Technology group Net1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (Net1) has acquired a further 5 per cent share in Spektral Bank & Co. AG. Following this transaction, Net1 now holds 35 per cent of the capital stock in the Liechtenstein bank. Spektral Bank is intensively involved in the field of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies and is further stepping up its efforts in this dynamic field.
Balzers (LI) –Nasdaq-listed technology group Net1 acquired a further 5 per cent of the capital stock in Spektral Bank from the majority shareholder, the Kuno Frick Family Foundation. As part of its strategic involvement, Net1 acquired 30 per cent of the shares in Spektral Bank from the then sole owner, the Kuno Frick Family Foundation, back in September 2017.
Net1 therefore holds a total of 35 per cent of the share capital in the Liechtenstein bank. The majority shareholder of Spektral Bank remains the Kuno Frick Family Foundation, with a share of 65 per cent.
The acquisition of the 5 per cent stake is independent of Net1’s option to purchase a further 35 per cent of the capital stock in Spektral Bank.
Herman Kotzé: “Interesting blockchain opportunities”
“Our further share purchase from the Kuno Frick Family Foundation emphasises the importance of our involvement with Spektral Bank and the multiple synergies between the two organizations. Spektral Bank is progressive and has developed a range of exciting business models and products in the areas of payment, cryptocurrency trading and blockchain applications, and its pipeline of new products and services is growing. With blockchain, in particular, we see interesting opportunities to make attractive products available for people in countries with a low concentration of banks,” said Net1 CEO Herman Kotzé.
The purchase price for the 5 per cent stake from the Kuno Frick Family Foundation includes a surcharge. This premium will be reinvested in the bank in order to establish and accelerate the expansion of a dedicated team focused on the development and various applications of blockchain technology.
Partner bank for Initial Coin Offerings
Spektral Bank supports and assists a large number of companies with their Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Spektral Bank also develops structured products for promoters in the field of cryptocurrencies.
Spektral Bank was the first bank in the CHF area to offer a cryptocurrency certificate in the summer of 2017. This gives professional investors an easy way to add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios.
“As part of our agreed digital strategy, we are striving to combine the reliability of the classic banking system with the new opportunities offered by digitisation and blockchain technology,” said Spektral Bank CEO Edi Wögerer. “Net1’s additional involvement serves to meaningfully strengthen our digital strategy.”
About Spektral Bank
Spektral Bank 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 Spektral Bank’s share capital. Net1 is a financial technology company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York.
Spektral Bank focuses on providing products and services for financial intermediaries such as fiduciaries, asset managers, payment service providers and fintechs.
Spektral Bank 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.
Spektral Bank employs around 90 members of staff and operates a branch in London, UK.
About Net1
Net1 is a leading provider of alternative payment systems that leverage its Universal Electronic Payment System (UEPS) or utilise 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 China UnionPay in China and other territories across Asia-Pacific, Europe, 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 (EMV = Europay, MasterCard, Visa) is interoperable with global EMV standards that seamlessly enable access to all UEPS functionalities in a traditional EMV environment. In addition to payments, UEPS can be used for banking, health care management, payroll, remittances, voting and identification.
Net1’s mobile technologies include its proprietary mobile payments solution, Mobile Virtual Card (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.
www.net1.com