Founded in 1999, Netspend continues to meet the evolving needs of customers who seek alternative payment options to access the U.S. financial services ecosystem
AUSTIN, Texas – March 4, 2019— Netspend is proud to celebrate 2019 as the 20th anniversary of its founding. The prepaid card and payment solutions company has been headquartered in Austin, Texas, for the entirety of its two decades in business. Netspend now generates $800 million in revenue, has served more than 10 million customers throughout the United States and has established more than 120,000 card distribution sites and 130,000 card reload locations. Netspend’s valued partners include Walmart, PayPal, Western Union, H-E-B, Brinks, Major League Baseball and United Airlines.
Austin-based founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa, both immigrants from Monterrey, Mexico, saw a market need for an easier way to shop online without a credit card during the early days of the e-commerce boom. With just $750, the brothers founded Netspend as a way to convert cash into digital currency. Netspend remains dedicated to delivering accessible products to consumers looking to manage their financial lives with convenient digital accounts and card solutions. In its 20 years, Netspend has also become part of the fabric of the Austin community through vast philanthropic and community-first programs.
“Netspend is deeply grateful to our community, all our team members throughout the years and to each of our customers who have embraced our mission to empower consumers and businesses with the convenience, security and freedom to manage their money their way,” said Kelley C. Knutson, President of Netspend. “With an increasing array of fiscal demands on consumers across the social and economic spectrum, it’s more important now than ever that consumers can access and find value in the way they manage their money and utilize payment options that allow them to stay in control of their financial health and well-being. Ensuring access and creating value are essential for our broad range of consumers is what drives Netspend in our mission to offer creative, secure and effective payment solutions for many years to come.”
Netspend’s commitment to local and national philanthropic efforts is an integral part of its identity. This year alone, it will provide more than $300,000 in scholarships; last year, Netspend gave more than $30,000 to Austin residents during its annual Community Connect event. Netspend has long-standing partnerships with well-known organizations such as Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and Community First! Village.
Netspend is owned by global payments provider, TSYS, who acquired Netspend in 2013. Knutson served as executive vice president in the Issuer Solutions division at TSYS from 2003 until he was appointed as President of Netspend in 2018.
Today, Netspend employs more than 600 team members in its Austin headquarters, as well as team members located in offices in Alpharetta, Georgia, San Mateo, California and Noida, India.
About Netspend, a TSYS Company
Netspend empowers people with the choice, control and convenience to manage their money through intuitive, reliable and secure prepaid card and consumer payment solutions. Since 1999, we have helped over 10 million consumers make purchases, budget and pay bills using our seamless physical and digital financial options that best fit their lives. Customers can find and reload Netspend Prepaid Cards at convenient locations nationwide through Netspend’s extensive network of 130,000 reload points and more than 100,000 distributing locations and employers, including check cashers, convenience stores, grocers, pharmacies, insurance providers and tax preparers. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Netspend is a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS (NYSE: TSS). For more information, please visit http://www.netspend.com.
