paysafecard: E-Money Licence Spurs on Internationalisation

paysafecard obtains FSA licence for issuing electronic money

London/Vienna, 4th of June 2008 – paysafecard, Europe’s leading web cash service for the internet, has been granted its own licence to issue electronic money. The e-money licence, issued to paysafecard.com limited by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on the 30th of May 2008, will shortly be extended EU wide, making paysafecard more independent from banking institutions and therefore facilitating further rapid expansion across Europe and beyond.

The requirements for organisations applying for the e-money licence are very stringent. Only companies that undergo diligent financial auditing and meet the strict criteria relating to systems and infrastructure are eligible to obtain the e-money licence.

Michael Mueller, CEO of the paysafecard group, states: “For us as an internationally operating company, the e-money licence is an enormous step forward. We will optimise our value chain and gain greater autonomy in the market through the licence. Obtaining it is one of the biggest milestones in the eight-year history of our company.”

David Hunter, CEO of regulated UK subsidiary, said “Our customers will benefit from the peace of mind that unlike the banks, we are obliged to maintain 100% cash cover of their funds. Our geographic expansion allows us to greatly help the 400m Europeans who currently don’t have a card with which to buy online”

Internationalisation is one of the main strategic objectives for the paysafecard group. paysafecard’s prepaid-web-cash service is already available in 10 countries. It was only in February 2008 that paysafecard stepped into the markets of Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium – through obtaining the e-money licence, this expansion will now be accelerated further.

Media contact:
Braun Europe Limited
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Sarah Cardaun
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phone: +44 (0)20 7297 3311

About paysafecard:
For more than eight years, paysafecard is Europe’s favourite safe and easy-to-use alternative prepaid payment method for e-commerce. It is available in 10 countries throughout Europe. The award win-ning paysafecard solution is designed for users who don’t have a credit or debit card or who don’t want to use their credit card for online purchases and other micro payments in the internet. Users sim-ply authorize a payment by entering a PIN code, similar to the system used with prepaid phone cards. Thousands of e-businesses are benefiting from new customers by offering this safe and secure pay-ment solution. Paysafecards are available in £10, £25, £50 and £75 vouchers at more than 18,000 PayPoint™ Locations in the UK. For more information, please visit www.paysafecard.com

This release was published on openPR.