Optimal Payments Leads the Way with Global Bitcoin Payment Acceptance

Strategic agreement with BitPay gives NETELLER merchants ability to grow globally 

LONDON, MONTREAL and NEW YORK, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Optimal Payments Plc (LSE AIM: OPAY), a leading global online payment solutions provider, now allows customers to use Bitcoin to top up their NETELLER® accounts. This announcement follows the entering into of an agreement between Optimal Payments and BitPay Inc., one of the world's largest Bitcoin payment providers and processors, and makes Optimal Payments one of the first major financial institutions to facilitate digital currency transactions on a global scale.

Through Optimal Payments' agreement with BitPay, NETELLER customers will now be able to top up their accounts by exchanging Bitcoin into one of the currencies offered by NETELLER.

"NETELLER already provides merchants and customers a broad and diverse set of online payment options and the addition of Bitcoin gives them another valuable payment method to help convert more transactions" said Joel Leonoff, president and CEO, Optimal Payments. "We recognise the important role that crypto-currencies play in the future of payments and we look forward to working with BitPay as the acceptance rate grows." 

BitPay's processing offering mitigates the risk of Bitcoin price volatility by allowing the merchant to accept Bitcoins and immediately convert them to the currency of choice. Since BitPay works across multiple currencies, it is a suitable payment option for those who sell their products and services throughout the world. Merchants have the ability to accept Bitcoins with numerous open source plugins and hosted solutions. Bitcoin is a payment solution that not only saves money in transaction fees by being digital,  but also saves time when compared to other payment options that require the manual input of information in order to complete a transaction. BitPay helps make accepting Bitcoin payments easy and services over 140 different countries.

"Bitcoin's popularity is growing rapidly and has established itself as the most secure, most widely accepted digital currency" said Sonny Singh, chief operating officer, BitPay Inc. "This relationship with Optimal Payments will help us to drive merchant acceptance on a global scale."

For over a decade, the NETELLER stored value service has provided businesses and individuals with a fast, simple and secure way to move money online. As one of the world's largest independent money transfer businesses, it processes billions of dollars' worth of transactions each year. NETELLER is constantly seeking ways to enhance its services to merchants and help them expand their businesses globally.    

About Optimal Payments Plc

Optimal Payments is a global provider of online payment solutions, trusted by businesses and consumers in over 200 countries and territories to move and manage billions of dollars each year. Merchants use the NETBANX® platform and services to simplify how they accept credit and debit card, direct-from-bank, and alternative and local payments; and the NETELLER® service to increase revenues and capture new customers. Consumers use the multilingual and multicurrency NETELLER and Net+® Card stored-value offering to make secure and convenient payments. In addition, Optimal Payments Card Services, another division of Optimal Payments, provides innovative prepaid products and services to merchants.  Optimal Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM, with a ticker symbol of OPAY. Subsidiary company Optimal Payments Ltd is authorized and regulated as an e-money issuer by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 900015).

For more information on Optimal Payments visit www.optimalpayments.com or subscribe at http://www.optimalpayments.com/media/email-alerts.

About BitPay Inc.  

BitPay is the global leader in bitcoin payment processing with offices throughout North America, Europe, and South America. The company has raised over $32 million from top investors including Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and Sir Richard Branson.

For more information on the company and its services, please visit www.bitpay.com.

SOURCE Optimal Payments Plc