Mango Financial, Inc. Takes Home Judges' Choice in Fifth Annual Paybefore Awards

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- During a ceremony yesterday at the Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Florida, Paybefore awarded Mango Financial, Inc. Judges' Choice in the 2011 Paybefore Awards. Now in its fifth year, Paybefore Awards is the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the worldwide prepaid and stored value card industry. The awards are presented annually by Paybefore, whose publications are the leading source of industry information for the global prepaid community.

"We are honored to be recognized by members of our industry," said Bertrand Sosa, Mango co-founder. "We created Mango to define a new standard in retail and online financial services for the unbanked and underbanked, and this award signals we're headed in the right direction."

A panel of five industry experts who served as judges for this year's competition selected Mango for the Judges' Choice Award – one of the top honors in the Paybefore Awards program – from a record number of entries submitted around the world.

"This year our judging panel felt that two nominees deserved special recognition, and for the first time selected Judges' Choice Award winners," said Loraine DeBonis, Paybefore editor-in-chief and chair of the judging panel. "Paybefore Awards were created to celebrate the innovators in our industry who are using prepaid to transform payments with ever-more efficient and accessible products.

"Our industry is growing rapidly because of companies like Mango, who continually improve their products and services or create new ones," she continued. "We are proud to recognize its contributions to advancing the prepaid industry."

Mango is a first-of-its-kind financial services store where unbanked consumers can meet their financial needs in a one-stop shop that saves them time and money. Mango's host of innovative, affordable and easy-to-use products and services include the Mango MasterCard Prepaid Card, high-yield Mango Savings, integrated YAP mobile money features, check loads, bill pay, and domestic and international money transfers. It opened its first U.S. location in Austin, Texas in April of last year.

Select Mango services are also available to consumers nationwide at www.MangoMoney.com, including the Mango MasterCard Prepaid Card, Mango's high-yield savings, Direct Deposit and integrated YAP™ branded mobile money transfer service.

Prepaid debit industry pioneers Roy Sosa and Bertrand Sosa founded Mango. It is one of a group of companies backed by MPOWER Ventures and MPOWER Labs, the venture firm and affiliated business accelerator the Sosas established to fund and build financial companies whose innovations benefit underserved consumers. Mango's sister company Rev Worldwide provides the processing platform that runs Mango products and mobile features.

About Mango Financial, Inc.

Founded in 2008, Mango is a first-of-its-kind financial services store that helps underbanked consumers manage their money and achieve their financial goals. The company aims to define a new standard for meeting the financial needs of underbanked consumers that elevates the retail experience, provides greater value and service, shows it's possible to forge long-term relationships with unbanked consumers and makes financial sense for the customer and the business alike.

Mango customers come to the Mango Store to meet their financial needs in a one-stop shop that saves them time and money. Its host of innovative, affordable and easy-to-use products and services include the Mango MasterCard Prepaid Card, high-yield Mango Savings, integrated YAP mobile money features, check loads, bill pay, and domestic and international money transfers. Mango recently opened its first U.S. location in Austin, Texas.  To learn more, visit www.mangomoney.com.

About Paybefore

Paybefore is the leading information provider to prepaid and stored value industry professionals, offering the latest news, commentary and analysis. Paybefore's family of industry publications include: Paybefore.com™, a searchable online news and information portal; Paybefore News™, daily electronic news briefs; Paybefore News International™, a weekly compilation of prepaid news and events from outside the United States; Paybefore Update™, a downloadable e-newsletter delivered 20 times a year; Paybefore Legal™, a downloadable e-newsletter covering the legislative, regulatory and judicial developments in prepaid, as well as feature articles by leading attorneys in the field; Paybefore Magazine™, a biannual print publication featuring in-depth articles; and the only industry directory, Paybefore Buyer's Guide™, available online and in print. Visit us at www.paybefore.com.

SOURCE Mango Financial, Inc.