Skrill

Skrill Limited
Private
Industry Online payments
Founded 27 July 2001 (2001-07-27)
Headquarters 25 Canada Square, London, United Kingdom
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 David Sear CEO
Products Payment gateway
Digital wallet
Prepaid card
PSP
Revenue Increase $331 million (2014)[1]
Number of employees
 700+ (2014)
Parent Paysafe Group
Website www.skrill.com

Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) is an e-commerce business that allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet, with a focus on low-cost international money transfers. It is owned and operated by Skrill Limited, a UK-based company registered as a Money Service Business with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and licensed to operate within the European Union.[2][3][4]

History

On 27 July 2001, a company named Moneybookers Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom.[5] In March 2007, Moneybookers was bought by Investcorp for €105 million[6] and as of 9 March 2009, it was put up for sale by its owners for an estimated £365 million.[7]

In February 2010, The Sunday Times ranked Moneybookers as the fastest growing private equity backed firm in the United Kingdom based on profits.[8] In 2011, the company's customer base reached 25 million, including 120,000 merchant accounts,[9] its payment gateway being integrated by a number of global online brands such as Facebook, Skype and eBay.[10][11]

In August 2013, CVC Capital Partners acquired Skrill for €600 million.[12] As of 2014, Skrill has been approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) as the only sanctioned digital wallet for New Jersey internet gambling.[13]

In March 2015, Optimal Payments, the parent company of the Skrill's rival Neteller, announced its official proposal for acquisition of Skrill Group for €1.1 billion. The deal is to be finalized in the third quarter of 2015 according to the parties.[14] In April 2015, Skrill Group announced that it had completed acquisition of Ukash, its UK-based competitor.[15]

In September 2011, Moneybookers announced that they would rebrand their service as Skrill.[16] The rebranding of the product was completed in 2013.[17] Skrill accounts can be held in any of major currencies but once the first transaction is made it is not possible to change the account's currency.[18]

Customers can purchase a Skrill-branded prepaid card, linked to the account, in one of the four currencies: USD, EUR, PLN, and GBP.[19] High-turnover customers are offered premium membership called "Skrill VIP" that includes additional features, such as a security token, multi-currency accounts and the ability to earn loyalty points.[20]

Criticism

The non-profit Better Business Bureau currently has Skrill USA with a "D-" rating as of April 2016, the result of 66 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years. As of August 2016, CardPaymentOptions has rated Skrill with 1.8 out 5 based on numerous customer complaints, where in many instances the company withheld funds from customers and merchants.[21][22][23]

WikiLeaks controversy

In August 2010, Skrill blocked the account operated by WikiLeaks as a donation collection account, citing the organisation's addition to Australian blacklists and American watchlists.[24] This decision came under fire by free speech activists worldwide as complicit with out-of-court pressure applied on WikiLeaks by the government of the United States, as WikiLeaks had not been directly charged with any crime.

References

  1. ↑ "Proposed acquisition by Optimal Payments of Skrill to create a leading global player in online payment and digital wallets services" (PDF). Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Skrill Holdings Limited: Private Company Information". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Skrill - TotallyGaming.com". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Skrill (Moneybookers) - Crunchbase". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Company information for SKRILL LIMITED (04260907) incorporated 27-07-2001". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Investcorp Technology Partners Undertakes Buyout of Moneybookers Limited for EUR105 Million" (Press release). 28 March 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Investcorp to sell Moneybookers". Telegraph.co.uk. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Buyout Track 100" (PDF). The Sunday Times. 7 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "Skrill's customer base has reached 25 mln in 2011". 19 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Stafford, Philip (8 March 2009). "Moneybookers up for sale". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "eBay, Moneybookers & Paymate – Amazon launch FPS". Tamebay. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Williams, Christopher (19 August 2013). "CVC buys PayPal rival Skrill for £500m". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "US Online Poker, New Jersey, and Skrill USA : What's in Store for 2015?". CardsChat. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Neteller Acquires Skrill". 25 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Skrill Group completes Ukash acquisition" (Press release). Finextra. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Skrill is the Future of Moneybookers" (Press release). 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Our company - Skrill". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Online Casinos that Accept Skrill / Moneybookers". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  19. ↑ "Skrill MasterCard". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Skrill VIP". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "Skrill Review". CardPaymentOptions.
  22. ↑ "Skrill Reviews". Trust Pilot.
  23. ↑ "Independent Review of Skrill". Monito.
  24. ↑ Leigh, David; Evans, Rob (14 October 2010). "WikiLeaks says funding has been blocked after government blacklisting". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
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