Rentabiliweb: the 1st Payment Institution Accredited for Bankcard Payments by Banque de France

BRUSSELS, October 26, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- Rentabiliweb is Today Announcing That it has Been Accredited as a Bankcard Payment Institution by a Decision of the College on 11 October 2010. This Accreditation now Allows Rentabiliweb to Offer its own Payment Solutions to e-Commerce Companies, a Market That was Until Today Exclusively Limited to Banks.

At the meeting of the College on 11 October 2010, the Banque de France's Autorite de Controle Prudentiel (ACP), the French equivalent of the UK Financial Services Authority, decided to accredit Rentabiliweb Europe, specialised in the monetisation of digital audiences, as a Payment Institution for bankcard payments. The Group will announce the launching of France's first independent secure payment platform in the coming days.

This accreditation, a first in France for Internet pure-player, continues the liberalisation of financial services in Europe initiated at the end of 2007. It now enables Rentabiliweb to market its innovative, optimised Internet and mobile phone bankcard payment solutions to all French online retailers.

Rentabiliweb is now authorised by law to provide payment services as defined by Article L314-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, namely categories 3 and 5, and more specifically bank transfers, including standing orders, the issue of payment methods and the acquisition of payment orders via bankcard. It also enables Rentabiliweb to offer custody, data recording and processing services.

The security of a bank combined with the know-how of an Internet specialist

"Obtaining this payment accreditation is a fundamental step in Rentabiliweb's growth," explained Jean-Baptiste Descroix-Vernier, Chairmain of Rentabiliweb Group. "The Group's companies have been working for more than 10 years, for their own account, to optimise the payment chain. This know-how can now be offered to our clients. It is a new market with very promising potential in Europe. France finally has an independent player similar to Wirecard in Germany."

"In a matter of days, we will be able to offer all Web players a more secured bankcard payment solution that is less expensive than those offered by banks," added Romain Pera, Chairman of Rentabiliweb Europe. "The conversion rate, in other words the percentage of transactions that are actually completed - a strategic indicator for e-commerce companies - will also be higher, thanks namely to the expertise in marketing and technical tools that Rentabiliweb has been developing over the past several years."

A liberalised market estimated at 30 billion Euros in France in 2010

According to Forrester, the European e-commerce market will amount to EUR150 billion in transactions at the end of 2010 and PhoCusWright forecasts growth of more than 10% for 2011. In addition, the European Central Bank reports that bankcard payment is developing faster than other types of payment (checks, debits and transfers) with annual growth of 6.8%. There are a total of 726 million bankcards throughout the European Union, i.e. around 1.45 cards per EU citizen.

As regards payment via mobile phones, Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts nearly 300 billion transactions worldwide and around $860 billion in sales in 2013. In France, payment via mobile phones should account for 7% of transactions in 2012, i.e. the equivalent of 2 billion operations according to SIA Conseil, an IT and Financial Services consultancy.

A strategic development for Rentabiliweb

Rentabiliweb's technical staff have been preparing for the granting of this accreditation for several months. The Group is currently expanding its teams to possess all of the various expertise related to this new service.

To see the career opportunities related to the launch of this e-payment solution, visit http://www.rentabiliweb.org/jobs.html

Glossary

Payment Institution

Payment institutions are a new category of payment service providers created by European Directive 2007/64/CE, also known as the Payment Services Directive (PSD), dated 13/11/2007. This new regulation specifies the operating conditions for institutions and namely provides a framework for the activities of payment service providers for all Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) members, i.e. the European economic zone and Switzerland. These institutions are governed by the Prudential Control Authority (Autorite de Controle Prudentiel or ACP), which supervises French payment institutions.

France's payment institutions accredited for bankcard payments

As of today, except there is no other Internet company except financial institutions with the technical, regulatory and legal capacity to offer "acquisition of bankcard payment orders", i.e. the ability to provide third parties with bankcard payment transaction services.

The European passport

The payment institutions accredited in one of the Member States can offer their solutions in other States of the European Union by applying for a passport from the supervisor in their home State, with the help of the supervisor from the host State as part of the EU community cooperation initiative. Obtaining the European passport would enable Rentabiliweb to help its clients grow internationally and to offer its solutions to e-tailers in the 27 European Union countries. Rentabiliweb will apply for this passport in the near future.

See this press release at http://www.rentabiliweb.org/actualites/?p=2256

About Rentabiliweb

Founded in 2002, The Rentabiliweb Group offers Internet professionals and webmasters the largest platform of website traffic monetization services, namely payment and micropayment solutions. It also runs affiliate programs, offers online advertising space brokerage and interactive voice services for offline media and provides renowned expertise in loyalty programs and Direct Marketing.

Rentabiliweb is also one of the premier French-language publishers, with a package of services spanning the full range of mass-market entertainment, from community services, family games and services for the general public to recommendations for Internet users, personal ads, dating services and more.

Listed on Compartment C of the Euronext Brussels and Paris stock markets, the Group today has 13 subsidiaries in Europe, Canada and Asia, employing 150 staff members around the world. In 2009, Rentabiliweb's sales topped EUR 65 million, with net profits of EUR 7.5 million.

Rentabiliweb is also a socially responsible company in its sectors of activity, strictly applying the ten principles laid out by the UN Global Compact.

    For more information, visit: http://www.rentabiliweb.org

    Corporate Communications

    IMAGE SEPT
    Claire Doligez
    Anne Auchatraire
    +33-1-53-70-74-70
    [email protected]
    [email protected]

    Financial - Investor Communications

    CALYPTUS
    Mathieu Calleux
    +33-1-53-65-37-91
    [email protected]

SOURCE Rentabiliweb