Akimbo offers a compelling approach unmatched in the payments and financial services sector by combining electronic money transfers with the Akimbo Visa®Prepaid Debit Card. Users can send funds instantly, and the recipient has immediate access everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, as well as at ATMs.

In its pursuit to build a "community of cardholders," Akimbo has empowered each individual member to build their own network by allowing them to create up to five personalized "sub-cards" for friends, family members, or anyone. Once you've provided someone a sub-card, you can send them money with just a few taps on your computer or iPhone.

Akimbo also enables sharing via Facebook, email, and text (SMS). The recipient must enroll for an Akimbo Card to collect the money, but once the account is created they are sent a pre-loaded card. Furthering the notion of social banking, Akimbo's iPhone app let's you add photos, notes, and ratings to purchase transactions. These can be posted to Facebook, or soon shared privately via email. Photos and notes can also be attached to money transfers and requests.

"As the payments industry tries to reinvent itself, we need to remember that it takes time for consumers to adopt and adapt to new technology," said Akimbo co-founder and CEO Houston Frost. "The reloadable prepaid account is a great 'bridge' to the wholly digital wallet -- it provides the convenience and ease of a cloud-based solution, with the familiarity and access of a physical card."

Akimbo provides more than just convenient money transfers. At its core, the Akimbo Card is a full service bank account alternative, offering direct deposit capabilities, transfers to and from other bank accounts, and even bill pay functionality.

"The prepaid card as a bank alternative or companion account is entering the mainstream. Prepaid is not only growing because more consumers are using it instead of checking, but perhaps more interestingly, a greater number of consumers are using prepaid cards in addition to traditional checking," added Frost. "Why? Because a prepaid account enables a level of control that your checking account doesn't. It's great for budgeting, eliminates the aggravation of overdrafts fees, and provides a layer of security between the payment instrument and your bank account."

Once enrolled, users can link their current bank account to load the card or to send money to others. Sharing money with friends is completely free and the Akimbo Card charges no monthly fee, which is rare in the prepaid industry. There is also no charge to sign up or to create sub-cards, but in order to keep the monthly no-fee structure, Akimbo says it may consider charging a small, one-time enrollment fee at a later date.