SOURCE: PreCash, Inc.

 

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - October 31, 2008) - As credit markets tighten and the economy hiccups, more Americans are using prepaid Visa and MasterCard debit cards to help control spending and reduce their reliance on credit, a trend that helped Houston's PreCash be ranked 24th on Deloitte's prestigious Technology Fast 50 Program for Texas. In the last year alone, the number of prepaid debit cards placed by PreCash grew 600 percent.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank, total US Consumer debt (excluding mortgage loans) totaled $2.577 trillion at the end of August 2008. With the receding economy, many Americans want to cut back. Prepaid debit cards give people greater access to services than cash without the risks of overdraft fees or increased debt.

"With credit harder to get, people need alternative ways to spend, but in today's hi-tech world cash doesn't always cut it," said John Chaney, Chairman and CEO of PreCash, Inc. "Prepaid debit cards, like our Vision card, help cash-paying consumers access financial services they otherwise wouldn't be able to use. Many consumers use prepaid debit cards to manage finances while still being able to pay bills online; reserve rental cars or airline tickets; pay for gas at the pump and more."

Prepaid cards are similar to traditional debit and credit cards. The most common are network branded prepaid cards. These are branded like most credit and debit cards, typically MasterCard or Visa, and they are issued by regulating banks or other regulated organizations. The big difference between a prepaid card and traditional credit and debit cards is that you don't need a bank account, or a line of credit to get one. All you need is cash, which is loaded onto the card at retail locations or via direct deposit.

Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Program for Texas is a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, and life sciences companies in the area by Deloitte LLP, one of the nation's leading professional services organizations. Rankings are based on the percentage revenue growth over five years from 2003-2007. PreCash's revenues increased 136 percent from 2006 to 2007 alone.

To qualify for the Technology Fast 50, companies must have had operating revenues of at least $50,000 in 2003 and $5,000,000 in 2007, be headquartered in North America, and be a company that owns proprietary technology or proprietary intellectual property that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues; or devotes a significant proportion of revenues to the research and development of technology. Using other companies' technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not qualify.

Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 program for Texas is co-presented by business sponsors who are key to the success of this program. Sponsors of the 2008 Deloitte Texas Fast 50 include America's 401k, CresaPartners, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, NASDAQ OMX, Porsche and TriNet.

Companies from the regional Technology Fast 50 programs in the United States and Canada are automatically entered in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 program, which ranks North America's top 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies. For more information on Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 or Technology Fast 500 programs, visit www.fast50.com.

About PreCash, Inc.

PreCash provides convenient, real-time payment solutions that convert cash into electronic payments for consumers who do not use traditional payment methods such as credit cards or bank accounts. The company offers prepaid wireless refill, bill pay, deposits, prepaid stored value and payroll products. Its intuitive PreCash WebConnect merchant interface makes it easy for retailers to process transactions for all PreCash products and services. The company offers its services at more than 30,000 national and independent retail locations. Founded in 1998, PreCash is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with additional offices in Portland, Oregon. For more information, visit www.precash.com, or www.visionprepaid.com.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.