after being spent. In addition to card functionalities and payment processing, Lithic directly handles several operational components including fraud prevention, dispute management, and account ledgering. That breadth means that Coinstar can confidently focus on serving their cardholders, while Lithic provides the operational infrastructure underneath.

This foundation gives Coinstar direct, programmable control and real-time visibility, as well as the ability to move quickly on new capabilities as the program evolves. Three capabilities are central to how EDD works at scale:

• Programmability: With configurable control over inbound ACH activity, Coinstar defines which parties can pull from cardholder accounts and on what terms. ACH Rules, part of Lithic's Authorization Intelligence toolkit, blocks unauthorized debit attempts while keeping legitimate transactions friction-free.

• Real-time decisioning: At transaction speed, Coinstar can evaluate risk and address suspicious activity without slowing down the consumers who need financial access most. Fraud Command makes that possible through Authorization Challenges and rule backtesting.

• Scalability: As the program grows, Coinstar has a foundation that scales without operational complexity for the team or uncertainty for the people it serves. Lithic's Consumer Prepaid Ledger is the single source of record for every CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card account, capturing every transaction and balance change, plus supporting settlement reporting and reconciliation as volume increases.

With Early Direct Deposit, Lithic has helped Coinstar strengthen their offering as a competitive money management option for their customers.

Growing financial access for CINQ by Coinstar cardholders

The launch of Early Direct Deposit marks the latest milestone in a partnership defined by a shared commitment to building financial tools that make a tangible difference in people's daily lives. From announcing EDD as a planned future-state capability when the CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card launched in October 2025 to bringing EDD to market just months later, Lithic has enabled Coinstar’s card program ambitions.

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As Coinstar continues to expand the CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card’s capabilities, Lithic remains a close partner in designing, building, and scaling what comes next.

As more cash-preferred consumers enter the digital financial system, Lithic’s infrastructure and expertise positions Coinstar to meet them where they are. The CINQ by Coinstar Debit Card is built around the way they actually manage their finances, giving consumers a bridge between physical and digital money through the retail locations they already visit.

Build your digital banking program with Lithic

1Direct deposit funds are made available depending on when your employer (or other payer) submits the payment file. We strive to make funds available on the day the payment file is received. Early access to direct deposit funds may be up to two days before the scheduled payment date.

Coinstar is not a bank. Coinstar is a financial technology company. The Coinstar Debit Card is issued by Lead Bank, Member FDIC pursuant to licensing by Mastercard® International Inc. Fees apply. See cinqwallet.com/debitcard for more details.