PayPoint
Encyclopedia
PayPoint plc is a British
business offering a system for paying bills
in the United Kingdom
and Republic of Ireland
. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
.
payment schemes: it was first tested in Northern Ireland
The Company launched its system to the media
in 1997. In 1998 the system was first offered to British Gas plc
customers wanting to pay their bills; in 2000 it was also offered to Vodafone
customers and in 2001 it was extended to Scottish Power
, Manweb
and Orange customers. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
in 2004. The system was first extended to TV Licences in 2006.
In November 2006 and February 2007 PayPoint acquired internet payment service providers Metacharge and SECPay, respectively. These ventures were merged and rebranded as PayPoint.net, providing a secure debit and credit card payment system for web-merchants, in July 2008.
), Payzone and An Post
's PostPoint network (in Ireland) all of which offer similar services.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
business offering a system for paying bills
Invoice
An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the buyer must pay the seller, according to the payment terms...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
History
The PayPoint network was set up in 1996 providing a convenient place for customers to pay towards a limited range of utility companies'Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
payment schemes: it was first tested in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
The Company launched its system to the media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
in 1997. In 1998 the system was first offered to British Gas plc
British Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
customers wanting to pay their bills; in 2000 it was also offered to Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
customers and in 2001 it was extended to Scottish Power
Scottish Power
ScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
, Manweb
MANWEB
MANWEB was the regional electricity supplier and distributor for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire...
and Orange customers. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 2004. The system was first extended to TV Licences in 2006.
In November 2006 and February 2007 PayPoint acquired internet payment service providers Metacharge and SECPay, respectively. These ventures were merged and rebranded as PayPoint.net, providing a secure debit and credit card payment system for web-merchants, in July 2008.
Operations
The Company provides the following services:- It allows customers to make cash payments at any one of its 20,750 PayPoint outlets (in the UK) to settle their gasGasGas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
, electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
or waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
bills, or to pay for their TV licence, Council TaxCouncil taxCouncil Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
or London congestion chargeLondon congestion chargeThe London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
or to top-up pay-as-you-go mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. - Shop Direct is one of the mail order companies that use the system to allow nominated convenience shops to scan-in goods for return to them by courier at the mail order company's expense, using a posted or emailed label with a PayPoint bar code. The scheme is managed by Collect+ who also allow the public to buy bar-code labels for courier delivery of parcels between network shops.
- It allows customers to make cash payments to re-charge their gasGasGas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
or electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
keys and then use those keys in place of coin-based electricity meterElectricity meterAn electricity meter or energy meter is a device that measures the amount of electric energy consumed by a residence, business, or an electrically powered device....
s - It operates in-store ATMs connected to the LINKLINK (UK)LINK is a shared interbank network of automated teller machines operating in the United Kingdom. The network counts 37 member institutions, of which many are various banks and building societies issuing LINK ATM cards, and the remainder are independent ATM operators who do not issue cards...
network
- It operates in-store credit/debit card processing facilities with Chip and PINChip and PINChip and PIN is the brandname adopted by the banking industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the rollout of the EMV smartcard payment system for credit, debit and ATM cards.- History :...
compliance.
Competitors
Rivals to PayPoint include the Post Office Ltd (in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), Payzone and An Post
An Post
An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...
's PostPoint network (in Ireland) all of which offer similar services.