Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Ukash in Ukraine

Image representing Ukash as depicted in CrunchBaseImage via CrunchBase

London, Nov. 11, 2009 –- Ukash, which has the largest prepaid-cash issuing estate in the world, has announced an agreement with PrivatBank to offer its fast growing e-cash product to consumers in the Ukraine as it continues to pursue its aim of making online shopping available to everybody, anywhere in the world.



Ukash vouchers, which are available from 300,000 global physical issuing points in 17 countries, provide e-commerce solutions by allowing customers to shop, play and pay online using cash. Ukash will be available via numerous PrivatBank channels in the Ukraine including over the counter in 3,500 bank branches and online using the Privat24 internet and mobile banking service.



The vouchers will also be available from nearly 6,800 ATMs and approximately 1,800 self-service kiosks located in convenient public areas, enabling consumers to purchase Ukash outside of banking hours.



Founded in 1992, PrivatBank has operations in Russia, Georgia, Latvia, Portugal and Cyprus, and is the largest commercial bank in the Ukraine with 23% of the country’s 46m population employing its services. The Ukraine’s extensive expatriate workforce will also be able to benefit from the ability to use Ukash to spend online at both local and international websites.



Mark Chirnside, chief executive officer, Ukash said: “We are pleased to announce that Ukash is now available in the Ukraine, in association with the country’s biggest commercial bank, PrivatBank. Our aim is to achieve a more socially inclusive approach to online shopping by helping the unbanked, as well as alleviating the fear of online fraud felt by many. We are happy to announce that customers in the Ukraine can now shop online safely using cash, and we feel sure that our introduction there will be as successful as our other recent endeavours.”



The alternative payment vouchers will also soon be available from in excess of 55,000 shops in the Ukraine via PrivatBank’s network of point of sale card processing terminals, and Smart Voucher is already working alongside PrivatBank and Skype to facilitate the SkypeCredit program in the Ukraine.



Future plans for Ukash, which can also be obtained online in 12 countries with more to come soon, include continuing its physical expansion into other countries in this region – starting with Russia.



About Ukash ®



Ukash ® is the fastest growing global e-commerce payment solution to enable consumers from anywhere in the world to shop, pay and play online safely using cash. Ukash is a secure payment method developed to protect personal identity and financial information when making online transactions; eliminating the threat of credit and debit card fraud for consumers and repudiations and charge-backs for retailers.



Established in 2001 under the holding company Smart Voucher Ltd, Ukash has grown to more than 300,000 physical points of purchase in 17 countries around the world. In 2008, Ukash ® established a strategic partnership with South African payments giant Blue Label Telecoms – part owned by Microsoft, to develop the brand’s services.
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