Achieve Financial Services

May 25, 2018

Austin-based Achieve Financial lands $12 million in funding   Sep 1, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2018 at 7:17 AM Achieve Financial Services, an Austin company that offers prepaid debit cards, said it has raised $12.5 million for expansion. The company targets its AchieveCard — a prepaid MasterCard — and other financial services toward consumers who do not have traditional bank accounts but want an option besides cash or money orders. The 3-year-old company said its card, which it markets through direct mail and online, is used by 100,000 people. Achieve Financial Services received the funding from Escalate Capital Partners of Austin and other unnamed investors. Including this round of financing, the company has raised a total of $20.5 million. Reloadable prepaid debit cards allow users to deposit cash on the card and then use it for any credit or debit card transaction. That appeals to people who don't have access to a bank or for those who can't qualify for a credit card. Trade groups estimate that there are 45 million "underbanked" consumers in the United States. But the cards aren't free — they often include activation fees and monthly maintenance fees. AchieveCard users pay a $9.95 monthly maintenance fee and $2 for each ATM transaction. There is no charge to have paychecks deposited to the card. Austin is home to other prepaid debit card companies: Netspend Inc. is publicly traded and recently announced a deal to sell its Visa prepaid cards at 5,000 7-Eleven convenience stores nationwide, and Mango Financial is backed by Texas billionaire Red McCombs and Omidyar Network, the investment fund created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. Sam Reed, Achieve Financial Services president, said the prepaid debit card business "is a wide-open market. Total market penetration is still very early in the process. It's undergoing a lot of disruptive changes, and we have the expertise, technology and capital necessary to be a major player." The company has 100 employees at its headquarters in Northwest Austin, where it also operates a call center. It will use the money to expand sales and marketing and plans to hire 50 more call center workers this year, Reed said. "One of the reasons Austin is a great place for a company like this is the great availability of customer service talent," he said. "We attract a lot of UT students who work flexible schedules." Ross Cockrell, managing director of Escalate Capital, said, "We are excited about our investment into the prepaid debit card market. Our decision is reflective of AchieveCard's domain expertise in direct-to-consumer marketing coupled with its proprietary technology." Contact Lori Hawkins at 912-5955 Never miss a story Digital access or digital and print delivery.