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NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC - Acquires Controlling State in Masterpayment and Signs Strategic Co-operation Agreement with Bank Frick

Release Date: 04/04/2016 15:20
Code(s): NT1     PDF:  
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Acquires Controlling State in Masterpayment and Signs Strategic Co-operation Agreement with Bank Frick

Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc.
Registered in the state of Florida, USA
(IRS Employer Identification No. 98-0171860)
Nasdaq share code: UEPS
JSE share code: NT1
ISIN: US64107N2062
(“Net1” or the “Company”)

Net1 Acquires Controlling Stake in Masterpayment and Signs Strategic Co-
operation Agreement with Bank Frick

Johannesburg, April 4, 2016 – Net1 (NasdaqGS: UEPS; JSE: NT1) today announced
that it has acquired a 60% interest in Masterpayment AG (“Masterpayment”), a
specialist payment services processor based in Munich, Germany.

Masterpayment provides payment and acquiring services for all major European debit
and credit cards; and invoicing for online retail, digital goods and content.
Masterpayment currently has a client portfolio of approximately 5,000 registered
merchants.

In collaboration with Bank Frick & Co. AG (“Bank Frick”), a Liechtenstein-based
bank, Masterpayment provides its e-commerce merchants with working capital
optimization by providing a flexible form of financing, which employs a trading
transaction instead of traditional bank credit. Masterpayment’s “Finetrading” product
enables the seamless financing of a merchant’s inventory orders, resulting in
accelerated payment settlement and the elimination of the requirement for a merchant
to maintain rolling reserves or cash advances.

As part of the transaction, Net1 and Masterpayment have entered into a long term co-
operation agreement with Bank Frick, in terms of which Bank Frick will become
Net1’s strategic banking partner and will provide the Company with the support and
banking services required to deploy Net1’s products and services, including VCPay,
Finetrading and money remittances in Europe.

The management team of Masterpayment and a Bank Frick-affiliate will retain the
remaining 40% interest in Masterpayment. Net1 has negotiated an option to purchase
the remaining 40% shareholding upon the achievement of certain milestones.

“The acquisition of a majority stake in Masterpayment and the strategic co-operation
agreement with Bank Frick provides Net1 with the critical tools required to expand
our product suite and geographic reach into Europe,” said Serge Belamant, Chairman
and CEO of Net1. “The Masterpayment management team has developed a very
interesting and unique business model that will provide us with specialist processing,
business development and marketing resources in Europe and we look forward to
their contributions as part of the Net1 group. We are delighted to have Bank Frick as
our strategic banking partner and we are completely aligned with bank’s progressive
vision of enabling innovative payment products and financial technology across
Europe,” he concluded.

“We are delighted to become a part of the Net1 family,” said Stefan Tittel, CEO and
co-founder of Masterpayment. “We are eager to combine our unique business model
with Net1’s broader technology offering and to become an integral part of Net1’s
business development strategy in Europe” he concluded. Edi Woegerer, CEO of Bank
Frick added, “The collaboration with Net1 is an important part of our international
payment strategy. Net1 has proved it can successfully roll out its superior payment
solutions globally. As Net1’s strategic banking partner, we are very excited to
develop our services together in the European markets.”

About Net1 (www.net1.com)

Net1 is a leading provider of alternative payment systems that leverage its Universal
Electronic Payment System (“UEPS”) or utilize its proprietary mobile technologies.
The Company operates market-leading payment processors in South Africa and the
Republic of Korea. Through Transact24, Net1 offers debit, credit and prepaid
processing and issuing services for Visa, MasterCard and ChinaUnionPay in China
and other territories across Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa, and the United States.
UEPS permits the Company to facilitate biometrically secure, real-time electronic
transaction processing to unbanked and under-banked populations of developing
economies around the world in an online or offline environment. Net1’s UEPS/EMV
solution is interoperable with global EMV standards that seamlessly enable access to
all the UEPS functionality in a traditional EMV environment. In addition to
payments, UEPS can be used for banking, healthcare management, payroll,
remittances, voting and identification.
Net1’s mobile technologies include its proprietary mobile payments solution - MVC,
which offers secure mobile-based payments, as well as mobile banking and prepaid
value-added services in developed and emerging countries. The Company intends to
deploy its varied mobile solutions through its ZAZOO business unit, which is an
aggregation of innovative technology companies and is based in the United Kingdom.
Net1 has a primary listing on the NASDAQ and a secondary listing on the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

About Masterpayment (www.masterpayment.com)

Masterpayment was founded in Germany in 2010 and has subsidiaries in Germany,
the UK and Liechtenstein. Masterpayment combines the technical abilities of a
payment service provider with the commercial leeway of a credit card acquirer and
the financing possibilities of a regulated fully licensed bank through its banking
partner, Bank Frick.

About Bank Frick (www.bankfrick.com)

Bank Frick & Co. AG is a private bank in Liechtenstein with headquarters in Balzers.
The Bank was founded in 1998 and is controlled by BFC Group Holding Est. Bank
Frick’s strategic pillars are formed by private banking, payment services, real estate
and opportunities.

In conjunction with companies of the BFC Group, Bank Frick offers comprehensive
and tailored solutions for private and institutional clients in the areas of funds,
investment consultancy, asset management and asset structuring.
The Bank Frick & Co. UK branch is a branch of the Bank based in London. Bank
Frick & Co. AG employs around 60 members of staff.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks
and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in
this press release regarding strategy, future operations, future financial position, future
revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-
looking statements. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or
expectations disclosed in its forward-looking statements. Actual results or events
could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the
forward-looking statements that the Company makes. Factors that might cause such
differences include, but are not limited to: the risk that the Company’s business and
the Masterpayment business will not be integrated successfully; the possibility that
the expected synergies from the acquisition will not be realized, or will not be realized
within the expected time period; disruption from the acquisition making it more
difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; and other factors, many of
which are beyond the Company’s control; and other important factors included in the
Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly
in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, as such Risk Factors may be updated from time to
time in subsequent reports. The Company does not assume any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
Dhruv Chopra
Head of Investor Relations
Phone: +1-917-767-6722
Email: dchopra@net1.com

Johannesburg
April 4, 2016

Sponsor:
Deutsche Securities (SA) Proprietary Limited

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