Electronic payments market leader sharpens focus at Convenience Retailing Show

PayPoint, the UK’s premier brand for electronic bill payment services in the convenience sector, is seeking to recruit new high quality payment agents and expand its burgeoning LINK ATM (automated teller machine) cash dispenser network.  The company will continue to offer an ever-expanding range of retail payment solutions.

• High performance retailers sought for payment terminal network expansion
To meet increasing demand from the customers of its continually growing client base, PayPoint is embarking on a programme to expand its existing 11,000 payment terminal network by up to a further 3,000 over the next eighteen months. Whilst some will be placed in stores already on PayPoint’s extensive prospect list, PayPoint is keen to hear from other convenience retailers who can meet its strict entry criteria.

Successful applicants for PayPoint terminals will typically be open seven days a week for extended hours and be located in areas of high population density. Selection is partly determined by whether or not there are already enough agents in the vicinity to meet demand. Applicants also need to be able to demonstrate a proven track record in attracting minimum mobile phone top-up sales of £800 a week and must undergo full financial accreditation before an offer of a terminal can be made.

If they meet these criteria, retailers can enjoy all the benefits and competitive advantages of being able to offer the PayPoint service in their stores.

As many as 5 million people visit PayPoint outlets each week to top up their mobiles and pay bills from over 330 different organisations. Many of these cash payments, such as London Energy and npower electricity meter key charging, and the Congestion Charge, cannot be made elsewhere, making PayPoint a genuine footfall driver. Over half of those making PayPoint payments also buy other goods at the same time, with an above-average basket spend.

No retailer investment is required to gain access to this significant business opportunity and all equipment, training and point-of-sale materials are provided free of charge. Full support is given by a dedicated 7-day call centre and field team, and PayPoint also negotiates preferential cash banking tariffs with Barclays, Girobank and The Co-operative Bank on behalf of its retailers to reduce their costs.

During 2004, PayPoint retailers will also benefit from the culmination of a £6 million development programme to introduce and roll-out a second generation payment terminal.  This custom-designed unit not only incorporates many improvements, but has unique new features that place PayPoint and its agents in an unchallenged position to dominate a major emerging and potentially lucrative new payment sector. Full details will be given at a press launch of PayPoint’s second generation terminal at 15.00 on Monday 15 March on its Stand E58 at the Convenience Retailing Show in Hall 20 at the NEC.

• Tax break boosts PayPoint’s entry into ATM market
PayPoint has entered the ATM market with specially equipped cash machines that, when purchased outright, may qualify for tax relief of up to 40 per cent, potentially reducing the cost of each unit from £2,995 to £1,797.

A provision in last year’s Budget allows shopowners to write off the cost of buying the ATMs against their profits because PayPoint cash machines incorporate a PC component in the form of a Pentium processor chip.

The company has already installed over 300 PayPoint-branded NCR machines since Autumn 2003 through rent and sale agreements and is signing up new retailers at a rate of 20 a week.

It expects that retailers’ familiarity with the PayPoint name and the support of the call centre and field representatives who maintain its 11,000-strong network of payment terminals will enable it to make rapid inroads into the fragmented ATM market.

Retailers earn £1 for every withdrawal from the ATM and these earnings are credited to their bank accounts each week. The self-fill machines save shopkeepers money by enabling them to recycle their takings, thereby avoiding bank deposit charges. They are also easy to empty, reducing the risk of theft at night.

Point of sale materials, training and installation are all provided free of charge for the ATMs, which form part of the LINK network.

The tax break stems from last year’s Budget, when Chancellor Gordon Brown extended the scope of 100 per cent first year capital allowances for IT to businesses with annual turnovers of less than £2.8m, assets of less than £1.4m and fewer than 50 employees.

It can be claimed under the ‘Items acquired for use elsewhere’ heading of the Plant and Machinery Section of the self-assessment claim form. Details can be found on the Inland Revenue Help Sheet IR22 (Page 6) or the Inland Revenue website www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk.

Research by NCR shows that stores with ATMs attract 11 per cent more customer visits than those without. Up to 40 per cent of cash dispensed at ATMs is immediately spent in-store and ATM users spend a quarter more on average than other customers.

PayPoint’s Managing Director Dominic Taylor said: “This tax break makes PayPoint’s ATMs even better value for money. We hope that as many retailers as possible will take up this opportunity to earn more commission, attract new customers and reduce their bank charges with the support of one of the UK’s most trusted retail brands.”

PayPoint’s LINK ATMs will be on show for demonstration on its Stand E58 at the Convenience Retailing Show where retailers, whether existing PayPoint agents or not, will be able to discuss terms and benefits with the ATM sales team.

For more information, contact:

Don Hunter, Finsbury Group, 020 7251 3801, e-mail: don.hunter@finsbury.com
Peter Binns, PayPoint, on 01707 600324 or 07889 712098, e-mail: peterbinns@paypoint.co.uk