The champagne corks were popping at the recent Retail Industry Awards as PayPoint retailers won 10 out of the 14 independent categories.

In their 12th year, the fiercely contested retail industry ‘Oscars’ saw PayPoint retailers win - among other titles – Independent Retailer of the Year, Training Initiative of the Year, Independent Newsagent of the Year and Forecourt Retailer of the Year.

Of their successes, the winners made the following comments:

Donagh McGoveran owner of Centra Stranmillis store in Belfast, winner of Independent Retailer of the Year 2007 up to 3000sq ft award said: “Our shop is a community shop and having PayPoint gives our customers a good bill payment service whilst they shop. PayPoint also helps us stay ahead of the local competition.”

Nick Clifton and John Dakin owners of Clifton & Dakin Spar store in Cambridge, winner of Independent Newsagent of the Year 2007 award commented: “It’s a tremendous honour to win such a prestigious award and there is no doubt having PayPoint in our store enables us to offer customers a better service than ever.”

Mike Igoe, PayPoint Retail Director commented: “Winning 10 out of 14 categories is a great achievement for PayPoint retailers and it demonstrates the professionalism and dedication which is delivered by PayPoint agents in convenience stores across the UK.   He continues: “Local store operators greatly enhance their businesses by offering the PayPoint service to their customers who in turn benefit from the widest selection of payment schemes available. In this ever more competitive marketplace clear differentiation is key and it is no coincidence that 10 out of the 14 independent category winners differentiated with PayPoint.”

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Enquiries:
PayPoint Press Office
020 7100 9999
paypoint@mischiefpr.com

Notes to Editors

PayPoint is the leading cash and internet payments company in the UK and Ireland, handling in excess of £5 billion in over 400 million transactions annually for more than 5,000 clients and merchants. The company operates with several significant payment streams:

• The PayPoint branded retail network numbers over 18,500 terminals located in local shops (including Co-op, Spar, Costcutter, Sainsburys Local, One Stop, Londis and thousands of independents) in all parts of the UK and Ireland. Terminals handle gas and electricity meter prepayments, 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, telecommunications 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 of nearly 4,000 outlets including BP, Somerfield and Superdrug for mobile top-ups and selected payments from the PayPoint range;
• The PayPoint ATM network has 1,979 'LINK' branded machines across the UK, also typically in convenience stores;
• PayPoint Internet Payment Services (PPIPS), 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 International has recently acquired a Romanian mobile top-up operator to which a bill payment service will be added, emulating the UK branded retail network. PayPoint International also operates Irish bill payment and top-up services.

PayPoint floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004. The company's market capitalisation at 8 October 2007 was £379 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.