Euronet Wins Contract with Ikano Bank GmbH in Germany for Operation of ATMs in IKEA Stores

Published on Thursday, 08 December 2011 18:12 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

MUNICH & LEAWOOD, Kan.-( Business Wire )-

Euronet Germany, (a division of Transact Elektronische Zahlungssysteme GmbH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), announces a new ATM outsourcing agreement with Ikano Bank GmbH. Euronet will provide outsourcing services for the Ikano Bank ATMs, which are exclusively located in IKEA Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG stores throughout the country. This is the first outsourcing agreement for Euronet in Germany, Euronet’s second largest ATM market.

In addition to providing outsourcing services in the established 48 locations, the contract allows Euronet to operate any additional ATMs that may be deployed in new IKEA stores in the future. The roll-out of the new ATMs has started and will be complete before the end of 2011. The new, state-of-the-art devices are equipped with fully loaded functionality, including: 2D bar code reader, thermal receipt printer, contactless card reader for mobile wallet payments, extra cassettes for coupons to be dispensed with cash and the potential to add an additional 42 inch digital advertising screen above the ATM. Additionally, the IKEA FAMILY Bezahlkarte, a closed looped store card, will be accepted for cash withdrawals at the Ikano Bank ATMs. The ATMs will be Ikano Bank branded and Euronet owned and operated.

“This contract represents a significant strategic step as it marks the expansion and diversification of our business. Until now, Euronet Germany has operated its ATM business based predominantly on the Independent ATM Deployment (IAD) model,” stated Alfred Stettberger, Managing Director of Euronet Germany. “This first outsourcing contract for Euronet Germany demonstrates that banks see the advantage of working with a partner who, in addition to delivering classic ATM services, is also able to go a step beyond and provide a rich portfolio of value added offerings - a key differentiator for Euronet,” added Mr. Stettberger.

“We chose to work with Euronet due to their extensive ATM operations experience and flexible, state-of-the-art, proprietary technology, which enables our ATMs in IKEA locations to offer a wide range of services,” stated Mathias Schmitt, Head of IKEA Business at Ikano Bank GmbH.

Providing outsourcing services in Germany allows banks to leverage the operations and infrastructure costs of off-site ATM deployment. This provides banks an opportunity to reduce their cost structure while delivering broader ATM access and more transaction choice to their customers through Euronet’s portfolio of value added services.

About Euronet Worldwide, Inc.

Euronet Worldwide is an industry leader in processing secure electronic financial transactions. The Company offers payment and transaction processing solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. These services include comprehensive ATM (Automated Teller Machines), POS (Point of Sale) and card outsourcing services, card issuing and merchant acquiring services, software solutions, consumer money transfer and bill payment services, and electronic distribution for prepaid mobile phone time and other prepaid products.

Euronet's global payment network is extensive - including 12,668 ATMs, approximately 53,000 EFT POS terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 32 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 591,000 POS terminals at approximately 282,000 retailer locations in 29 countries; and a consumer-to-consumer money transfer network of approximately 140,000 locations serving 136 countries. With corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 47 worldwide offices, Euronet serves clients in approximately 150 countries. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

About Euronet Germany

Euronet Germany (a division of Transact Elektronische Zahlungssysteme GmbH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), offers payment and transaction processing solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and consumers. Euronet’s independently deployed ATM network is the largest in Germany. ATMs are situated in best locations like shopping galleries, hypermarkets and highly frequented foot traffic areas. Euronet’s German subsidiary has been in operation since 1997 and employs over 100 people. epay is the leading distributor of pre-paid mobile airtime and other prepaid products which can be purchased via ATMs and the POS terminals throughout the country. For more information, please visit www.euronetworldwide.de.

About Ikano Bank

Ikano Bank GmbH is part of the Swedish Ikano Group, which was founded in 1988 and is owned by the Kamprad family. Ingvar Kamprad is known worldwide as the founder of IKEA. As a globally operating company with about 4.000 employees, the Ikano Group is working in the areas of finance, real estate, asset management, insurance and retail. Ikano’ s strength is distinguished by working together to create long-term solutions based on fair terms that brings values to their customers, partners and themselves. Company’s headquarters is situated in Luxembourg. Ikano Bank GmbH Germany is located in Wiesbaden and serves more than 1.1 Million customers. For more information, see www.ikanobank.de.

Euronet Worldwide, Inc.Media Contact in Germany:Alexander Gerstl, +49 89 899 643-499Marketing Managera.gerstl@transact-gmbh.deorMedia Contact in US:Stephanie Taylor, + This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.