Net1 Provides Additional Update on SASSA Process
10 Oktober 2008 - 10:03PM
Marketwired
Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS)(JSE: NT1) ("Net1" or
the "Company") today 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.
NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
4th Floor, North Wing,
President Place, Cnr. Jan Smuts Avenue and Bolton Road
Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel: 011-27-11-343-2000 Fax: 011-27-11-880-7080
Contacts: Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. William Espley Investor
Relations (604) 484-8750 or Toll Free: 1-866-412-NET1 (6381)
Website: www.net1ueps.com
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