Global Partner Coordinator

Three years later, payment processor Total System Services, or TSYS, acquired Netspend for about $1.4 billion in 2013.

Netspend and Rêv Worldwide announced today they have completed the integration of their key strategic assets and formed a new global financial services, loyalty and technology solutions parent company named Ouro. The new company plans to aggressively expand its multi-brand portfolio spanning prepaid, debit, cross-border payments, and loyalty products and service innovations across the globe.The new name and strategy follow the May return of the founders to run the company they started nearly 25 years ago.he new Ouro global group of fintech brands will maintain Netspend as a flagship brand and leader in the prepaid card market, serving underserved customers looking to access payment network merchant acceptance. The company’s X World Wallet, which was developed by Rêv, will continue to expand domestically and internationally with a focus on lifestyle, tourism and cross-border commerce.“With the successful integration and alignment of our people, platforms, and purpose, we are primed to help more consumers worldwide access innovative financial solutions that provide exceptional value, control, flexibility and security,” said Ouro Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Roy Sosa. “The decision to rebrand as Ouro signifies the transformation we’ve undergone the past six months and reignites our shared commitment to our legacy of customer and partner-centric innovation and reminds us of the infinite possibilities that come with pursuing it.”The name Ouro draws inspiration and meaning from the Greek word “ouroboros,” an ancient symbol depicting a closed circle with a dragon consuming its own tail. Manifesting across diverse cultures and contexts throughout history, the symbol evokes continuous reinvention, renewal, the unity of beginnings and endings, the cyclical nature of our journeys and endless possibility.The Ouro brand acknowledges and reflects the cyclical nature of the journey and transformation the company has undergone since founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa returned to the helm with an acquisition completed in May.“While we take pride in the role Netspend has played in the financial empowerment ecosystem pioneering prepaid, debit and mobile payment solutions, billions more consumers can benefit from these essential products and services, and we remain committed to reaching them,” Ouro Co-Founder, President and Chief Brand Officer Bertrand Sosa noted. “Ouro is building on a vast set of strategic assets – including several proprietary payment processing platforms, a worldwide network of card sale and cash load retail partners, and multiple innovative international brands which today span the entire economic ladder and a global footprint.”Ouro will capitalize on its existing portfolio of consumer brands, including one of the largest prepaid debit card providers in the United States under the Netspend brand, as well as international brand X World Wallet direct-to-consumer program, Walletplus in partnership with Etihad Airways, and Global Wallet in partnership with Itaú bank in Brazil, among other consumer and enterprise programs under management

Payments firms Rêv and Netspend have combined their operations to form a new company named Ouro.The new group will maintain Netspend as a flagship brand and prepaid card provider, while also continuing to expand use of Rêv’s X World Wallet, the company said in a Wednesday (Nov. 1) news release.“With the successful integration and alignment of our people, platforms and purpose, we are primed to help more consumers worldwide access innovative financial solutions that provide exceptional value, control, flexibility and security,” said Ouro Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Roy Sosa.“The decision to rebrand as Ouro signifies the transformation we’ve undergone the past six months and reignites our shared commitment to our legacy of customer and partner-centric innovation and reminds us of the infinite possibilities that come with pursuing it,” he added.According to the release, the name Ouro is inspired by the Greek word “ouroboros,” an ancient symbol of circle with a dragon eating its own tail, designed to evoke — among other things — reinvention, renewal and “the unity of beginnings and endings.”The company said the name is a nod to the “cyclical nature” of its transformation, as founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa launched both Rêv and Netspend.The Sosa brothers founded Netspend in 1999 from their apartment, building it into a business that they sold for $1.3 billion in 2013. They launched Rêv in 2009 and announced plans to repurchase Netspend in 2022. The acquisition was finalized in May of this year.PYMNTS looked at the first of prepaid cards in a July interview with Chris Winter, managing director and head of APAC at Discover® Global Network, and Suresh Rajagopalan, CEO at digital payments firm Wibmo about the changes — and opportunities — an increasingly online economy is bringing to the payments sector.“Over the last couple of years, what we’ve seen is an acceleration of the digitization of payments … and that digitalization has reinvigorated the [prepaid card] opportunity,” Winter told PYMNTS.He added that this transformation has been driven by the expansion of eCommerce, contactless payments and the increased use of digital wallets, making prepaid products more viable, secure and cost-effective than before.These developments have positioned prepaid virtual cards at the forefront of the payment industry in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in particular, which Rajagopalan said is due to three factors: speed of issuance and use; frictionless interoperability; and the end-to-end security of prepaid payment options.“And this is a global trend, not just APAC,” Rajagopalan said. “Everything is being virtualized and driven by digital.”