What Is Paysafecard Used For

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.

Paysafecard is used mostly by young shoppers and customers without bank accounts. They’re used most often to buy games, movies, books and software online. Other services include social media, online dating platforms, VoIP services and cloud and travel services. How does paysafecard work? Paysafecard can be used at a range of online stores, but the payment method is particularly popular with online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites, as well as mobile gaming apps and esports. In 2013, the digital wallet provider Skrill acquired Paysafecard, and now.

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[edit]

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]

In July 2020, it was announced that Paysafe bought payment gateway Openbucks for an undisclosed amount of money. It was announced that the Openbucks team would become part of the parent company's eCash solutions group.^[27][28][29]

In December 2020, the company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to merge with special-purpose acquisition company, Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp, in a US$9 billion transaction.^[30]

Products and services[edit]

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.^[31] Net+ prepaid payment card available in eight currencies is mainly intended to be used with Neteller and is accepted as normal MasterCard payment card.^[32]
• 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.^[33]
• paysafecard is a prepaid payment method that allows customers to make payments online without the use of a bank account or credit card information.^[34]
• Payolution is e-commerce payment product which allows customers to 'buy now, pay later'.^[35]
• Fans Entertainment is a mobile commerce product which offers mobile ordering.^[36]
• IncomeAccess is an affiliate marketing and business intelligence provider.^[37]

What Can You Use Paysafecard For

Sponsorship[edit]

Optimal Payments was the official sponsor of Crystal Palace Football Club for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons, with the front of the team's shirts displaying Neteller's logo.^[38]

In February 2018 it was announced that Paysafe would sponsor the No. 19 Dale Coyne RacingHonda, shared by Zachary Claman DeMelo and Pietro Fittipaldi, in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series.^[39]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'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. ^ ^abc'Annual Report 2016'(PDF). Retrieved 22 April 2017.
8. ^'Optimal Payments PLC (OPAY.L) Company Profile'. Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
9. ^ ^ab'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 L.P. 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. ISBN1770905723.
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. ^'Paysafe Group acquires Openbucks'. www.mobilepaymentstoday.com. 28 July 2020.
28. ^'Paysafe To Buy Openbucks and other Digital Transactions'. Digital Transactions.
29. ^'Paysafe card added as a payment option in Microsoft store'. Finance Magnates.
30. ^'Paysafe Is Near a $9 Billion Deal to Go Public'. Bloomberg. 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
31. ^'Accept NETELLER in your Ecommerce Shop'. About Payments. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
32. ^'Net+ Prepaid Card Review'. Prepaid365. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
33. ^'Skrill Holdings Limited: Private Company Information'. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
34. ^'Paysafecard'. Mollie. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
35. ^'Payolution launches in UK'. Payolution. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
36. ^'About us'. Fans Entertainment. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
37. ^'About us'. IncomeAccess. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
38. ^'Optimal Payments Becomes Official Shirt Sponsor'. Crystal Palace F.C. Official Website. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
39. ^Malsher, David (2018-02-07). 'De Melo confirmed at Coyne with Paysafe sponsorship'. Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2018-02-18.

External links[edit]

How To Get A Paysafecard

The paysafecard is primarily a prepaid card that shoppers can use to make online payments. Shoppers do not have to enter personal information or bank details when they pay. They can use the paysafe card in the countries listed in the Payment Method Properties table below. A shopper can combine up to 10 paysafecard PINs (Personal Identity Numbers) to make a single larger payment.

It is also possible to store and manage a number of paysafecard PINs in an online eWallet called ‘My paysafecard’. Once the shopper adds the PIN to his or her eWallet, the PIN is no longer required to make a payment. Instead shoppers only have to enter their ‘My paysafecard’ username and password. Shoppers can also use ‘My paysafecard’ eWallet to view their transaction history.

For integration advice, please visit Worldpay developers.

