PayPoint, the UK’s leading branded payments network, has announced that cash donations to BBC Children in Need can be made through its network of 22,000 retail outlets for the first time this year.

The announcement is part of PayPoint’s Better Local Living campaign that encourages people in Britain to make better use of their local community stores. It is anticipated that by partnering with BBC Children in Need PayPoint will provide another reason for people in Britain to visit a local convenience store.

There are 22,000 PayPoint retail outlets throughout every part of the UK that will accept donations from generous shoppers.

Peter Brooker, Head of Corporate Affairs at PayPoint, said: “Although donations can be made online, on the phone and at banks, post offices and building societies, this initiative doubles the number of places people can donate in cash.

“It also makes it much easier and more convenient for many people who want to donate but, for whatever reason, are unable to do so straight away – and then sometimes forget to do so. This is because PayPoint’s 22,000 outlets have much longer opening hours than all the other places where you can make cash donations and are very often much closer to where you live.

“Hopefully, this will mean that even more money will be raised for BBC Children in Need this year.”

Donations can be made at any PayPoint outlet. There is no charge for making any payments or donations at PayPoints or to BBC Children in Need for the facility. The BBC Children in Need appeal show takes place on the BBC on 20 November.

The PayPoint network is located in thousands of independent retailers as well as the Co-op, Spar, McColls, Costcutter, Sainsburys Local, One Stop and Londis chains throughout the UK, all of which can be identified by their distinctive yellow and purple sign. Anyone looking for their nearest PayPoint outlet can find it at http://www.paypoint.co.uk/locator.aspx.

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Enquiries:
PayPoint Press Office
01707 600356
peterbrooker@paypoint.co.uk

Tom Nutt
The Communication Group
020 7630 1411
paypoint@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk

Notes to Editors
PayPoint is the leading cash and internet payments company in the UK, with operations also in Ireland and Romania. It handles nearly £9 billion
from over 540 million transactions annually for more than 6,000 clients and merchants. The company operates several businesses:

• The PayPoint branded retail network numbers over 22,000 terminals located in local shops (including Co-op, Spar, McColls, Costcutter, Sainsburys Local, One Stop, Londis and thousands of independents) in all parts of the UK and Ireland. Our terminals process gas and electricity meter prepayments, cash bill payments, mobile phone top-ups, transport tickets, BBC TV licences and a wide variety of other payment types for most leading utilities, telecommunications suppliers and many consumer service companies;

• An ATM network which has over 2,300 ‘LINK’ branded machines across the UK, typically in convenience stores;

• PayPoint.net, an internet payment service provider, delivers secure online credit and debit card payments for over 5,000 web merchants, linking into all major UK acquiring banks;

• Pay Store SRL, trading as PayPoint Romania, a mobile top-up operator with over 5,700 outlets equipped with electronic terminals.  A bill payment service has been added to increase the breadth of PayPoint’s offering in Romania, emulating the UK branded retail network; and

• Collect+, a joint venture with Home Delivery Network Limited, provides a parcel collection and drop off service at our retailers.

PayPoint floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004 and the company’s market capitalisation at 13 August 2009 was £362 million.