AUSTIN, TX and CHARLOTTE, NC (October 14, 2008)—NetSpend Corporation, one of the leading providers of prepaid reloadable debit cards in the United States, today announced the formation of an Emerging Markets Channel, 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, and with it, two new international products created to help serve the needs of the unbanked and underbanked U. S. Hispanic market. Procesa International will continue to offer its products and services through a newly-formed NetSpend subsidiary, and the Emerging Markets Channel will be developing new NetSpend card products for the same market. These products will be available through NetSpend's partners. NetSpend has named Patrick Brown, founder of Procesa International, LLC, to lead the group.
The Emerging Markets Channel expands NetSpend's widespread domestic services across borders, and aims to empower and provide premier financial services to the unbanked and underbanked U. S. Hispanic market, estimated at 40 million consumers. The introductory product offerings through this channel include international wireless recharge and international billpay, allowing the Hispanic consumer in the U.S. to add minutes to an international cell phone or pay a family member's bill in Latin America.
Patrick Brown has been brought on as Executive Vice President, Emerging Markets and is responsible for the development and implementation of business strategy and overall growth of NetSpend as it relates to the U.S. Hispanic market and other new markets. Prior to his role at Procesa International, Patrick served as President of Euronet Payments and Remittance, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT). Patrick joined Euronet subsequent to its acquisition of Continental Transfer (now Euronet Payments and Remittance Inc.) in 2005. Prior to such acquisition, Patrick was a co-founder of Continental Transfer and served as its chief operating officer. In 2006, Patrick was named honorary vice consul for the Mexican consulate, the first position of its kind in the United States. Patrick Brown and the Emerging Markets Channel are based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"We are very excited to expand our suite of services and partner offerings to include cross-border products," said Daniel R. Henry, Chief Executive Officer of NetSpend. "The formation of our Emerging Markets Channel and the strong leadership behind it ensures our commitment to the U.S. Hispanic market, and we look forward to introducing new products, services and partnerships in the coming year."
About NetSpend Corporation
NetSpend Corporation is one of the leading providers of prepaid debit cards in the United States. A pioneer in the industry since its inception in 1999, NetSpend prepaid debit cards give financial freedom and convenience to the more than 100 million underbanked consumers in the United States. NetSpend is the only company in the prepaid debit industry to offer an end-to-end solution for consumers and merchants with a proprietary processing platform, card fulfillment, customer service and risk management capabilities. More information about the company can be found at http://www.netspend.com or by following the company on Facebook or Twitter.
Media Relations
Members of the media may contact NetSpend's public relations department via email at mediarelations@netspend.com.
Cardholders may contact Customer Service at customerservice@netspend.com.