NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC
NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC ("UEPS-Q")
- Provides Additional Update On SASSA Process
Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. ("Net1" or the "Company") announced that
it has received Bidders Notice number 11 from the South African Social
Security Agency ("SASSA"), advising bidders that the Bid Adjudication
Committee has submitted its report and recommendations in respect of the
Payment Service Tender to the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of SASSA. The
Bid Adjudication Committee has recommended to the Chief Executive Officer
of SASSA that no award be made in respect of the tender and that a fresh
tender process be commenced, as the Bid Evaluation Committee concluded that
the evaluation process followed has been unreliable. According to the
Bidders Notice, the CEO of SASSA has to decide whether he will accept the
recommendations of the Bid Adjudication Committee, or propose a different
course of action.
"The recommendation of the Bid Adjudication Committee is not
unexpected, given the long delays already suffered during the evaluation
process," said Dr. Serge Belamant, Chairman and CEO of Net1. "We await the
CEO of SASSA's final decision, which we expect will occur during the next
few weeks. In the mean time, we will continue to render our high-quality
service in terms of our current service level agreements. Should the tender
process be cancelled, we believe that our current service level agreements
will have to be extended again and we foresee no difficulties in continuing
our activities," he concluded.
About Net1 (
www.net1ueps.com
)
Net1 provides its universal electronic payment system ("UEPS"), as an
alternative payment system for the unbanked and under-banked populations of
developing economies. The company believes that it is the first company
worldwide to implement a system that can enable the estimated four billion
people who generally have limited or no access to a bank account to enter
affordably into electronic transactions with each other, government
agencies, employers, merchants and other financial service providers. To
accomplish this, Net1 has developed and deployed the UEPS. This system uses
secure smart cards that operate in real-time but offline, unlike
traditional payment systems offered by major banking institutions that
require immediate access through a communications network to a centralized
computer. This offline capability means that users of Net1's system can
enter into transactions at any time with other cardholders in even the most
remote areas so long as a portable offline smart card reader is available.
In addition to payments and purchases, Net1's system can be used for
banking, health care management, international money transfers, voting and
identification.
Net1 also focuses on the development and provision of secure
transaction technology, solutions and services. Its core competencies
around secure online transaction processing, cryptography and integrated
circuit card (chip/smart card) technologies are principally applied to
electronic commerce transactions in the telecommunications, banking,
retail, petroleum and utilities market sectors. These technologies form the
cornerstones of the "trusted transactions" environment of Prism, a South
African based subsidiary of the company, and provide the Company with the
building blocks for developing secure end-to-end payment solutions.
Net1 recently acquired 80.1% of BGS Smartcard System AG ("BGS"), an
Austrian company, whose core business consists of developing and
integrating smart card-based offline and online financial transaction
systems. Since 1993, BGS has implemented tailor-made smart card-based
payment solutions, focusing on emerging economies and in cooperation with
banks, enterprises and government authorities. BGS is headquartered in
Vienna, Austria, and has subsidiaries in India and Russia, and a branch
office in the Ukraine. Distributors are located in Asia, Central and South
America, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Middle East.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A discussion of various factors
that could cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in
such forward-looking statements are included in the Company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission including the risk factor entitled
"The South African Social Security Agency, or SASSA, is in the process of
conducting a national tender for the distribution of welfare grants in
which bidders had the opportunity to bid for all of South Africa or on a
province-by-province basis. If we were not to receive contracts to continue
to distribute these grants in each of the provinces where we currently
distribute them, or if we do win these contracts, but the terms are not as
favorable to us as our current contracts, our financial condition, results
of operations and cash flows would be materially and adversely affected",
contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30,
2008. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these
statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
