Neteller is a global electronic money and payments service owned and operated by the British company Neteller PLC Group. The company was founded in 1999, is based in the Isle of Man and regulated in the United Kingdom. The company positions itself as the “world's leading independent online payment business”.
It has customers in over 160 countries that use the service to send and receive money from their banks to and from merchants. The service can also be used to send money between individuals.
Company description
Neteller PLC is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange Alternativ
Investment Market with a symbol of NLR. Its initial public offering was in April 2004. The company is also regulated by the UK government’s Financial Services Authority (FSA). The company operates e-wallets under the Neteller and 1-Pay brands, and credit card processing and debit card businesses under the Netbanx brand. Over 3,500 merchants accept payment via the company’s services across many industries.
Revenue was up 50% from $171M in 2005 to $257M for 2006. Profit after tax was also up to $102M for 2006 over $91M for 2005
Services and fees
Customers can sign up for a Neteller account for free on the company’s website.
Accounts may be set up in Pounds Sterling, Euros, US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Swedish Krona or Chinese RMB. Once their account is set up, consumers can then load money into that account from their bank, which is free, or via a credit card, for which there is a fee. In some countries the company offers instant money transfers rather than waiting for the usual 3 day clearing times.
Customers can transfer money from their Neteller account to merchants. The service is often used to transfer funds to and from online gambling sites, so customers can also receive funds, such as winnings, back from merchants to their Neteller accounts. The cost of transferring funds from Neteller accounts to and from merchants is free to consumers because, as with credit cards, merchants cover the costs.
Users can also send money to other customers of the service via peer-to-peer transfers. These are charged at 1.9% of the value transferred. Currency exchange charges are also levied where the peer-to-peer accounts are not in the same currency.
Customers can withdraw funds from the system by bank transfer, cheque, or using the company’s Mastercard debit card at point-of-sale and ATM machines. Fees vary depending on the method of withdrawal.
Neteller has since ceased operation in the US and discontinued the ability for residents in Canada and Turkey from using its service for gambling purposes.
U.S. Internet gambling prohibition
As Internet use expanded during the 2000s, the United States government sought to prohibit online gambling by its citizens. As part of this prohibition the U.S. Department of Justice reached agreements with several companies that it believed had provided advertising and payment services to offshore gambling companies including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Paypal and Neteller. Each of these companies reached a financial settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and ceased offering these services to U.S. residents. Neteller reached its agreement with the US government in July 2007.
The dispute with the US did not seem to slow down the growth of Neteller’s rest of world business. In its 2007 first half financial results released in August 2007, the company indicated that its rest of world revenues had grown by 46% over the same period the previous year.
