Net1 Completes Enrollment of One Million Cardholders in Iraq and Receives Additional Orders
January 12 2010 - 4:01PM
Marketwired
Net1 UEPS Technologies Inc. ("Net1" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:
UEPS)(JSE: NT1) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary,
Net1 Universal Electronic Technological Solutions (Pty) Ltd
("NUETS"), which focuses on Africa and the Middle East, passed a
key milestone in the implementation of its contract with the
government of Iraq by enrolling its one millionth beneficiary
earlier this month. Net1's UEPS system was implemented in Iraq in
August of 2008 and is currently used for the distribution and
payment of government grants to war victims, government pension
payments to beneficiaries, salary and wage distribution and
payments to employees of the two state banks. In addition, NUETS
has received additional orders for 800,000 Universal Electronic
Payment System ("UEPS") enabled smart cards and 1,500 POS devices
for deployment in Iraq. Net1 expects to deliver the newly ordered
cards over the remainder of fiscal year 2010.
"These new orders will further fuel the significant progress
that has been made since the introduction of the UEPS technology in
Iraq in August 2008," said Brenda Stewart, Managing Director of
NUETS. "One million UEPS smart cards have already been issued to
beneficiaries and the new orders will facilitate the issuance of
cards to additional pension payment beneficiaries, war victims and
the introduction of various new grants that have been contemplated
by the authorities. The deployment of an additional 1,500 POS
Devices into merchant stores across Iraq will commence in February
of 2010 and these devices will offer our full suite of UEPS
"branchless banking" products, services and functionality. They
will also assist to significantly shorten the queues that are
currently being encountered during payment cycles in the branch
network of the two state banks," she added.
"We are delighted with the progress of our implementation in
Iraq and commend our partners on their sustained pace of
expansion," said Dr. Serge Belamant, Chairman and CEO. "The growth
in the number of cards issued should proportionally increase the
recurring revenues we receive from Iraq. We are in the early stages
of creating a broad-based electronic transaction processing
platform that would allow the citizens of Iraq to not only receive
benefits in a secure, cost-efficient manner, but would also create
broader access to additional formal financial services," he
concluded.
About Net1 (www.net1.com)
Net1 provides its universal electronic payment system ("UEPS"),
as an alternative payment system for the unbanked and under-banked
populations of developing economies. The company believes that it
is the first company worldwide to implement a system that can
enable the estimated four billion people who generally have limited
or no access to a bank account to enter affordably into electronic
transactions with each other, government agencies, employers,
merchants and other financial service providers. To accomplish
this, Net1 has developed and deployed the UEPS. This system uses
secure smart cards that operate in real-time but offline, unlike
traditional payment systems offered by major banking institutions
that require immediate access through a communications network to a
centralized computer. This offline capability means that users of
Net1's system can enter into transactions at any time with other
cardholders in even the most remote areas so long as a portable
offline smart card reader is available. In addition to payments and
purchases, Net1's system can be used for banking, health care
management, international money transfers, voting and
identification.
Net1 also focuses on the development and provision of secure
transaction technology, solutions and services. Its core
competencies around secure online transaction processing,
cryptography and integrated circuit card (chip/smart card)
technologies are principally applied to electronic commerce
transactions in the telecommunications, banking, retail, petroleum
and utilities market sectors.
Net1 has a primary listing on the Nasdaq and a secondary listing
on the JSE Limited.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A discussion of
various factors that cause the Company's actual results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed in such forward-looking statements are included in
the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these
statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
Contacts: Net1 UEPS Technologies Inc. - Investor Relations
Contact Dhruv Chopra Vice President of Investor Relations
+1-212-626-6675 dchopra@net1.com www.net1.com
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