The Bancorp Sells European Prepaid Operations
The Bancorp Inc. has closed the sale of its European prepaid properties to Neptune International Ltd. The purchase price was not disclosed. The news comes amid a strong quarter for the financial holding company, which reported a net income of $8 million for the first quarter of 2017, compared with a $10.9 million net loss for the same period last year.
The Bancorp’s prepaid operations in Europe represented less than 1 percent of the company’s total prepaid revenue, according to The Bancorp’s most recent annual report. Every quarter, expenses for those European operations were some $400,000 higher than were revenues, CEO Damian Kozlowski said during an investor call last week, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.
The Wilmington, Del.-based Bancorp entered Europe in 2012 with the acquisition of Gibraltar-based Transact Network, a 6-year-old prepaid program manager and issuer. The Gibraltar-based e-money issuer “passported” its services throughout a number of EU countries.
“Our focus is on U.S. operations and providing the best service and strength of platform to contribute to mutual growth and success with our partners,” says Jeremy Kuiper, executive vice president and head of payment solutions, The Bancorp. “As we achieve goals within our business plan, we will continue to assess where the market and the service to our customers take us. We believe the sale was the best path forward for all constituencies and is consistent with our overall plan to reduce operating costs, focus on our core platform, and deploy resources with the greatest rate of return.”
This exit from the European prepaid market comes as the bank beefs up its efforts in fintech. Late last year, the company announced plans for a new dedicated fintech innovation and development studio. Dubbed Cube8, the division serves as a space where The Bancorp says it will “explore unconventional—even radical—ideas in financial technologies” with the goal of creating changes or new opportunities to bolster the company’s business strategies, operational efficiency and incremental revenue.
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