Author Archives: sabrina

Skrill announces partnership with Russian online payments service Yandex.Money

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LONDON, 23rd May 2013: Skrill, one of Europe’s largest online payment providers, has announced a new partnership with Russian payments service Yandex.Money. The collaboration will enable Skrill to expand coverage of the Russian payments market while allowing Yandex.Money to be integrated as a payment option for Skrill’s 140,000 merchants worldwide, offering a proven local payment solution to a global customer base.

According to research company TNS Global, Yandex.Money is Russia’s most popular payment service: 84 per cent of Russians are familiar with it and 17 per cent use Yandex.Money to make payments at least once every six months. Currently Yandex.Money is accepted by over 20,000 online stores in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Mohamed Omaizat, VP Group Corporate Development at Skrill, commented: “Partnering with Yandex.Money will provide Skrill’s expansive global merchant base with access to consumers in Russia. It will also enable us to grow our global payment network even further with another popular local payment option, ensuring we stay at the forefront of the digital payments market.”

Maria Gracheva, Business Development Director at Yandex.Money, said: “We want to give our users an opportunity to pay with Yandex.Money in any internet store anywhere in the world. Some of the internet’s most popular services, such as Skype, Facebook and McAfee, are already using Yandex.Money for payments in Russia. Thanks to our collaboration with Skrill, any internet store can now join up with us – particularly those stores that are interested in attracting customers from Russia and other CIS countries.”

 

About Yandex.Money
Yandex.Money is the largest electronic payment system in Russia offering easy, safe and reliable methods of paying for purchases online. As of early 2013, the system had over 13 million accounts. The platform handles more than 9,000 new accounts that are added daily and more than 120,000 customer payments for products and services. Yandex.Money is accepted in more than 20,000 online stores. For more information, visit money.yandex.ru

 

 

Betting on champions…

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Sports betting is huge. In the UK it’s estimated the gambling market is worth £1.7 billion and sports betting is the largest contributor at an estimated £650 million.

It’s a competitive market, but one that is currently led by William Hill in the UK, with a 15% share, closely followed by online-only site Bet365, according to GamblingData. Looking online, the leading sports betting site is Betfair, with almost a quarter (23%) of that market

This weekend looks to be a big one for the sports betting calendar, with the Champion’s League final between Dortmund and Bayern taking place on Saturday 25 May at Wembley.

Fans of football and betting will have a huge variety of odds available so they can join in the excitement, from the number of goals scored to the first time the ball lands in the net, or if the cup will be lifted after extra time.

Football is a fast-paced sport and that makes fast-paced betting just as important. While many will place their bets online or at a physical bookmakers, I’ve no doubt that we’ll see mobile betting on the rise during these types of matches, with many football fans watching from pubs and clubs, or even from the stands at Wembley.

Deposits for online and mobile betting must be quick and easy for operators to make the most of these big event opportunities, so enabling payments via digital wallets and one step processing such as Skrill 1-Tap is vital.

Gamblers need fast ways to upload funds and place bets as the action of the game progresses. Traditionally, small bank transfers of only a few pounds would take three days to process, making betting around a live event more troublesome.

However, with an instant balance payment through a digital wallet, the whole deposit and payment process is much more convenient and more economical, benefiting both the fan and sports betting site.

Feeling lucky? Here are what we think are the top three odds from across the market for this weekend’s match.

3 Betting Markets with our pick of the odds

Market 1 – Match

  • Bayern Munich – 5/6 with Ladbrokes
  • Draw – 31/10 with Bwin
  • Borussia Dortmund – 19/5 with Betvictor

Market 2 – First Goalscorer

  • Robert Lewandowski – 6/1 with Ladbrokes
  • Thomas Muller – 7/1 with SkyBET
  • Bastian Schweinsteiger – 12/1 with Bet365

Market 3 – Correct Score

  • 3-1 to Bayern Munich – 14/1 with Coral
  • 2-2 Draw – 14/1 with SportingBet
  • 2-0 Borussia Dortmund – 30/1 with BetVictor

Odds were correct at time of publication – 20/05/2013 – please check the operators’ respective websites for up to date odds.

Skrill continues partnership with award-winning eCommerce company

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Skrill is pleased to announce its continued partnership with North East based eCommerce agency Visualsoft eCommerce.

With over 900 live websites, which collectively handle 200 million transactions annually, Visualsoft is one of the largest suppliers of eCommerce services in the UK.Since 2012 the company has been working closely with Skrill to implement fully funded payment services on its clients websites. in the result being 99 clients already taking advantage of Skrill’s online payment solution on 126 websites collectively so far.

Etailers including Muubaa, J Shoes and Travall are all benefiting from Skrill’s Quick Checkout solution, which allows merchants to directly accept over 100 payment options on their Visualsoft websites.

