Instant Payout to Debit Cards Becomes a Reality

Customers of Sky Betting & Gaming and Barclays are the first ever to have money paid out to their debit cards immediately, thanks to the world-first innovation for winnings, Fast Withdrawals™.

The company continues to be a leading name in payments and has worked to fundamentally transform the existing 2-5 day wait that customers experience when withdrawing their winnings, with Fast Withdrawals™ taking just a matter of seconds.

Sky Betting & Gaming have partnered with Vocalink & Barclays, in a collaboration of cutting edge technology and product, with teams based in Harrogate, Leeds, Sheffield and London.

Head of Payments, Andy Sacre, who also led on the introduction of Apple Pay back in August 2016, said, “We’re really pleased to have partnered with two great names in payments to deliver a product that allows customers to access winnings quickly and securely. Slow withdrawal times is a key painpoint for our customers and always ranks highly on industry research on what matters most to customers. It’s a first step in what we expect to be an exciting period ahead for us.”

Paul Stoddart, CEO, Vocalink, a Mastercard company, commented, “Consumers have been making payments in real-time for years, so why shouldn’t they receive credits to their account in real-time too? Our Real-Time Credit solution which powers Fast Withdrawals™, ensures money is returned to consumers securely and instantly. Our trial in the UK has demonstrated incredible success that not only supports increased customer satisfaction, but also serves to be an industry differentiator.”

Andy adds “In today’s fast-paced payments space, we needed to close the gap on how long it took banks to credit winnings to customers. We put the customer first when coming up with the idea and it’s a great step forward in trying to solve what’s been an age old problem for our industry and in the wider FinTech space. The feedback from our customers has already been overwhelmingly positive.”

About Sky Betting & Gaming

Headquartered in Leeds and led by Chief Executive, Richard Flint, Sky Betting & Gaming was formed in 2001 and has since grown to become one of the UK’s leading online bookmakers, with a team of 1300 employees and a strong track record of innovation. With additional offices in Sheffield, London, Rome and Munich the business has expanded internationally into Italy and has recently launched in Germany.

As one of the first bookmakers to recognise the potential of online and then mobile platforms for betting and gaming, Sky Betting & Gaming today operates five major online products - Bet, Vegas, Casino, Poker, and Bingo – as well as leading sports affiliate Oddschecker. Its success means it has risen to be the biggest online player by customer numbers in the UK market.

In 2015 Sky Betting and Gaming became an independent company following the sale of its majority share by its parent company Sky to CVC Capital Partners, one of the world’s leading private equity houses in a deal which valued Sky Betting and Gaming at £800 million. Sky has entered into a long-term brand license agreement and other commercial arrangements with Sky Betting and Gaming in connection with the sale.

About Vocalink

A Mastercard company, Vocalink designs, builds and operates industry-leading bank account-based payment systems. Our technologies power the UK’s real-time payments, settlements and direct debit systems, as well as the UK’s network of over 70,000 ATMs. In 2016, we processed over 90 percent of salaries, more than 70 percent of household bills and almost all state benefits in the UK. In addition, our proven real-time bank account-based payment solutions provide more payment choice to customers in Singapore, Thailand and the United States. For payment news and insight from Vocalink visit CONNECT - https://connect.Vocalink.com/