Co-brand arrangement powers payment and e-wallet for 1 million of BORN Group members worldwide
Tuesday, 9 September 2008 – The NETELLER Group (LSE: NLR), the independent global online payments business, and BORN Group, the holding company that owns and operates the BornForSports worldwide e-commerce sports-style-fashion marketplace, have signed a five year payment and joint marketing agreement. The agreement provides for the exclusive use of a version of NETELLER Payment Suite inside the BORN Group network of merchants and brands. Included is a co-branded e-wallet to be called BORN EXPRESS powered by NETELLER.
With 1 million members worldwide, BORN Group through BornForSports manages a sports lifestyle oriented social network that sells sports-style-fashion goods and services from carefully selected merchants and brands. Via its proprietary marketplace platform, BORN Group takes a commission on each sale and controls the payment processing through its e-wallet BORN EXPRESS powered by NETELLER. Under the five-year contract, BORN Group has agreed to implement the NETELLER Payment Suite across its online merchants and brands network.
The NETELLER Payment Suite features the NETBANX international payments gateway, the NETELLER e-wallet and Net+™ cards. NETBANX allows merchants to accept card and non-card payments through multiple channels including online, contact centres, mail order and via automated phone systems. The NETELLER e-wallet, accepted by Web retailers around the world, allows consumers to spend securely online as well as allowing merchants to increase customer lifetime value. Net+ cards allow merchants to extend customer loyalty and lifetimes.
Under the agreement a co-branded e-wallet, BORN EXPRESS powered by NETELLER, will be embedded into the BORN Group marketplace platform and used as the standard method of payment across the BORN Group network, with an initial focus on the UK, France, Germany, Italy and China. The co-branded e-wallet will provide a safe and convenient way for BORN Group customers to shop at BornForSports and at all other online merchants that are part of the NETELLER payment network. NETELLER (UK) Limited is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
BornForSports customers will also be offered the opportunity to sign up for the co-branded BornForSports/Net+TM Prepaid MasterCard®. These are available both as a physical card, and as a virtual card for use online, providing a secure, private method of web shopping at any merchant that accepts MasterCard® using the funds in the co-branded BORN EXPRESS powered by NETELLER e-wallet.
Live processing testing is already underway for the first part of the agreement comprising the implementation of the NETBANX payment gateway to replace the previous proprietary in-house payment processing system for BORN Group’s online marketplace sites.
Finally, the agreement will also enable through a joint marketing effort to offer preferential BornforSports goods and services to all NETELLER’s existing members and customers.
Jean-Christophe Chopin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BORN Group, said “With NETELLER handling all the complexities of payments, compliance, identity, and regulation we are able to focus on the distribution of our co-branded e-wallet and spend more time building supplier relationships and winning customers.”
Ron Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer of NETELLER Group, said “BORN Group is a fast-growing, successful online business, and we’re delighted they have chosen to work with NETELLER. We see this agreement with BORN Group as one of the NETELLER’s key initiatives to generate a step-change in the number of active consumers using the NETELLER Payment Suite. We welcome their rapidly growing network of merchants and millions of members into our network and look forward to working with BORN Group to develop further innovative payment solutions.”
About BORN Group
BORN Group manages and operates BornForSports worldwide. BornForSports is an online e-commerce marketplace where consumers can purchase sports-style-fashion goods and services from carefully selected merchants and brands and share their experience online with their network of friends. BornForSports is available online in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, China and in 2009 in the US. See www.bornforsports.com. |
