Who Would Buy NetSpend?
August 23, 2011 11:00 PM
Mounting Struggles
Since completing its IPO in October, NetSpend has had to seek new bank partners and lost two of its three check-cashing distributors.
Main Rival
Larger prepaid marketer Green Dot went public before NetSpend and has had fewer problems with its bank partners and retail distributors.
Second Chance
Capital One backed away from a deal in 2007 to buy NetSpend for $700 million. Now the bank is bulking up, with deals to buy ING's U.S. online bank and HSBC's U.S. credit card portfolio. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Susana Gonzalez/Susana Gonzalez
New Competitor
American Express introduced its own prepaid card earlier this year, but analysts say its version has fewer features than the cards offered by NetSpend and Green Dot. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Going Mainstream
Large, traditional banks have talked about introducing prepaid cards in light of new regulations capping interchange fees on debit cards. It would be easier for a bank to buy a prepaid company than to build its operations from scratch. (Image: Bloomberg News)
