NetSpend, a leading provider of card-based prepaid financial products to underbanked consumers, and Check City, a check cashing and payday loan provider in the Mountain West and Mid-Atlantic regions, have entered into a distributor agreement that positions NetSpend as the chain's exclusive prepaid debit card provider.
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.
In conjunction with the exclusive distributor agreement, Check City will work with NetSpend to convert customers previously served by Check City's in-house prepaid product to the NetSpend card.
"Our mission at NetSpend is to bring an unmatched set of financial services products to the tens of millions of consumers who are overlooked and underserved by traditional banks," said Dan Henry, chief executive officer at NetSpend. "By partnering with Check City-a company whose passion for top-quality customer service and exceptional products is as strong as ours-we are better able to deliver on that mission in the West and Mid-Atlantic regions."
"We are excited to introduce our clients to the NetSpend prepaid debit card. NetSpend's commitment to providing a feature rich prepaid debit card and supporting that product with a dedicated customer service team was paramount in our decision to select NetSpend as our prepaid debit card of choice," said Tracy Rawle, vice president of Check City. "We are confident in NetSpend's commitment to be the premier provider and servicer of prepaid debit products."
Prepaid debit cards offer a viable financial alternative for the approximately 50 to 100 million underbanked consumers in the United States. Designed as a convenient tool to help cardholders better manage their finances, a prepaid debit card allows only the amount that is pre-deposited on the card to be spent. This feature along with free balance inquiries via text alert and online budgeting tools helps NetSpend cardholders avoid paying their share of the billions of dollars in fees that traditional banks collect every year. Check City NetSpend cardholders can reload their cards at the 70 Check City stores and at approximately 90,000 other locations throughout the country. Cardholders also have access to free direct deposit, online bill pay and card-to-card transfers.