PayPoint is a leading branded payment collection service used primarily for the cash payment of bills, services and prepayments for mobile telephones and energy meters. PayPoint commenced trading in the UK in 1996 and initially collected payments through its network of retailers for its founder Client investors, which included British Gas, BT, BBC TV Licensing, London Electricity (now part of EdF) and four water companies. Since then, PayPoint has successfully added to its founder Client base, grown its retail network and launched its service in Ireland and now Romania.

Retail network
In the UK and Ireland, there are over 22,000 outlets using PayPoint’s payment collection systems. These include over 19,000 retail outlets with dedicated PayPoint terminals and over 6,000 outlets with EPoS connections to PayPoint systems, of which approximately 2,600 outlets have both a PayPoint Terminal and EPoS connectivity. For the financial year ended 25 March 2007, the Company processed over 414 million payments, with a value of approximately £5.2 billion. PayPoint’s network in Romania was launched with 4,000 retail outlets serving Bucharest and towns and villages in all Romanian counties  and will continue to grow towards national coverage.

Diverse client portfolio

PayPoint's clients include many of the UK’s and Ireland's major energy, cable, mobile and fixed-line telephony companies. The client list also extends to numerous water companies, local authorities (for rents and council taxes), housing associations and a growing transport and travel base. Clients pay fees for each payment collected. In Romania, PayPoint’s clients already include Romtelecom, UPC and Zapp, and this portfolio is set to expand.

Retail operation

PayPoint's retail outlets include convenience stores, newsagents, petrol stations and supermarkets. Multiple retail groups account for about half of PayPoint's retail network in the UK. On average, PayPoint processes over 8 million consumer transaction payments per week. PayPoint provides the necessary technology, training and merchandising free of charge to retailers who earn commission for each payment they take.

Network coverage

In the UK, over 95 per cent of households are situated within 1.6 km of a PayPoint retail outlet in urban areas, or within 8 km in rural areas. PayPoint is using the same mapping techniques in Romania to ensure that its network is developed to meet its clients’ customers’ needs.