LEAWOOD, Kan., Nov. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq:EEFT), a leading global electronic payments provider and distributor, announces the completion of the acquisition by its wholly-owned subsidiary, epay New Zealand Limited, of certain assets and retail contracts from ezi-pay Limited ("ezi-pay").  ezi-pay, headquartered in Auckland, is New Zealand's largest full-service provider of gift card issuing, processing and distribution services for leading global and New Zealand-specific brands, as well as a significant distributor of mobile top-up in the country. ezi-pay distributes over 90 branded gift cards and mobile top-up through more than 1,200 large retail outlets in New Zealand. Gift cards are also available through their online website, www.giftstation.co.nz. The acquisition of ezi-pay makes epay New Zealand the largest distributor of prepaid mobile and non-mobile content in New Zealand.

"ezi-pay will nicely complement our growing digital content distribution and core mobile top-up business in New Zealand," stated Roger Smith, Managing Director of epay New Zealand. "The expanded retail footprint of the merged businesses includes all large retail locations in New Zealand, allowing epay to diversify its product offerings, reach additional consumers and provide retailers more revenue generating opportunity."

Euronet expects the acquisition to deliver immediate and long-term value for shareholders, contributing approximately two to three cents to Euronet's annual cash earnings per share in its first full year of operations.

About epay

epay, a Division of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq:EEFT), is a global processor and distributor of electronic payment solutions — enabling service providers to maximize the sales of their products and services. epay delivers innovative and tailored electronic payment, cash collection solutions including POS systems integration, a full settlement and reporting service and full marketing and distribution service support. The epay product portfolio includes prepaid mobile top-up, prepaid debit cards, e-wallets, bill payment, gift cards, digital music and other content, money transfer through its sister company RIA, lottery and transport payment solutions including road tolls and public transport. epay delivers these products through a worldwide network of approximately 304,000 retailer locations and 631,000 points of sale (POS) across a number of markets including Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, UK and the US. Visit www.epayworldwide.com for more information.

About Euronet Worldwide, Inc.

Euronet Worldwide is an industry leader in processing secure electronic financial transactions. The Company offers payment and transaction processing solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. These services include comprehensive ATM, POS and card outsourcing services, card issuing and merchant acquiring services, software solutions, consumer money transfer and bill payment services, and electronic distribution for prepaid mobile phone time and other prepaid products. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

The Euronet Worldwide, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15729

About ezi-pay:

ezi-pay is an issuer, processor and distributor of branded gift cards as well as a distributor of mobile top up, calling cards and prepaid power in New Zealand. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.ezipay.co.nz

Statements contained in this news release that concern Euronet's or its management's intentions, expectations, or predictions of future performance, are forward-looking statements. Euronet's actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including: conditions in world financial markets and general economic conditions; technological developments affecting the market for the Company's products and services; foreign currency exchange fluctuations; the Company's ability to renew existing contracts at profitable rates; changes in fees payable for transactions performed for cards bearing international logos or over switching networks such as card transactions on ATMs; and changes in laws and regulations affecting the Company's business, including immigration laws. These risks and other risks are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10- K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of these filings may be obtained via the SEC's Edgar website or by contacting the Company or the SEC. Euronet does not intend to update these forward-looking statements and undertakes no duty to any person to provide any such update under any circumstances. The Company regularly posts important information to the investor relations section of its website