Speaking about the partnership with Skrill, Dean Benson, Director at Visualsoft says “Skrill provides consumers with a secure and convenient method to complete transactions via eCommerce websites and provides our clients with complete peace of mind that comes from utilising one of the largest secure payment networks in Europe’’.

“The payment gateway has now been implemented on 126 sites in less than 12 months, including a handful of clients based overseas. Our clients are keen to go with Skrill because of the –complete package it offers: a fully PCI-compliant payment gateway offering  chargeback protection, giving merchants the opportunity to achieve global reach and the highest conversion for their business via one simple contract and integration”.

The simple integration process has been developed in house by the team at Visualsoft for the VS platform, which means Skrill can be integrated into any of its clients websites as a the primary payment gateway, seamlessly and in a matter of minutes.

Visualsoft offers a fully hosted solution to eCommerce retailers. All of its sites are built and run on its proprietary VS3 platform – developed and built in house by its 130 strong team of Designers, Developers, Account Managers, and Online Marketing specialists.

For more information on Visualsoft, and the eCommerce services available, visit www.visualsoft.co.uk

 

The rise of mobile betting

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The world of gambling is in full swing, especially when it comes to mobile betting. More and more gamers are switching from desktop to mobile and betting agents in particular are recording massive increases in this form of betting.

UK bookies William Hill says one third of its total online wagers are made via mobile and predicts an increase of 40% in mobile betting by the end of the year. Betfair also recorded a rise in mobile betting of 114%.

Mobile gaming is forecasted to reach $4.8 billion globally, but to take full advantage of this opportunity it’s important gambling firms deliver innovative ways to pay that are fast, simple and secure.

Going digital

Digital wallets and paying via mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular with gamblers, with digital wallet adoption doubling to over 30 million end users in just two years.

Digital wallets offer that fast way for gamblers to upload, deposit funds and place bets and are instrumental in the growth of micropayments. If a gamer wants to make a bank transfer of only £2 in order to place a new bet or continue their online game, the payment would traditionally take three days to process and ruin the experience.

With an instant balance payment through a digital wallet, the whole deposit and payment process is much more convenient and more economical, benefiting both the consumer and gaming site.

Easy deposits

Research commissioned by Skrill in 2012 revealed the most highly regarded benefits of mobile payments are that they are quick and easy, emphasising this has become a very clear-cut consumer expectation.

With the rise of mobile betting comes new, innovative ways to pay and Skrill’s offering of a one step payments is a highly effective way of engaging users and increasing deposits on mobile gaming sites.

Betting sites like the UK’s bet365 have made depositing cash and making bets really simple by teaming with Skrill’s 1-Tap option, which was built specifically as an app for bets.

Streamlining the deposit process into one step makes it significantly easier for gamblers to add funds and continue with their experience on the site, rather than having to re-enter login details or credit card information every time.

The easier a gaming site makes it for their customers to deposit means greatly improved conversions and revenue.

Mobile betting future

As more gamers adopt an increasingly digital lifestyle, electronic payment systems will become the norm, particularly via mobile. Handling cash and using traditional bank transfer methods is expensive and slow, and online payments processing must reflect this digital trend.

With options such as Skrill 1-Tap, there’s no need to worry about losing your wallet when it comes to digital, as more ways of non-credit payment methods come to the fore.

 

 

 

Skrill appoints Roland Schaar as Senior Vice President of Technology

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LONDON, 25th April 2013: Skrill, one of Europe’s largest online payment providers, has appointed Roland Schaar as Senior Vice President of Technology. Roland brings more than 17 years of experience in the IT industry, and 13 in the financial payments sector, to the role. His experience of working within payment technology and his skills in implementing large projects on time and to scale will help the Skrill Group to grow and innovate, evolving and improving time to market and operations at an international level.

Roland recently joined the Skrill Group following the acquisition of paysafecard, Europe´s leading online prepaid payment provider, where he was and remains CIO, along with responsibility for IT development and 24/7 operations across the Skrill Group. Prior to this, Roland was a senior manager at Accenture, focusing on large-scale post-merger integration projects.

Roland’s experience also includes IT transformation management at Volksbank Group, where he was responsible for project portfolio management, efficiency management and Group purchasing for more than 8,000 employees.

“The payment industry is highly competitive and evolving rapidly, so we need to constantly improve and innovate in order to meet our customers’ needs and ensure our systems are the first choice for our customers,” commented Schaar.

”I will be working to strengthen delivery capabilities within the Skrill Group, helping to design and deliver new innovative payment solutions that combine the business’ strong experiences of online payments, offline payments and international distribution network,” Schaar added.

