LEAWOOD, Kan., Sept. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT), a leading global financial technology solutions and payments provider, announced today its epay division has been selected to manage monthly recurring billing between Microsoft and select telecommunications retailers for sales of Games Pass Ultimate and Xbox All Access subscriptions worldwide.

The agreement covers two Xbox offerings for consumers:

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Xbox Game Pass for Console, Xbox Game Pass for PC, Xbox Live Gold, and Microsoft’s recently announced Cloud Gaming that provides consumers access to more than 100 AAA console games streamable to their mobile Android devices in 22 markets for one low monthly price on a recurring monthly subscription basis.  
• In a separate offering, Xbox All Access provides qualifying consumers with their choice of an Xbox One console and accessories plus a recurring monthly subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The All Access subscription is billed to the consumer monthly with the cost of the console bundled with the gaming content. The consumer has no up front costs for the console at the point of purchase.

Prior to today’s announcement, epay processed mobile top-ups and other transactions at telecommunications retailers worldwide and also managed the distribution of Xbox’s digital gaming content. Leveraging these connections and the open accessibility of Euronet’s REV™ Payments Cloud, epay now will provide processing and settlement services between the two parties for sales of Games Pass Ultimate and Xbox All Access in the mobile operator’s  physical and online stores.

This new agreement enables epay to help Microsoft reach an exploding new cloud-based mobile gaming market. With rising smartphone usage and introduction of 5G networks, studies suggest mobile games will generate revenues of US$77.2 billion in 2020 worldwide (growing 13.3% year on year) and that the overall global gaming market including mobile, PC, and consoles will exceed US$200 billion at the end of 2023¹. Xbox is a leading game platform in worldwide market share², and the subscription option in the Xbox All Access offering is popular among consumers who are anticipating the expected release of new Xbox consoles at the end of 2020. Furthermore, Microsoft announced there were more than 10 million Xbox Game Pass members in 41 countries worldwide³ – all prior to delivering its traditional console gaming to 22 global mobile markets with Cloud Gaming.

“Transactional relationships between businesses and customers are evolving rapidly because of market conditions, consumer behaviors, and technology advancements,” said Kevin Caponecchi, Executive VP and CEO, epay, Software and EFT Asia Pacific Division. “For years, we have helped our partners navigate these changes with the best possible service for their customers. With our broad experience, epay is in a unique position to bring our valued partners together and we are eager to support the evolution of Xbox subscription services in the telecommunications retail channel.”

epay uses the open APIs and extensive payments technologies in Euronet’s REN™ Ecosystem to provide retailers and brands with efficient and convenient methods for implementing and offering new services to its consumers. Learn more at www.epayworldwide.com and www.euronetworldwide.com/ren-ecosystem.  

About epay

epay, a division of Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT), is a world-leading full-service provider for payment processing and prepaid solutions that processed 1.5 billion transactions in 2019. The company has built an extensive network of retailers with 703,000 point-of-sale terminals in 54 countries to connect renowned brands with consumers all around the world. The company offers a portfolio of gift cards (prepaid, closed loop and digital media), business incentives and payment solutions (card acceptance, terminals, e-commerce, mobile and Internet of Payment) for omnichannel commerce, and offers its services thanks to its proprietary cash register integration software.

About Euronet Worldwide, Inc.

Euronet Worldwide is an industry leader in processing secure electronic financial transactions. The Company offers payment and transaction processing solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. These services include comprehensive ATM, POS and card outsourcing services, card issuing and merchant acquiring services, software solutions, cash-based and online-initiated consumer-to-consumer and business-to-business money transfer services, and electronic distribution of digital media and prepaid mobile phone time.

Euronet's global payment network is extensive - including 41,648 ATMs, approximately 318,000 EFT POS terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 61 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 703,000 POS terminals at approximately 324,000 retailer locations in 54 countries; and a global money transfer network of approximately 435,000 locations serving 159 countries. With corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 66 worldwide offices, Euronet serves clients in approximately 170 countries. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

1 https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-games-market-numbers-revenues-and-audience-2020-2023/

2 https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/console/worldwide

3 Microsoft Fiscal Year 2020 Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call

Source: Euronet Worldwide, Inc.