Paysafe Group

Paysafe Group Limited (formerly known as Optimal Payments PLC) is a multinational online payments company.[8] The group offers services both under the Paysafe brand and subsidiary brands that have become part of the group through several mergers and acquisitions, most notably Neteller, Skrill and paysafecard.

"Paysafe" redirects here. For the namesake prepaid payment method, see paysafecard.
Paysafe Group Limited
Private limited company
ISINGB0034264548 
IndustryOnline payments
Founded1996[1]
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Stuart Harvey[2][3]
(Chairman)
Philip McHugh[4][5][6]
(CEO)
ProductsElectronic money
Digital wallet
Revenue$1 billion (2016)[7]
$194.4 million (2016)[7]
$142.0 million (2016)[7]
SubsidiariesSkrill, Neteller, paysafecard
WebsitePaysafe Group

Paysafe is based in the Isle of Man and regulated in the United Kingdom, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by a consortium of The Blackstone Group and CVC Capital Partners in December 2017.[9]

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,[10] and Neteller in 1999.[11] In April 2004, Neteller PLC raised about $70 million in its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.[12]

In November 2005, Neteller PLC acquired Netbanx Ltd.[13] In November 2008, Neteller PLC renamed itself to Neovia Financial PLC.[14] In February 2011, Neovia Financial PLC acquired Optimal Payments of Montreal, Canada.[15] Next month, Neovia Financial PLC changed its name to Optimal Payments PLC.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18] In March 2015, Optimal Payments PLC revealed that it would acquire rival Skrill group, including pre-paid voucher provider paysafecard, for a fee of around €1.1 billion.[19] In the same year, Optimal Payments rebranded as Paysafe Group.[20]

The company moved to the main market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2015.[21] On 25 November, 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.[22]

In August 2017, it was announced that Paysafe would be sold to a consortium of The Blackstone Group and CVC Capital Partners for £2.96 billion,[23] making it the largest private equity backed takeover of a London-listed company since the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[9] The acquisition was approved by the European Commission on 22 November, 2017.[24] On 21 December 2017, Paysafe got delisted from the London Stock Exchange.[25]

In April 2019, with the likelihood of the upcoming withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU), the so-called "Brexit", Paysafe Group announced their plans to prevent any negative effects for their customers and merchants. If Brexit takes place, the company will transfer its European Economic Area (EEA) business to a newly incorporated group company based in Ireland. “Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited” is authorized and regulated as an electronic money institution by the Irish financial services regulator, the Central Bank of Ireland.[26]

Products and services

The company provides the following products and services:

  • Neteller is an electronic money/digital wallet service that allows consumers to add, withdraw and transfer funds to and from merchants and other people.[27] Net+ prepaid payment card available in eight currencies is mainly intended to be used with Neteller and is accepted as normal MasterCard payment card.[28]
  • Skrill is a product that allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet, with a focus on low-cost international money transfers.[29]
  • paysafecard is a prepaid payment method that allows customers to make payments online without the use of a bank account or credit card information.[30]
  • Payolution is e-commerce payment product which allows customers to 'buy now, pay later'.[31]
  • Fans Entertainment is a mobile commerce product which offers mobile ordering.[32]
  • IncomeAccess is an affiliate marketing and business intelligence provider.[33]

Sponsorship

The front of the team's shirts was displaying Neteller's logo according to the deal.[34]

In February 2018 it was announced that Paysafe would sponsor the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, shared by Zachary Claman DeMelo and Pietro Fittipaldi, in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series.[35]

References
  1. "NETBANX Limited: Private Company Information". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. "Atlanta fintech startup KyckGlobal raises $8 million". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  3. "WageWorks plunges 17 percent as auditor says company withheld information". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  4. "People moves: CRO role for SG's Ricke, Barclays continues hiring spree, new SwapClear head, and more". Risk.net. 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  5. "Paysafe hits carbon neutral status". Finextra Research. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  6. "Philip McHugh Replaces Joel Leonoff as Paysafe CEO | Finance Magnates". Finance Magnates | Financial and business news. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  7. "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  8. "Optimal Payments PLC (OPAY.L) Company Profile". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  9. "Hogan Lovells results for calendar year 2017". hoganlovells.com. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. "Company Overview of Optimal Payments (Ireland) Limited". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. "Neteller Arrests" (PDF). Justice.gov. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  12. "United States of America vs. Stephen Eric Lawrence" (PDF). Steptoe.com. Steptoe & Johnson LLP. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. "Neteller acquires Netbanx for £12.36 million cash". Finextra. 1 November 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  14. "Neteller changes name to Neovia Financial". Finextra. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  15. "Neovia Financial PLC - NEOVIA completes acquisition of Optimal Payments" (Press release). Reuters. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  16. "Neovia Financial PLC - Confirmation of name change" (Press release). Reuters. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  17. Reynolds, Bill (1 October 2014). John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling. ECW Press. p. 377. ISBN 1770905723.
  18. "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.
  19. "Optimal Payments to buy e-wallet rival for $1.2 billion" (Press release). Reuters. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  20. "Optimal Payments rebrands as Paysafe". thepaypers.com. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  21. "Paysafe moves to London Stock Exchange's Main Market today". Leap Rate. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  22. "Neteller and Skrill to pull prepaid Mastercard from 100 countries". latestcasinobonuses.com. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  23. "Paysafe is about to be sold for almost 3 billion pounds - Slotsday". Slotsday. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
  24. "Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Paysafe by CVC and Blackstone". European Commission. Brussels. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  25. "Official List - Cancellation - Paysafe Group Plc". London Stock Exchange. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  26. "eWallet-Optimizer • Paysafe Brexit Plans". eWallet-Optimizer. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  27. "Accept NETELLER in your Ecommerce Shop". About Payments. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  28. "Net+ Prepaid Card Review". Prepaid365. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  29. "Skrill Holdings Limited: Private Company Information". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  30. "Paysafecard". Mollie. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  31. "Payolution launches in UK". Payolution. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  32. "About us". Fans Entertainment. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  33. "About us". IncomeAccess. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  34. "Optimal Payments Becomes Official Shirt Sponsor". Crystal Palace F.C. Official Website. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  35. Malsher, David (2018-02-07). "De Melo confirmed at Coyne with Paysafe sponsorship". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
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