NetSpend has produced a new National Spending & Savings Index finding that even though the economy is showing early signs of a turnaround, low-to-moderate-income consumers are still closely watching what they spend on goods and services and spending more this year on groceries, travel/entertainment and utilities. READ MORE »

NetSpend has announced the availability of the first “virtual” card to be tied to an existing prepaid debit card account and a suite of online financial management and budgeting tools including a visual spending history report, online budgeting application and budgeting “report card.” NetSpend says these new products and applications "provide a level of convenience and security currently not provided to the estimated 50-100 million underbanked consumers in the United States." READ MORE »

NetSpend and Check City, a check cashing and payday loan provider in the Mountain West and Mid-Atlantic regions, have announced a distributor agreement in which NetSpend will be the chain’s exclusive prepaid debit card provider. According to the two companies, "with 70 stores in Nevada, Utah, Virginia, Maryland and Colorado, Check City will increase NetSpend’s check cashing distribution in these regions and is expected to drive significant card sales and direct deposit enrollments." READ MORE »

Billeo and NetSpend have announced an online service designed to help consumers pay their bills using their NetSpend cards, giving them access to financial tools that the majority of Americans now enjoy. Under the terms of the agreement, consumers that have a NetSpend card will be able to access a searchable online directory of billers that accept the card. Billeo will also provide a free, downloadable toolbar to help cardholders manage their bills. READ MORE »

MoneyGram and NetSpend have announced an agreement that will enable NetSpend prepaid debit card holders to be able to load value to their cards in a real-time, single-step transaction at any of the 40,000 MoneyGram ExpressPayment agent locations nationwide. According to the two companies, the agreement brings the number of locations that NetSpend customers can reload their prepaid debit cards to approximately 90,000. READ MORE »

The Center for Financial Services Innovation has released a new report titled "A Tool for Getting By or Getting Ahead? - Consumers' Views on Prepaid Cards (PDF of the full report)." The authors studied both AccountNow and NetSpend and said: "Prepaid cards are a helpful financial tool, and users appreciate their features. Prepaid cards may also help consumers achieve short-term financial goals, such as paying off debt and accumulating emergency savings. However, achieving longer-term financial goals will likely require more intensive and comprehensive services and products that extend beyond what prepaid cards currently offers."

NetSpend and Winn-Dixie have announced the introduction of a prepaid, reloadable debit card in all 520 stores in the southeast. Jacksonville, Florida-based Winn-Dixie will be a distributor of general purpose prepaid reloadable debit cards developed, marketed and processed by NetSpend as an agent of Inter National Bank, the issuer of the cards. READ MORE »

NetSpend Corporation has announced the formation of an Emerging Markets Channel that it says is based on a memorandum of understanding recently entered into by NetSpend and Procesa International, LLC for the acquisition by NetSpend of Procesa International's assets. READ MORE »

NetSpend has announced an alliance with Axcess Financial alliance to create the NetSpend Axcess Prepaid MasterCard (the Axcess Card), a general purpose reloadable prepaid debit card, and enables the Axcess Card and the NetSpend National Savings Program to be available to thousands of customers across the country through Axcess Financial's distribution channels. READ MORE »

We have received news of the following recent management changes:

• NetSpend has announced several senior management appointments including Frank Cotroneo as chief operating officer responsible for NetSpend's operations, finance and accounting, and business information, Anh Vazquez executive vice president responsible for NetSpend's online channel, and Tom Cregan as executive vice president and general manager, responsible for NetSpend's check cashing, payday loan, and general retail channels.

NetSpend and Skylight Financial have announced signing of a definitive merger agreement to combine business operations. They say that "the merger forms one of the largest private companies dedicated to meeting the financial services needs of unbanked and underbanked consumers in the United States." READ MORE »

Rebecca Buckman writes for the Wall St. Journal that NetSpend's founders, Roy and Bertrand Sosa, have started a $100 million investment fund named MPower Ventures to make investments in new startups pursuing the unbanked market.

NetSpend has announced an agreement with QC Financial, provider of payday loans, for a prepaid debit card program. READ MORE »

NetSpend has announced it has entered into an agreement with Procesa International to offer NetSpend customers the ability to pay bills or load minutes to cell phones for friends or family members living in Mexico, Central or South America.

NetSpend and Advance America have announced an agreement "that makes prepaid, reloadable debit cards and gift cards available at just over 2,600 Cash Advance Centers across 35 states. Advance America, the country's leading provider of payday cash advance services, now makes prepaid cards a key component of its current suite of services in the United States."

Daniel R. Henry has been named Chief Executive Officer of NetSpend Corporation. Henry already is a member of the company's board of directors. Henry succeeds Richard J. Savard, who had served as CEO since June of 2004.

Capital One and NetSpend have announced that "they have mutually agreed to the termination of their previously announced acquisition agreement and that they have entered into a Letter of Intent to expand their existing strategic relationship. As part of the expanded strategic relationship, Capital One intends to acquire a minority interest in NetSpend, a leading retail marketer of prepaid debit cards, along with an option to purchase additional shares of the company. In addition, the parties expect that a Capital One representative will join the NetSpend Board of Directors."

Capital One has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NetSpend Holdings, Inc., the parent company of NetSpend Corporation, a retail marketer of prepaid debit cards, for $700 million in an all-cash transaction.

Financial Services Centers of America (FiSCA), a trade association representing more than 6,500 neighborhood financial service providers, has announced that more than 63,000 FiSCA customers have opened savings accounts through the NetSpend National Saving Program. This savings program offers an interest-bearing, federally-insured savings account linked to a NetSpend prepaid Visa/MasterCard debit card.

ExxonMobil, along with TIO Networks Corporation and NetSpend Corporation, has announced the launch of the TIO Prepaid MasterCard at participating Exxon and Mobil convenience store locations across the United States. The card is issued by MetaBank.

Mary Wisniewski, Business Reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, takes a look at Netspend's All-Access National Savings Program, which has begun paying 3 percent on deposits, more than double the average rate currently paid by banks on consumer checking accounts.

Visa USA has announced that Visa TravelMoney cards will now be available in more than 1,550 Safeway store locations nationwide, including participating Safeway, Carrs, Dominick's, Genuardi's, Pak 'n Save, Pavilions, Randalls, Vons, and Tom Thumb stores. NetSpend will market the reloadable prepaid travel cards and process transactions for the issuer, Inter National Bank.

Virgin Mobile USA has announced the launch of the Virgin Mobile "Stash" Prepaid Visa Debit Card issued by Inter National Bank. The new prepaid debit card is linked to a Virgin Mobile phone, allowing users to earn free airtime. The extended offering of features includes peer-to-peer money transfers and wireless text alerts to manage spending and prevent fraud, as well as online account management and a savings program. Be sure to see the fee structure on this card - both "by-the-month" and "by-the-stripe" options are provided.

Lori Hawkins writes for the Austin American-Stateman about NetSpend, one of the fastest-growing prepaid-card companies. According to Hawkins, NetSpend's cards are "sold at about 10,000 convenience stores, gas stations and check-cashing centers. The privately held company says it has 225 employees and annual revenue in the $75 million to $125 million range. It has been profitable the past two years, officials say."