PayPoint, the UK’s leading convenience retail bill payment network is delighted to announce a new exclusive 3 year contract with SPAR Henderson Retail in Northern Ireland.

This new agreement with SPAR Henderson’s will enable PayPoint to provide a full range of bill payment and electronic top-ups throughout the 68 Company Owned store estate, PayPoint also supplies payment services through 200 Henderson’s independents.

This will strengthen the existing relationship with SPAR stores taking the current total of SPAR stores with a full PayPoint service to 1500.

Alan Fitzsimmins, SPAR Henderson’s Trading Director commented: “Having looked at alternative electronic payment providers, we are confident that the PayPoint offer gives us the most comprehensive package in the market. We feel they are the right partner for Henderson’s to maximise the potential within the important area of electronic top-up and bill payment.”

Mike Igoe, PayPoint Retail Director commented: “This is a further tribute to the overall product mix that PayPoint delivers to convenience retailers. PayPoint continues to value the partnership we have with SPAR and this commitment from Henderson’s is a sign that SPAR see PayPoint as a strategic partner for the future. We look forward to extending our relationship with SPAR far beyond the current 1500 sites."

- Ends -

Enquiries:
PayPoint Press Office
Helen Crossley and Jenine Creaney
020 7553 4111
helen.crossley@mischiefpr.com / jenine.creaney@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.