Usio’s Innovative Prepaid Card Solutions Powering “The Compton Pledge”

Country’s Largest Guaranteed Income Program Utilizing Usio Prepaid Cards as Preferred Disbursement Vehicle

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Usio, Inc. (Nasdaq: USIO), an integrated electronic payment solutions provider, today announced that “The Compton Pledge” has chosen the Company’s proprietary prepaid card solution as its preferred vehicle to disburse funds to families participating in the program.

Louis Hoch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Usio, said, “The Compton Pledge is currently the largest guaranteed basic income program in the United States. We are both pleased and honored to support this effort to challenge the racial and economic injustice plaguing both welfare programs and economic systems. By adopting prepaid cards as the vehicle of choice for the disbursement and management of funds, we enable The Compton Pledge to do more with less.”

Led by Mayor Aja Brown and the Fund for Guaranteed Income, The Compton Pledge is a landmark guaranteed income initiative that will distribute recurring, direct cash relief to approximately 800 low-income residents for two years starting later this year. Among city-led guaranteed income initiatives in the United States, the Compton Pledge will be the largest pilot, and is intentionally designed to challenge the racial and economic injustice plaguing both welfare programs and economic systems.

Nika Soon-Shiong, Co-Director of The Compton Pledge and Executive Director of the Fund for Guaranteed Income commented, "Usio’s prepaid cards enable the Compton Pledge to disburse funds to underbanked and unbanked residents who lack access to government benefits. Launched on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we pledge the dream of challenging a system that intentionally overlooks and underserves."

“The Jain Family Institute team is so grateful that Usio and other partners are making this cash relief program possible for hundreds of families. The evidence is clear—this will have a dramatic positive impact,” said Halah Ahmad, Vice President for Public Relations and Policy Communications, at the Jain Family Institute.

Houston Frost, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Prepaid Products, added, “We are thrilled to be able to serve various community, civic, social and governmental organizations with customized prepaid solutions that enable them to meet their need to efficiently and effectively disburse their program’s funds. The Compton Pledge is an example of how progressive, innovative, and groundbreaking organizations have recognized that our prepaid solutions provide the flexibility they need to overcome the challenge of disbursing and tracking their funds. Usio has become a leader in this field, with almost 100 similar organizations across the United States integrating our card issuing technology into their programs. We appreciate The Compton Pledge’s confidence in our ability to serve as their electronic payments partner.”

About Usio, Inc.

Usio, Inc. (Nasdaq: USIO), a leading integrated payment solutions provider, offers a wide range of payment solutions to merchants, integrated software vendors, and card issuers. The Company operates credit, debit/prepaid, and ACH payment processing platforms to deliver convenient, world-class payment solutions and services to their clients. The strength of the Company lies in its ability to provide tailored solutions for card issuance, payment acceptance, and bill payments as well as its unique technology in the prepaid sector. Usio is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and has offices in Austin, Texas, and Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.

Websites: www.usio.com, www.singularpayments.com, www.payfacinabox.com, www.akimbocard.com, and www.ficentive.com. Find us on Facebook® and Twitter.

About The Compton Pledge

The Compton Pledge is a landmark guaranteed income initiative that will distribute recurring cash relief to low-income residents for 2 years, marking the largest city-based guaranteed income pilot in the U.S. The idea of guaranteed income (GI) is simple but powerful: unconditional, direct, and continuous cash payments delivered to all residents to supplement existing welfare benefits. By ensuring that no individual falls below a defined income floor over time, GI creates a true safety net. It enables families to weather crises and government actors and philanthropists to invest directly in the path towards economic justice and reparations.

Website: https://comptonpledge.org/.
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Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this release include forward-looking statements which are covered by safe harbors. Those statements include, but may not be limited to, all statements regarding management's intent, belief and expectations, such as statements concerning our future and our operating and growth strategy. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of words such as "believe," "intend," "look forward," "anticipate," "schedule,” and "expect" among others. Forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business that could cause actual results to vary, including risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the economy, risks related to the realization of the anticipated opportunities from the IMS acquisition, the management of the Company's growth, the loss of key resellers, the relationships with the Automated Clearinghouse network, bank sponsors, third-party card processing providers and merchants, the security of our software, hardware and information, the volatility of the stock price, the need to obtain additional financing, risks associated with new tax legislation, and compliance with complex federal, state and local laws and regulations, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. One or more of these factors have affected, and in the future, could affect the Company’s businesses and financial results in the future and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. The Company believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements included in this release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the objectives and plans will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made in this release are based on information presently available to management. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

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