Net1’s affiliate Bank Frick now permits direct investments in leading crypto-currencies
March 01 2018 - 4:05PM
Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (“Net1” or the “Company”)
(NasdaqGS:UEPS); (JSE:NT1) today announced that its affiliate Bank
Frick & Co. AG (“Bank Frick”), a fully licensed bank based in
Balzers, Liechtenstein, has become the first financial institution
in Liechtenstein to offer the trading of five leading
crypto-currencies and secure safekeeping via offline storage. The
trading takes place within the fully regulated framework of the
Bank’s processes and is aimed at professional market participants
and financial intermediaries.
Bank Frick’s offering enables qualified
participants to invest in the five leading crypto-currencies:
Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP) and
Ether (ETH). Crypto-currencies may be purchased using euros, US
dollars and Swiss francs.
Bank Frick’s offering provides a robust level of
protection against the loss or theft of crypto-assets as it holds
the cryptocurrecies in “cold storage wallets”, which are physically
separated from the internet on a georedundant basis, and therefore
cannot be hacked externally.
The crypto-currency initiatives of the bank
operate under and compliance with strict banking regulations.
Clients are only permitted to invest in crypto-currencies once they
have fulfilled the stringent KYC requirements, including the
checking of the source of funds.
“We are seeing increasing demand for our
crypto-currency services from companies all across Europe,” said
Hubert Büchel, Chief Client Officer of Bank Frick. “Clients
recognize that we can offer reliable support in implementing their
business models using crypto-currencies and blockchain within the
permissible regulatory framework. We aim to place the quality and
service of crypto-banking at par with our traditional banking
services. Financial intermediaries such as asset managers and
fiduciaries, can leverage our offering to differentiate themselves
in the market while adding value for their clients,” he
concluded.
As part of its digital strategy, in September
2017, Bank Frick became the first bank in the CHF area to launch a
crypto-currency basket tracker based on BTC and ETH.
“Bank Frick’s new offering is another milestone
in the implementation of our joint blockchain strategy, in this
case specifically around crypto-currencies,” said Herman Kotzé, CEO
of Net1. “Our pipeline of offerings continues to gain traction and
we look forward to sharing further developments in the coming
months,” he concluded.
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. Through Masterpayment, Net1 provides payment
processing and enables working capital financing in Europe.
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.
Net1 has a primary listing on the NASDAQ and a
secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
About Bank Frick
(www.bankfrick.li)
Bank Frick is a family-run Liechtenstein bank with headquarters
in Balzers. It was founded in 1998 by Kuno Frick Sr (1938–2017),
with the majority now controlled by the Kuno Frick Family
Foundation. Minority shareholder Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc.
(Net1), holds 35 per cent of Bank Frick’s share capital. Net1 is a
financial technology company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in
New York.
Bank Frick focuses on providing products and services for
financial intermediaries such as fiduciaries, asset managers,
payment service providers and fintechs.
Bank Frick develops tailor-made funds for intermediaries and
acts as a custodian bank.
It is the only bank in Liechtenstein with acquiring licences
from Visa and MasterCard.
Bank Frick employs around 90 members of staff and operates a
branch in London, UK.
Investor Relations Contact:
Dhruv ChopraHead of Investor RelationsPhone:
+1-917-767-6722Email: dchopra@net1.com
Media Relations Contact
Bridget von HoldtBusiness Director –
Burson-Marstellar South AfricaPhone: +27-82-610-0650Email:
bridget.vonholdt@bm-africa.com
Bank Frick Contact
Sigvard WohlwendHead of Communication and
MarketingPhone: +423-388-2146Email:
Sigvard.wohlwend@bankfrick.li
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