In a statement released to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, NETELLER Plc announced that it will officially change its name to NEOVIA Financial Plc. The parent company owns and will retain the brands NETELLER, NETBANX and Net+. NETELLER Plc is currently traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “NLR.” When the name change is officially completed, its new symbol will be “NEO.” The change is subject to an approval by shareholders.
Thursday’s statement explained why the name change of the well-known company occurred: “The name change is expected to provide a broader umbrella for future growth, as well as enhancing the Group’s credibility with both merchant and end user customers, partners and regulators. It also positions the Group well for further progress in its financial services strategy. The Board therefore believes that it is appropriate to change the Company’s name from NETELLER Plc to NEOVIA Financial Plc.”
The name change still must be approved by company shareholders, who are scheduled to convene in an “extraordinary” meeting that will take place on November 11th at 9:30am at the Hilton Isle of Man Hotel. All shareholder proxy forms must be submitted by November 9th, according to a circular. The mailer to shareholders reads, “The NETELLER Group has transformed its business over the last 18 months. It has moved from providing a single service offering based around the NETELLER e-wallet to providing a full suite of payment services to consumers and merchants in a range of geographies and industries.”
NETBANX is the Group’s business solution. It allows companies to accept payments through a variety of mediums from customers located anywhere in the world. Contrastingly, NETELLER is the Group’s consumer arm, facilitating the transfer of payments from customers to businesses. It once had a dominating presence in the United States prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and arguably remains the most well-known of the three entities. Net+ allows its customers to spend money at “point of sale and 2 million ATMs worldwide.”
The word NEOVIA is derived from the words “New Way.” The company explains the rationale behind picking NEOVIA as its future operational identity: “The name change is expected to provide a broader umbrella for future growth, including diversification into financial services offerings, as well as enhancing the Group’s credibility with both merchant and end user customers.” In order for the name change to become official, 75% of NETELLER’s shareholders must approve it.
NETELLER stock closed the day at ₤52.50, up ₤1.25. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between ₤47.00 and ₤82.50. Like many publicly traded firms around the world right now, the company has fallen victim to what many have considered to be a global recession. The company has a £61.46 million market cap and began trading in April of 2004.
It was once one of the major companies involved in transferring money from online poker players to online poker rooms in the United States. After issues surfaced that involved the money of U.S. customers being frozen in NETELLER, it vacated the market. Many of the major online poker sites continue to offer NETELLER as a deposit option for consumers in other parts of the world.
