A lot of people used Moneybookers in the past. And now they are in a weird position where they can’t find clear information and straightforward answers about it. So, let’s start by defining what MoneyBookers is:
Moneybookers is the old brand of what we currently know as Skrill. Moneybookers was incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2001 and in 2011 it was rebranded as Skrill, which is considered the European alternative to PayPal.
Moneybookers was founded in 2001 by Daniel Klein and Benjamin Kullmann, as an internet focused payment service. It was the first business to get an electronic money license. The company was established during the race to develop the first digital wallet; a race that was eventually win by PayPal. Even though it did not won the race, the payment gateway saw amazing growth. In February 2010 Sunday Times ranked Moneybookers as the fastest growing private equity backed firm in the United Kingdom. By 2011 Moneybookers reached a 25 million customer base which included 120.000 merchant accounts. This amazing growth was fueled by integration with a number of well-known online brands such as Facebook, Skype and also by focusing their marketing and adoption in the online gambling industry.
Why did Moneybookers change to Skrill?
If you used, heard or knew about Moneybookers in the past, but nothing rings a bell about Skrill, then you are certainly wondering yourself why did they make this change. Why did they change from Moneybookers to Skrill?
Because it sounds better. In the same way people ‘Google’ something or ‘Skype’ their friends, they can ‘Skrill’ their friends and family money. And they will use Skrill to pay whenever they shop online.
This is what Martin Ott, Co-CEO of Skrill Holdings at that time said. He appears to suggest that the new name could become a verb which might be easier to use in day to day conversations.
Even though the new replacement word for Moneytbookers might not sound familiar or well known, if we look deeper, we will find some interesting facts about it. The word skrill (short fro skrilla) is already a commonly used slang word for money or “dough”, according to the infamous Urban Dictionary.
Moneybookers login:
Can you still login in the old Moneybookers? Is the old interface still functional?
The old Moneybookers login page is not accessible anymore. The transition process started in September 2011, rolled out in incremental stages and ended by 2013.
The transition from Moneybookers to Skrill
The Moneybookers brand name, domain name, logo and the website design were all changed. The transition was seamless for merchants and shoppers without any extra steps or requirements from their part. In the last stages of the transition the company placed both the Skrill logo alongside the old Moneybookers logo in both its consumer and merchant products. The company recommended that online sellers should update the logo on their checkout pages, but this was the seller’s responsibility, so you might find some traces of the old logo on very old checkout pages that were not updated.
What should you do if you have to pay with Moneybookers the checkout?
Use Skrill instead. It should work!
Moneybookers and gambling
The online gambling industry has shown a significant increase in the past 20 years, and with it’s growth it also boosted the online payment systems. Moneybookers was known for being the most used money transfer service in the online casino industry, and it was considered fast and reliable. And it had another major reason for being very attractive: users could deposit money, but also withdraw. This is one of the reasons the payment system became popular so fast. According to this article Rhodes-Kropf, Matthew & Knoop, Carin. (2011). Investcorp and the Moneybookers Bid, 100% of Moneybookers revenues came from transactions related to the online gambling sites. By 2007 revenues from transactions related to online gambling dropped to 70% out of the total.
Moneybookers changed owners
The ownership of Moneybookers / Skrill changed a few times over the years. The first time it changed hands was in 2007 the company was purchased by Investcorp Technology Partners. Then again, in 2015 Skrill was acquired by what would become to be known as the Paysafe Group for €1.2 billion. The group briefly listed on the London Stock Exchange before eventually being sold to a consortium of private equity investors in 2017. Skrill is currently led by Lorenzo Pellegrino, who is supported by Paysafe Group CEO, Joel Leonoff. The Paysafe Group has a wealth of experience in this field, including Danny Chazonoff as Chief Operating Officer, Elliott Wiseman as Chief Compliance Officer, and John Arnold as Chief Technology Officer.
Skrill head office is currently in:
Skrill Limited
25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf
London E14 5LQ
United Kingdom
About the Author
This article has been written by Remus Zoica, with the goal in mind to help any beginners understand the most important things about Moneybookers. Remus Zoica has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from University of Oradea and has been using online payment systems for more than 15 years. He worked with financial related companies and products, and over time he noticed that there is a lot of confusion about Moneybookers. And even up to today people are not sure if it’s still a thing or not. This guide was born from seeing the lack of information and resources available to those wanting to know more about Moneybookers.