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."