| Wed 13 Jan 2010, 8:00 | | NT1 - Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. - Net1 completes enrollment of one million |
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NT1
NT1
NT1 - Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. - Net1 completes enrollment of one million
cardholders in Iraq and receives additional orders
Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc.
Registered in the state of Florida, USA
(IRS Employer Identification No. 98-0171860)
Nasdaq share code: UEPS
JSE share code: NT1
ISIN: US64107N2062
("Net1" or "the Company")
Net1 completes enrollment of one million cardholders in Iraq and receives
additional orders
Johannesburg, January 13, 2010 - Net1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. ("Net1" or the
"Company") (NasdaqGS: 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.
Investor Relations Contact:
Dhruv Chopra
Vice President of Investor Relations
Phone: +1-212-626-6675
Email: dchopra@net1.com
Johannesburg
13 January 2010
Sponsor:
Deutsche Securities (SA) (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 13/01/2010 08:00:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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