PayPoint and Arriva are celebrating the success of its partnership, as ticket sales processed through PayPoint, the UK’s leading convenience retail bill payment network have now generated more than three million passenger journeys. This achievement highlights the success of the transport ticketing scheme which was launched via PayPoint outlets in 2005/6.

The three millionth journey transaction was taken by a PayPoint outlet in the Yorkshire region where PayPoint Retail Director Mike Igoe was joined by Arriva Yorkshire Operations Director Paul Adcock to celebrate the milestone.

Arriva have also re-signed their contract with PayPoint following the success of the ticketing scheme. PayPoint retailers earn 2% commission on Arriva transactions.

Customers within Arriva’s Yorkshire, Midlands, Shires & Essex, Scotland West, North West & Wales, North East and Southern Counties operating regions can take full advantage by purchasing their Arriva bus ticket in advance of travel at local PayPoint outlets helping to speed up travel time.

Mike Woodhouse, Marketing Manager for Arriva, said: “This is a significant milestone to reach. The service is proving to be more and more popular and research showed our customers are very satisfied with purchasing their tickets at PayPoint.  We are pleased to have re-signed the contract and we would like to thank the PayPoint retailers for their continued efforts in providing our customers with an efficient service.”

Mike Igoe, PayPoint’s Retail Director commented:  “This ongoing partnership with Arriva offers our retailers a point of difference to their competitors, whilst at the same time delivering an effective and convenient service to the local community.  We’re delighted to have re-signed the contract with Arriva and for our agents to have helped generate more than three million passenger journeys is the icing on the cake.”

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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 £6 billion in over 470 million transactions annually for more than 5,000 clients and merchants. The company operates with several payment networks:

• The PayPoint branded retail network numbers over 19,400 terminal outlets 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, 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, 8 million times a week. The network has 97.3% population cover on a 1 mile urban or 5 miles rural measure;
• Additionally there are over 2,000 Multiple retailer connections into the electronic till systems of outlets in the UK including BP, Somerfield and Superdrug for mobile top-ups and selected payments from the PayPoint range; 
• The PayPoint ATM network has over 1,950 ‘LINK’ branded machines across the UK, also typically in convenience stores; 
• PayPoint.net (combining Metacharge and SECPay), provides secure credit and debit card payments for over 4,500 web merchants linking into all the major UK acquiring banks; and
• PayPoint International acquired a Romanian mobile top-up operator in May 2007 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 and the company’s market capitalisation at 2 May 2008 was £368 million. PayPoint is widely recognised for its leadership in prepayment systems, smart technology and consumer service.