PayPoint retailers will be able to offer Virgin Money prepaid MasterCard® holders the ability to top-up their card at any PayPoint outlet. The Virgin Money prepaid MasterCard® is a pay as you go card operated by PrePay Technologies on its 360money prepaid platform.

This partnership allows card holders to top-up their card at over 17,000 PayPoint outlets across the country. Customers can either bring the Virgin Money card to the PayPoint outlet for top-up or purchase a 360money e-voucher which can be used to top-up the card online. 

Once loaded via PayPoint, the Virgin Money card can be used immediately to shop online or on the high street, wherever MasterCard® is accepted. The Virgin Money card provides a way for users to avoid the hassle of opening a bank account whilst still benefiting from the all of the advantages of plastic payments - the risk of going overdrawn is also eliminated.

Mike Igoe, PayPoint Retail Director commented: “PayPoint is synonymous with convenience and so we are delighted to have delivered to Virgin Money, a simple and convenient way for users to top-up their card. And it’s not just the customer that benefits from this partnership; PayPoint retailers receive 2% commission on all Virgin Money transactions.”

- Ends -

Enquiries:
PayPoint Press Office
Helen Crossley and Kate Simpson
020 7553 4111
helen.crossley@mischiefpr.com / kate.simpson@mischiefpr.com

Notes to Editors
PayPoint is the UK’s and Ireland’s leading cash and internet payments company, handling over £5 billion in 414 million payments annually for over 5,000 clients and merchants. The company operates with several significant payment streams:

• The PayPoint branded retail network numbers over 17,500 terminal outlets  located in local shops (including Co-ops, Spar, Costcutter, NISA-Today’s, Londis and thousands of independents) in all parts of the UK and Ireland. Terminals handle cash bill payments, mobile phone top-ups, transport tickets, London Congestion Charges, BBC TV licences and a wide variety of other payment types for all of the leading utilities, telecoms suppliers and many consumer service companies. This network is used by consumers, free of charge, over 7 million times a week. The network has 97.3% population cover on a 1 mile urban or 5 miles rural measure; 
• Additional multiple retailer connections into the electronic till systems (EPoS) of over 3,850 outlets including BP, Somerfield and Superdrug for mobile top ups and selected payments from the PayPoint range;
• The PayPoint ATM network has over 1850 ‘LINK’-branded machines across the UK, also typically in convenience stores. These machines levy a small convenience fee for each withdrawal; and 
• PayPoint Internet Payment Services, trading as Metacharge and SECPay, provides secure credit and debit card payments for over 4,000 web merchants linking into all the major UK acquiring banks.

PayPoint floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004 and was the Financial Times ‘New Company of the Year’.  The company has a market capitalisation of over £450 million. In year ended March 2007, revenue was £157 million with profit before tax of £27 million. PayPoint has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and is widely recognised for its leadership in prepayment systems, smart technology and consumer service.

► About PrePay Technologies Ltd
PrePay Technologies Ltd. is an international market leader in designing and delivering stored-value card solutions including prepaid debit cards, retail gift cards, corporate incentive cards and insurance claim cards. They operate the 360 money, the largest prepaid network in the UK in partnership with PayPoint and The Post Office.

From its data centres in the UK, the company creates stored-value programmes and manages several million stored-value card accounts for large brands such as Debenhams, Mirror Group Newspapers, Comet, Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Ticketmaster, Capital Incentives (ACCOR), Arcadia Group (Top Shop, Top Man, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis), Laura Ashley, Western Union, Gift Days Out and the Grass Roots Group.

MasterCard certified, EMV Chip & PIN Compliant and FSA regulated; PrePay Technologies Limited is licensed to issue e-money across Europe.

PrePay Technologies Ltd. is a privately held venture, with investors and strategic partners including GE Capital, (www.gecapital.com), GRP Partners (www.grpvc.com), Arts Alliance (www.artsalliance.com) and the LINK Interchange Network Limited (www.link.co.uk).

For further information please contact:
Amit Sharma, Corporate Marketing Manager     
Tel: +44 (0) 207 0344 344
amit.sharma@prepaytec.com www.prepaytec.com