Paysafe Group

Paysafe Group PLC
Public company
Traded as SHORT, SELL LSE: PAYS
Industry Online payments
Founded 1996[1]
Headquarters Douglas, Isle of Man
Key people
 Chairman
Joel Leonoff, CEO & president
Products Electronic money
Digital wallet
Revenue $1,000.3 million (2016)[2]
$194.4 million (2016)[2]
$142.0 million (2016)[2]
Subsidiaries Skrill, Neteller
Website Paysafe Group

Paysafe Group PLC, formerly known as Optimal Payments PLC and Neovia Financial PLC, is an online payments company[3] based in the Isle of Man and regulated in the United Kingdom. It is the provider of the NETBANX gateway, Neteller e-money payments and free person-to-person money transfer service, and the Net+ prepaid card products used by merchants and consumers in over 200 countries.[4] The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The company was formed from the combination of Neteller PLC, Netbanx Ltd and Optimal Payments Limited. Netbanx was founded in 1996,[1] Optimal Payments in 1997,[5] and Neteller in 1999.[6] In April 2004, Neteller PLC raised about $70 million in its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.[7]

In November 2005, Neteller PLC acquired Netbanx Ltd.[8] In November 2008, Neteller PLC renamed itself to Neovia Financial PLC.[9] In February 2011, Neovia Financial PLC acquired Optimal Payments of Montreal, Canada.[10] Next month, Neovia Financial PLC changed its name to Optimal Payments PLC.[11] In early 2012, the acquisition was revealed to be a reverse takeover with the purging of a number of the senior management along with the chairman of the board.[12]

In July 2014, Optimal Payment PLC expanded its United States interests by purchasing Meritus Payment Solutions, a California based payment processing company, and Global Merchant Advisors, Inc. based in the U.S. in a deal worth over $235 Million.[13] In March 2015, Optimal Payments PLC revealed that it would acquire the maker of the Skrill e-wallet for a fee of around €1.1 billion.[14]

The company moved to the main market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2015.[15] On November 25, 2016, Paysafe Group, owner of Neteller and Skrill, restricted the use of the Net+ Prepaid MasterCard to countries within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). This left users in over 100 countries unable to withdraw cash from ATM's, which left no recourse but to make purchases with Neteller/Skrill merchant partners or transfer funds to a bank account.[16]

In August 2017, it was public that Paysafe will be sold to a Consortium of Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners for 2.96 billion pounds[17].

Products and services

The NETBANX service processes credit and debit card-not-present and non-card payments for North American, European and Asia global retailers through their online stores, mail-order/telephone order and automated (IVR) phone channels. The service offers both direct processing and acquiring merchant services/merchant accounts. It is provided via the software as a service (SaaS) model.[1][18][19] NETELLER is an electronic money/digital wallet service that allows consumers to add, withdraw and transfer funds to and from merchants and other people.[20] Net+ prepaid payment card available in eight currencies is mainly intended to be used with Neteller and is accepted as normal MasterCard payment card.[21]

Sponsorship

In July 2014, Optimal Payments became the sponsor of Crystal Palace Football Club for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons of the English Premier League. The front of the team's shirts will be displaying Neteller's logo according to the deal.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NETBANX Limited: Private Company Information". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Optimal Payments PLC (OPAY.L) Company Profile". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Optimal Payments announces European partnership with Payline". London Stock Exchange. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Company Overview of Optimal Payments (Ireland) Limited". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Neteller Arrests" (PDF). Justice.gov. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "United States of America vs. Stephen Eric Lawrence" (PDF). Steptoe.com. Steptoe & Johnson LLP. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Neteller acquires Netbanx for £12.36 million cash". Finextra. 1 November 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Neteller changes name to Neovia Financial". Finextra. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Neovia Financial PLC - NEOVIA completes acquisition of Optimal Payments" (Press release). Reuters. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Neovia Financial PLC - Confirmation of name change" (Press release). Reuters. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Reynolds, Bill (1 October 2014). John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling. ECW Press. p. 377. ISBN 1770905723.
  13. ↑ "Optimal Payments to acquire California based Meritus Payment Solutions to accelerate expansion in U.S. payments market" (Press release). London, Montreal, New York: Yahoo! Finance. CNW Group. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Optimal Payments to buy e-wallet rival for $1.2 billion" (Press release). Reuters. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Paysafe moves to London Stock Exchange’s Main Market today". Leap Rate. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Neteller and Skrill to pull prepaid Mastercard from 100 countries". latestcasinobonuses.com. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  17. ↑ "Paysafe is about to be sold for almost 3 billion pounds - Slotsday". Slotsday. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
  18. ↑ "NetBanx". SQA.org.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  19. ↑ "NETBANX Payment Gateway & Merchant Account". Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Accept NETELLER in your Ecommerce Shop". About Payments. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "Net+ Prepaid Card Review". Prepaid365. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  22. ↑ "Optimal Payments Becomes Official Shirt Sponsor". Crystal Palace F.C. Official Website. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
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