What Is Paysafecard Used For Now

Shopper journey overview

To use a paysafecard to make a payment:

1. On the payment page, the shopper selects the paysafecard payment method.

   The shopper is redirected to the paysafecard website.

2. The shopper either enters their 16-digit paysafecard PIN or their ‘my paysafecard’ username and password to login to their eWallet.

3. The shopper follows the onscreen instructions and completes the payment.

4. At the end of the shopper journey, the shopper may return on the successURL.

Note: The screenshots below are provided for guidance purposes only and are correct as of July 2013. The paysafecard company may vary the wording and layout of the payment screens at any time.

paysafecard - Landing Page

My paysafecard - eWallet Payment

My paysafecard eWallet Payment Confirmation

my paysafecard eWallet Statement

my paysafecard eWallet Individual Payment Details

Integration considerations

Payment time out

There is a 30-minute timeout for the shopper to complete their payment. This 30-minute timeout starts from the moment the shopper arrives at the paysafecard payment page. This timeout is not configurable. To complete a payment, shoppers enter a paysafecard PIN (Personal Identity Number), or their my paysafecard username and password, and click on Pay.

Recipient

We recommend that merchants make their shoppers aware that Worldpay AP Ltd appears as the payment recipient on the shopper's paysafecard statement. Shoppers who are aware of this are less likely to abandon the transaction.

Payment method properties

Currency constraints

The paysafecard authorises a payment made in a particular currency only if the shopper has bought the card in a country that supports that currency. For example, CZK transactions are authorised only if the shopper has purchased the card in one of the countries included in the Standard Card Group**.

Note: The term country refers to the country in which the card has been issued. This may be a different country from the shopper’s home country or country of residence.

The valid country/currency combinations appear in the following table.

* Refers to the country in which the paysafecard has been issued and is not the same as the shopper's declared country.

** The standard country group is comprised of the Eurozone countries plus Denmark, Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Sweden and the UK.

Country lock-in

Country Lock-in is an optional feature of the paysafecard service. Use it to impose additional constraints on the transaction based on the shopper’s declared country, and the paysafecard they use to pay.

When the country lock-in is switched on, shoppers in countries that support country lock-in can only use a paysafecard which was bought in their country.

The default setting is country lock-in OFF. If you want to enable the country lock-in function, contact your Worldpay support contact.

Country lock-in applies only to shoppers in the indicated countries. For example, a shopper tries to pay with a card that was not purchased in their declared country, and country lock-in applies. An exception message appears on the paysafecard website. The shopper cannot complete their payment with the specified card.

Some more examples with country lock-in switched on:

• Shoppers in the UK can only use cards purchased in the UK

• Shoppers in Slovakia can use cards purchased in all territories

Conversely, with country lock-in switched off:

• Shoppers in the UK can use cards purchased in all territories

• Shoppers in Slovakia can use cards purchased in all territories

If you the merchant, decide to use country lock-in, you must control the shopper’s declared country and pass the correct country code to the WPG service.

If you use the REDIRECT model, you must not allow the shopper to change their declared country on the Worldpay payment pages. To stop shoppers changing their country:

1. Go to the Merchant Interface (MAI) and open the merchant profile shopper pages.

2. Set the Country/Language selection option to NO.

Note: This setting applies to all payment methods under this merchant code. You will also need to specify the country code in your call to the REDIRECT API.

What Is Paysafecard Used For

From the paysafecard website, the shopper can still try to use the drop-down country selector to change their country, but this function is disabled.

Note: Think carefully before you enable country lock-in. It is likely that you will see an increase in the number of incomplete transactions and a decrease in conversion rate. This is because certain types of shopper cannot complete their payments.

Currency convertor

paysafecard allows shoppers to hold money in a currency on their paysafecard or in their My Paysafecard eWallet account, but pay in a different currency. paysafecard converts the currencies and charges the following fees:

Payment timetable

The payment status is expected to change according to the following timetable:

Paysafecard Walmart