Neovia Financial PLC is a British global payments company based in the Isle of Man and regulated in the United Kingdom. It is the provider of the Netbanx gateway, Neteller e-wallet, and Net+ debit card products that are used by merchants and consumers in over 160 countries.
The company reported revenues of USD $84 million in 2007, 15% up on like-for-like revenue over the previous year[1]. First half 2008 results were up 18% on like-for-like revenue over the same period in 2007[2].
Company formation
The company as it is today was formed from the combination of Netbanx and Neteller. Netbanx was founded in 1996 and Neteller 1999[3]. The company has been publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2004[4]. In November 2008 the company renamed itself as Neovia Financial PLC and changed its stock ticker symbol from NLR to NEO[5].
Products and services
The company’s products are offered via the software as a service (SaaS) model. It offers three major services, the Netbanx gateway, Neteller e-wallet and Net+ debit cards. Neteller in the UK is regulated across the European Union by the UK government’s Financial Services Authority (FSA). The company is also a major investor in the Poli bank payment service[6].
NETBANX payment gateway
Neovia’s Netbanx service specialises in the processing of credit and debit card-not-present (CNP) and non-card payments for European and Asia global retailers through their online stores, mail-order/telephone order and, automated (IVR) phone channels[7]. The Netbanx service was launched in 1996[8] as the UK’s first card-not-present payment service provider (PSP) and is used by thousands of merchants to process their payments.
NETELLER
Neteller is an e-money/e-wallet stored-value service. Consumers in over 160 countries[9] use the Neteller service to send and receive money from their banks to and from merchants. The operation of the service is authorised and regulated by the UK government’s Financial Services Authority (FSA)[10].
Consumers can sign up for a Neteller account for free on the company’s website[11]. Accounts may be set up in any major currency including: AUD, BGN, CAD, DKK, EEK, EUR, GBP, HUF, INR, JPY, LTL, LVL, MXN, NOK, PLN, RON, RMB, SEK, USD. Money can be loaded into the account from a bank, credit/debit card or via other methods including Giropay, Ideal, Ukash, DirectPay 24 or POLi[12]. These deposit types vary by country and some are instant.
Money in a Neteller account can be used to pay merchants, send to other customers of the service, or spend at any retailer that accepts Mastercard using the Neteller debit card that is part of the account[13]. Money can also be received into the account directly from merchants, such as gambling winnings, insurance payouts or video-gaming trading proceeds. Customers can withdraw funds from their accounts by bank transfer, cheque, or using the company’s Net+ Mastercard debit card at point-of-sale and ATM machines.
Arguably money held in the service is safer than in banks because the service is not susceptible to the run-on-the-bank issues that impacted most major banks during the 2008 global financial crisis. This is because, unlike banks, the company maintains over 100% of deposited funds in separate trust accounts, separate from its operating cash, i.e. all of the customers cash is on hand and available if they all wanted it at the same time [14].
Net+ cards
In 2003 the company launched the Neteller Card[15]. In 2007 it replaced these cards with Mastercard debit cards and re-branded the card product line as Net+ in 2008[16]. Under the Net+ name the company offers both plastic and virtual Mastercard prepaid debit cards, and merchant-brandable card programs[17]. The Net+ virtual card helps prevent fraud as each card number is only used once. This means if a merchant’s site is hacked the consumer’s identity and money is protected as the card number can’t be used again.
Neovia’s Net+ card won the best new prepaid card at Cards & Payments Europe 2009, beating cards from both Paypal and Ryanair[18].
Use of Social Media
Neovia has shown a good history as one of the first users in the payments space of social media for communication. For consumer communication it has used YouTube since 2006 to post short-lifetime updates, product information, promotions and news targeted to its customers[19]. It also publishes a frequently updated blog[20] on its website along with a Twitter feed[21].
For its business customers and investors it uses an RSS feed[22] and a business focused Twitter feed[23].
All of the company’s websites also make extensive use of the ShareThis[24] button to allow visitors to share and post content to over 30 social networking and media sites, including Facebook, StumbleUpon, Linkedin, Delicious, and Digg.
Investment in POLi bank payment service
In 2007 the company became an investor in Centricom Pty Ltd, the Australian provider of the POLi (pay-online) payment service[25]. Using POLi consumers can pay for goods at merchant sites directly from their bank Internet accounts, allowing merchants to instantly see funds are on the way. This allows merchants to immediately deliver the goods to the consumer, even if the funds take several days to clear. Neovia Financial distributes the POLi service via its Netbanx service[26].
U.S. Internet gambling prohibition
As Internet use expanded during the 2000s, the United States government sought to prohibit online gambling by its citizens. As part of this prohibition the U.S. Department of Justice reached agreements with several companies[27] that it believed had provided advertising and payment services to offshore gambling companies including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Paypal[28] and Neteller (now part of Neovia Finanical). Each of these companies reached a financial settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and ceased offering these services to U.S. residents. Neteller reached its agreement with the US government in July 2007[29].
Notes
- ^ Investegate.co.uk: 2007 annual results
- ^ ADVFN News: 2008 first half results
- ^ Timeline/history
- ^ Neteller IPO Document
- ^ Finextra: company renames
- ^ eCommerce Journal: Centricom pushes in Europe
- ^ Electronicpayments.co.uk: Netbanx review
- ^ Alexa: netbanx.com registered in 1996
- ^ Isle of Man government: Neteller case study
- ^ FSA authorisation record
- ^ neteller.com Account Sign up
- ^ Company Website: Funding and Fees
- ^ Predictem.com: Neteller Review
- ^ Consumer's funds held in trust
- ^ Timeline/history
- ^ Finextra: Net+ card launched
- ^ Net+ card review
- ^ Net+ wins best prepaid card launch
- ^ Neteller YouTube channel
- ^ Neteller Blog
- ^ Neteller Twitter feed
- ^ Neova RSS feed
- ^ Neova Twitter feed
- ^ ShareThis button
- ^ Datamonitor: Neteller acquires stake in online payments firm Centricom
- ^ Internet Retailing: Credit cards are so yesterday
- ^ Washingtonpost.com: Microsoft, Google, Yahoo Settle Gambling Charges
- ^ Cnet.com: PayPal settles over gambling transfers
- ^ Press Release: Neteller Announces Settlement of US Situation
External links
