Neteller
Neteller is an e-money/ service owned and operated by publicly traded global payments company Paysafe Group Plc. The Neteller service is used to transfer money to and from merchants, such as firms, firms, and can withdraw funds directly using the Net+ card or transfer the balance to their own bank accounts.
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Creation and regulation
Neteller was created in 1999 in Canada and moved to the Isle of Man in 2004. Paysafe Group Plc is listed as an “Authorised Electronic Money Institution”.
In 2015, Optimal Payments Plc (now Paysafe Group Plc) finalized a transformational transaction for the global payments industry – the acquisition of Skrill Group, one of Europe’s largest online payments systems and among the world’s largest independent digital wallet providers.
Neteller is not a bank and does not lend customers’ funds. It is required under FCA e-money regulations to maintain customer funds in separate trust accounts, separate from its operating cash, sufficient to repay all customer balances at the same time.
Online gambling
Neteller began processing online gambling payments in July 2000, it was processing payments for 80% of the world’s gambling merchants. 95% of the firm’s revenue at that time was derived from fund transfers to online gaming firms, with most users being U.S. residents.
Accounts of U.S. users were frozen as the firm exited the , and funds were eventually returned after 30 July 2007. As a result of this enforced exit from the U.S. market, and the risks associated with online gambling, the firm has sought to diversify. Despite this, Neteller fee revenues fell from 239 million in 2006 to about $61 million in 2010.
High-turnover customers are offered membership called “NETELLER VIP”. It includes additional features and lower fees similar to premium membership of biggest competitor Skrill.
Legal issues surrounding online gambling mean that customers in a range of countries (, , Canada, , Israel, , , , , and ) are not permitted to make transfers to gambling merchants. Money can be loaded into the account from a , or via about 40 other methods. These deposit types vary by country and some are instant. Money can also be received into the account directly from other merchants with Neteller accounts, merchants such as gambling winnings, insurance payouts or video-gaming trading proceeds. Customers can withdraw funds from their accounts by bank transfer, cheque, or using the company’s Net+ prepaid at and . In November 2016, the company cancelled Net+ cards service without refunding the card fees.
Sponsorship
Neteller’s logo is displayed on the front of the according to the sponsorship deal signed by (now Paysafe Group PLC) for the and seasons of the English .