American Express Serve today announced a free nationwide cash load network and the addition of new money management capabilities to its full-service reloadable prepaid account, including a mobile bill-pay capability.

The new features also include direct deposit, mobile check capture and personal financial management tools, the announcement said. These enhancements are designed to meet the needs of the nearly 70 million Americans underserved by traditional financial services, according to AmEx.

"Unfortunately, the traditional banking system is not easily accessible to large segments of the population, making managing money cumbersome and expensive for many," Dan Schulman, group president, Enterprise Growth, at American Express, said in the announcement. "We launched Serve two years ago with the simple idea that consumers needed a better way to move their money. Today, we've added a number of new features to make the management and movement of money more affordable and convenient for everyone."

To help customers make smart decisions about their finances, American Express has partnered with LearnVest to bring free educational financial content to Serve.com, and is introducing Reserve, a linked account that customers can use to store money for upcoming expenses. Additionally, American Express Serve customers have free access to Serve's Bill Pay feature to pay bills online using Serve.com and via mobile with the Serve mobile app.

Learn more about mobile bill payment.