PayPoint Plc

PayPoint announces investment in Optus Homes

31 March, Welwyn Garden City: PayPoint has today announced a £750k investment in Optus Homes, a leading app for tenants to manage their home rental account. The deal will see the PayPoint Group make an investment in the company, building on the recently-signed commercial partnership positioning PayPoint as the preferred payment provider within the app.

The investment strengthens PayPoint's MultiPay proposition for the housing sector, as the Optus Homes' native app payment solution, allowing tenants to pay their rent and manage arrears payments directly in the app, on the phone, or over the counter in 28,000 local retailers across the UK, a network bigger than all banks, supermarkets and Post Offices put together.

The housing sector is experiencing a tide of change in how banking and payments are undertaken, with the focus on helping social tenants in difficulty to better manage their needs and their rental payments. For many social housing tenants, their mobile phone is the only internet-connected device they have, The Optus Homes App enables simple and convenient access to their housing association and secure ways for them to take control of paying their rent.

Nick Wiles, Chief Executive of PayPoint, said: "We're delighted to be investing into the Optus Homes business, building on the partnership that we announced recently to integrate our MultiPay digital payments solutions into their app. This investment will enable PayPoint to build on the great progress made in the housing sector over the past few years, increasing financial inclusion and convenience for social housing tenants and removing complexity for social housing landlords."

Gerry Kelly, CEO of Optus Homes, added: "PayPoint was a natural partner for us as we seek to offer digital payments solutions, convenience and peace-of-mind for tenants, as well as increased efficiency and reduced costs for housing providers. This investment will help us deliver these benefits to an even broader range of social housing clients and tenants, with simple, streamlined and secure rent payments and an enhanced customer experience"

-ENDS-

Enquiries

PayPoint plc                                                                                                        Finsbury

Nick Wiles, Chief Executive (Mobile: 07442 968960)                                  Rollo Head

Alan Dale, Finance Director (Mobile: 07778 043962)                                 James Thompson

                                                                                                                (Telephone: 0207 251 3801)        

                                                                                                                (Email: Paypoint@finsbury.com)      

Optus Homes Ltd                                                                                              

Gerry Kelly, CEO (Mobile: 07775 816163)                                    

ABOUT PAYPOINT

For tens of thousands of businesses and millions of consumers, we deliver innovative technology and services that make life a little easier.

The PayPoint Group serves a diverse range of organisations, from SME and convenience retailer partners, to local authorities, multinational service providers and e-commerce brands. Our products are split across three core business divisions:

·      In Shopping, we enhance retailer propositions and customer experiences through EPoS services via PayPoint One, card payment technology, Counter Cash, ATMs and home delivery technology partnerships in over 60,000 SME and retailer partner locations across multiple sectors. Our retail network of over 28,000 convenience stores is larger than all the banks, supermarkets and Post Offices put together

·      In E-commerce, we deliver best-in-class customer journeys through Collect+, a tech-based delivery solution that allows parcels to be sent, picked up and dropped off at thousands of local stores

·      In Payments and Banking, we help companies and their customers make and receive payments quickly and conveniently. This includes our digital payments platform, MultiPay, an eMoney offering that enables cash through to digital transactions and cash solutions providing vital consumer access across our extensive retail network

Together, these solutions enable The PayPoint Group to create long-term value for all stakeholders, including customers, communities and the world we live in.

ABOUT OPTUS HOMES

For the 5 million residents in social housing across the UK, intuitive and powerful two-way communications with their landlord is vital. The Optus Homes mobile app is designed by landlords specifically for the social housing sector. We offer a Software-as-a-Service solution which is truly agnostic to whichever HMS or CRM any landlord is currently using, and includes community centric features, access to documentation and integrated repair visit scheduling. Rent balance and transaction history, together with rent payment are core components allowing tenants to complete all day-to-day activities via one modern and powerful mobile app.