NetSpend, a TSYS Company (NYSE: TSS) and leading provider of prepaid cards and related financial services, today announced it has joined forces with Western Union (NYSE:WU) to develop an innovative co-branded prepaid card, available later this year.

“Combining the strengths of Western Union’s global brand and expertise in moving money with NetSpend’s deep prepaid knowledge and unique product capabilities, creates an incredible opportunity for us to better serve an underserved market,” said Dan Henry, chief executive officer of NetSpend. “Our two companies share a commitment to giving customers more and better choices for managing their money.”

According to the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), approximately 68 million Americans are financially underserved or lack access to traditional forms of banking. Many of these consumers are turning to prepaid cards to spend, save and manage their money — the FDIC estimates that from 2009 to 2011, the percentage of unbanked households that used a prepaid card climbed from 12 percent to nearly 18 percent.

NetSpend and Western Union will jointly develop the co-branded card’s custom features through NetSpend’s proprietary, fully integrated payments platform, and plan to deliver the card through a portion of their combined distribution networks later this year. NetSpend maintains an extensive network of 70,000 distribution locations and 130,000 reload points. Western Union offers its services in the U.S. through a network that includes banks, national retail and grocery chains and independent locations.

Details on card pricing, features and availability will follow at the product launch.

About NetSpend

NetSpend is a leading provider of general-purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards and related financial services to the estimated 68 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 underbanked consumers with the convenience, security and freedom to be self-banked. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NetSpend is a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS (NYSE: TSS). For more information, please visit www.netspend.com, or follow NetSpend on Twitter at twitter.com/netspend or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/netspend.

About TSYS

At TSYS® (NYSE: TSS), we believe payments should revolve around people, not the other way around. We call this belief “People-Centered Payments®.” By putting people at the center of every decision we make, TSYS supports financial institutions, businesses and governments in more than 80 countries. Through NetSpend®, A TSYS Company, we empower consumers with the convenience, security, and freedom to be self-banked. TSYS offers issuer services and merchant payment acceptance for credit, debit, prepaid, healthcare and business solutions.

TSYS’ headquarters are located in Columbus, Ga., U.S.A., with local offices spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. TSYS is a member of The Civic 50 and has been named one of the 2013 World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere magazine. TSYS routinely posts all important information on its website. For more, please visit us at www.tsys.com.