AUSTIN, Texas, June 8, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NetSpend Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTSP) today announced that the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, NetSpend Corporation, has been granted patent #7,814,018 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The '018 patent covers techniques for associating a valid charge number, such as a debit card number, and a prepaid account, so that consumers can make electronic payments without the need for a traditional credit or debit card. These techniques include aspects of batch activation processing, instant issue card programs and secure card applications in which the account number is not exposed to the merchant. The patent is NetSpend's first issued patent. The company also has four pending patent applications, including systems and methods related to providing account alerts over wireless networks, efficient bill payment and online applications.
"NetSpend is unique in being a prepaid debit card program manager that also owns and operates its own end-to-end processing platform," said Dan Henry, chief executive officer, NetSpend. "This is a competitive advantage that allows us to continuously innovate and find better ways to serve our extensive cardholder base, which reached 2.1 million at the end of last year. We are delighted to have been issued this patent and hope to be granted additional patents for our unique applications in the future."
A copy of the patent may be obtained from the United States Patent and Trademark Office website at http://www.uspto.gov.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and Rule 3(b)-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties. NetSpend cautions you that reliance on any forward-looking statement involves risks and uncertainties and that although NetSpend believes that the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions could prove to be inaccurate, and, as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions could be materially incorrect. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected are discussed in greater detail in NetSpend's filings, which are available on NetSpend's website at www.netspend.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. All information provided in this release and in the attachments is as of June 8, 2011, and, except as required by law, NetSpend does not intend to update this information as a result of future events or developments.
About NetSpend
NetSpend is a leading provider of general-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid debit cards and related financial services to the estimated 60 million underbanked consumers in the United States who do not have a traditional bank account or who rely on alternative financial services. The company's mission is to develop products and services that empower unbanked consumers with the convenience, security and freedom to be self-banked. Headquartered in Austin, TX, NetSpend is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol NTSP.
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