International payment service, Ukash, has
announced it will be offering cash vouchers in Spain, which is becoming one of
the hottest European markets in the online gambling sector. Having signed an
agreement with the telecommunications firm, Telefonica, Ukash will will soon be
available at 70,000 telephone kiosks equipped to accept bills and coins for
issuing emails/SMS text messages to customers who can then use the funds for
online goods and services.
Having upgraded
their kiosks to offer point of sale services back in
2004, Telefonica has been seeking out new services and
features, such as Ukash, which many Spaniards do not
typically have access to. Considering the fact that
Telefonica's kiosks have penetrated into rural areas of
Spain as well as an extremely high mobile penetration
percentage, getting the word out about Ukash is all it
will take to get more people in Spain using the service.
One way in which
Ukash plans to do this is via an advertising campaign
specifically in regards to the social networking
website, Habbo, which has agreed to accept
€5 and
€10 Ukash vouchers
made at Telefonica kiosks. And of course, the other way
to drive business is to get the word out to the online
gambling community in Spain. Ukash derives a large
portion of its business from online gamblers (non U.S.
gamblers that is), and as mentioned, traffic at online
casinos and betting sites accepting wagers from Spanish
citizens is nothing to scoff at.
Ukash, which is the
trading name for the London-based Smart Voucher Ltd. is
regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK.
They have been in business since 2001, and beside the
new addition of Spain, offers its services in the UK,
Ireland and Germany (with more countries to come very
soon). To use the service, customers simply deposit
money at an approved kiosk or store accepting PayPoint,
payzone or e-pay, and use the 19-digit voucher to redeem
the funds for online purchases at destinations accepting
Ukash. Kiosks like Telefonica, are capable of sending
emails with SMS text messages, so that mobile users can
access funds without needing a paper voucher whatsoever.
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