Siegfried Heimgaertner, CEO of the Skrill Group, added: “Roland’s wealth of knowledge and understanding of the payment technology sector will help shape this exciting next stage of our journey. His understanding of the industry and experience in managing teams at a global scale will help us continue to operate quickly, flexibly and cost effectively.”

 

How digital is changing payments in Forex markets

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The foreign exchange market (Forex) sees a daily turnover of $4 trillion dollars and this is only expected to grow. Although retail Forex constitutes a very small percentage of this volume, it is rapidly building its share with more platforms offering customers, who once never had the opportunity to trade in the market, the chance to do so.

Once, Forex was a world only for professional executives, who knew the trading markets inside out, predicting future fluctuations and dips weeks in advance. And because of slow bank transfers they needed to know what the market was doing ahead of time, as trades took three to five days. Forex is now open to any individual without the need for huge sums of money to be available instantly.

It is one of the most liquid markets in the world and is also one of the most volatile. Scheduled announcements, like the UK budget or the US nonfarm payroll data, or unforeseen global events such as conflicts and natural disasters are all events traders need to be constantly aware of. Knowing the information as it happens and being able to react to this information allows traders to position their trades effectively. Waiting to hear this kind of information on the evening news means you have missed your chance; so online news updates present a new way to keep up to date with unfolding trends.

Take the economic trouble in Cyprus and the struggling Euro; a savvy Forex trader will know volatile markets offer the best opportunity to make profits. Anticipating the extent to which the Cyprus news will have on the strength or weakening on the Euro, for example, allows a trader to start planning their next investment decision. This was reflected in our own Forex customers depositing significantly into our partner platforms the week the crisis was first reported.

The internet and mobile payments are paving the way to instant access to brokers, digital wallets and the right information on global economic news.

There are some traditional Forex brokers who still rely on bank wire transfers, but today’s traders who are reacting to up to the minute news are often unsatisfied with a 12-hour delay to a card-funded deposit.

Purchasing a quantity of one currency with another, at the best time during the week, and using brokers leveraging odds to enhance profit and loss margins, is possible for individuals with faster payment methods. Credit cards and firms like Skrill offer traders ways to get funds instantly, depositing and taking out money from their online trading accounts.

That’s why digital payments methods such as digital wallets and instant transfer methods are re-painting the landscape of traders’ habits and preferences. And there is more to these options other than additional security and speed – wallets, for example, offering cash back on customer deposits, unique offers for deposit bonuses and greater control over monetary flow.

The future for retail traders is mobile. More and more people can pay with their phones and access news that will affect trading at the same time. With Skrill 1-Tap you can respond directly to news in order to exchange, even if you are away from your desk.

So far, Forex platforms are mobile-ready – in both respect to platform functionality and deposit-taking ability – and there are few barriers to entry. Clearly though, the issue still lies in customers having the opportunity to learn how to trade in an effective manner and, in this area, where an issue lies there is also an opportunity.

Cards and traditional bank transfers are tried and tested, though a lack of innovative incentives and difficulties with mobile and tablet compatibility are causing their share to fall and for digital and alternative payments to take their place. The next step, in the future, is to offer traders cash back and benefits like loyalty awards, the more money they spend.

 

Neil Steinhardt appointed as CEO of Skrill USA

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LONDON, 21st March 2013: Skrill, one of Europe’s largest online payment providers, has appointed Neil Steinhardt, Managing Director of paysafecard.com USA Inc, as CEO of Skrill USA, Inc. The appointment is a pivotal step in Skrill’s ongoing commitment to growth in the rapidly expanding North American market.

Steinhardt brings valuable payment processing experience to the role from his previous positions within major corporations, including the skills and capabilities gained from opening up the US market for Vienna-based paysafecard. His knowledge of the American payments market attained through previous senior roles as VP of Product & Services for Via One and VP of Product Management at IPP of America will prove to be crucial in his new role at Skrill USA.


As CEO, Steinhardt will be responsible for the management and continued growth of Skrill and paysafecard USA. paysafecard has a strong foothold of 50,000 distribution outlets in the USA, and Steinhardt will be essential in making Skrill’s acquisition of paysafecard.com successful for all parties in the USA. As a result, he will also be heavily involved in shaping the evolution of e-wallets in the USA.

His objectives are to oversee the successful consolidation of the two enterprises (Skrill USA & paysafecard.com USA) through centralised activities in New York, while guiding the strategic direction of both companies and further developing its go-to-market model.

 

“This is an opportunity to work with one of the most forward looking companies in the payment space,” commented Steinhardt, the new CEO of Skrill USA. “This move comes at a great time with the success Skrill is already experiencing in the US market. I am looking forward to continuing to leverage the scale that we have in Europe to make a positive impact in the US market.”

