== AccountNow Inc. ==


AccountNow Inc., headquartered in San Ramon, California, is a provider of financial solutions for the 40 million U.S. consumers who do not have established credit, do not qualify for accounts at traditional banks, or are looking for a simple alternative to a bank account. AccountNow Inc. offers consumers an alternative to traditional checking accounts by providing access to financial products and payment systems, including MasterCard and Visa prepaid cards, Pay Anyone Bill Payment, Free Credit Builder, and FDIC-insured deposits. AccountNow’s Vantage Prepaid MasterCard® Card is issued by MetaBank and AccountNow’s Prepaid Visa® Card is issued by Palm Desert National Bank.

Profile and Background

In March of 2003, Matt Montes founded AccountNow in the spare bedroom of his Scottsdale, Arizona home. His goal was to offer a bank account comparable product to the millions of underserved U.S. consumers that banks were not servicing. Matt soon found a huge demand for the products he envisioned and brought CEO, Tim Coltrell, and CMO, Greg Pacheco, on board. In August of 2004 AccountNow closed its first round of funding and opened their headquarters in San Ramon, California.


AccountNow Inc. is backed and funded by several leading investment firms. The most recent round of funding was secured in June of 2007 and led by Trident Capital. Additional investors include INVESCO Private Capital, Oak Hill Investment, VSP Capital, Grayhawk Venture Partners, Granite Hill Capital Ventures, and AccountNow's CEO Tim Coltrell.

Products

AccountNow Inc. provides prepaid Visa and MasterCard cards that allow for depositing of funds that can be drawn from at any time. Although sometimes referred to as "Prepaid Credit Cards", they do not have a credit component. Users need appropriate funds on the card to make a purchase, similar to that of debit cards or check cards issued from banks and credit unions.


Because AccountNow Inc's prepaid cards are an alternative to bank accounts for those who may be in ChexSystems® or denied a bank account, many refer to these products as "Bank Account Alternatives" or "Second Chance Bank Accounts".


The AccountNow Inc. product line includes:

AccountNow® Prepaid Visa® Card

AccountNow® Vantage Prepaid MasterCard® Card

Credit Builder

Both prepaid cards are reloadable through direct deposit. Alternatively, funds may be added to cards through MoneyGram® Express Payment® or Green Dot® MoneyPak™ .


Cardholders receive access to direct deposit, online bill pay, credit builder, global ATM access, and worldwide card acceptance.

Accolades

2007 Finalist in Best Unbanked and Underserved Program at the Prepaid Cards Awards at the Prepaid Card Expo in Las Vegas


Approved by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank for the Government's Go Direct program.


Recognized in American Banker and Bankrate as one of the most innovative firms for the unbanked and underserved consumer.