Siegfried Heimgaertner, CEO of Skrill, also commented: “The US digital payments market is growing at a very fast pace and this presents a great opportunity for Skrill. With the appointment of a CEO who has significant experience in this market, we are well placed to take advantage of that opportunity and can continue to grow our business as well as deliver value to our partners.”

 

Skrill partners with loyalty expert Initial Rewards for improved VIP Store

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London, 14/03/2013 – Skrill, one of Europe’s largest online payment systems providers, has announced a partnership with loyalty and reward specialist Initial Rewards, to launch a best-in-class loyalty point store for Skrill’s VIP customers.

Joseph Hall, Vice President of Leisure and Entertainment said “The new store will allow us to offer a unique rewards scheme to all of our VIP customers, giving them incentive to keep using Skrill and building on our differentiation in the wider market place.”

Initial Rewards is an industry leader in B2C loyalty schemes providing loyalty point stores, prize fulfilment, VIP gifting and customer retention programmes to hundreds of global companies. The partnership with Skrill includes the launch of a loyalty point store through which Skrill customers will be able to use points earned to purchase cash bonuses as well as products from top name consumer brands.

The new VIP store is part of Skrill’s on going commitment to rewarding customers and building loyalty.

Lee Reuben, Managing Director of Initial Rewards, said of the partnership, “We’ve had a long-standing solid relationship with Skrill, and this partnership will allow us to serve its customers more effectively.”

The new store launched on 21 February 2013 and can be found at http://skrill.com/vip/vip-store/

Skrill scoops TWO best payment provider awards

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London, UK –13th February 2013. In the last week, Skrill has been recognised twice for its leading position in the online payment industry by scooping awards for best payment provider. The awards are reflective of Skrill’s long-term ambition to become the first choice for online payments, by providing a global, secure payments solution allowing gaming merchants to accept payments internationally.

Skrill was presented the ‘Best Payment Solutions Provider Company of the Year’ award at the International Gaming Awards 2013 on February 4th. Supported by leading international gaming professionals, the award event celebrates and recognises the achievements and success within this highly competitive and demanding industry.

The company also won ‘Best Payment System’ at the iGB Affiliate Awards on Friday, February 8th, the iGB Affiliate awards, now in their sixth year, celebrate growth, innovation and achievements in the gaming industry and are decided by both votes and a jury.

With its position as a global, secure payments solution allowing gaming merchants to accept payments internationally, Skrill enables everyone to pay and get paid globally, with the evolution of its products and service, such as the new vastly improved gateway being rolled out this month and the introduction of innovative payment features such as Skrill 1-Tap.

Craig Doyle, SVP of Sales and Marketing, commented “As the payment industry becomes ever more competitive, we are proud to be recognised as the best payment solution within the gaming sector. As Skrill continues to innovate and grow throughout 2013, we will be looking to build on our achievements and consolidate our position as a leading provider of online payment solutions”.


Wouter Sleijffers, Skrill VP Marketing Services, accepting the award for ‘Best Payment Solutions Provider Company of the Year’ at the International Gaming Awards 2013.

Skrill completes acquisition of paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG

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Europe’s market leader in prepaid online payments is now part of the Skrill Group

LONDON, 8th February 2013: The closing of the acquisition by Skrill of paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG, the Austrian prepaid payments business, has been completed today, 08/02/2013. Skrill is majority owned by Investcorp Technology Partners.

As the European market leader in prepaid online payment, the acquisition of paysafecard represents a hugely significant step forward for Skrill, expanding its position as one of the world’s largest digital wallet providers. paysafecard’s products allow payments without a credit card or bank account at more than 4,000 online stores and more than 450,000 sales outlets in 33 countries across Europe, North America and South America. In 2012, it processed more than 55 million transactions.

Skrill and paysafecard’s combined offering will deliver an end-to-end stored value payment solution, combining a secure prepaid product that complements Skrill’s existing payments service. paysafecard’s offline distribution network adds to Skrill’s already significant online network that boasts more than 100 payment options in 200 countries worldwide. The joining together of Skrill and paysafecard also opens up the business to new markets within under-banked populations.

“For both sides this is a strategically important acquisition and we are pleased it is now finalised. paysafecard complements our current offering and strengthens our position in the key gaming and digital media markets verticals, establishing us as a provider of end-of-end transfer of stored value,” said Siegfried Heimgaertner, CEO of Skrill. “This is another significant step towards our long-term ambitions to become the first choice for online payments, helping our end-customers and merchants to pay and get paid globally.”

Michael Mueller, CEO of paysafecard, said, “Having grown into a market leader for prepaid payments our consolidation with Skrill is a natural next step for the business, taking our products to a global network of merchants and consumers. We have great faith in Skrill’s entrepreneurial vision, and look forward to continuing to grow the business.”