This little Piggy goes to market

US youth payments provider sets out UK shop

Virtual Piggy, a provider of secure payments technology targeting young people, has opened a European headquarters in London and seeks channel partners.

Joe Peden, EMEA general manager at US-based Virtual Piggy, said the technology helps parents who want to control their children's finances.

"Europe in the past few years has grown to one of the largest gaming markets in the world," he pointed out. "Many youth-oriented and entertainment companies have a European headquarters in London. The European online market is simply huge."

Peden claimed the average UK spend online is about 25 per cent of gross household income, with presumably some of that coming from online spending by minors.

"Under-18s have no easy way to make online purchases in games or from websites," he said. "Online may be crushing the high street but merchants need to ensure that shopping online is open to all."

Peden said the vendor had already hired a UK country manager – Rob Stevenson – and that retailers in the US have integrated Virtual Piggy into e-commerce platforms.

It also works with Oracle, eBay's Magento, DemandWare, and osCommerce and supports PayVision, WorldPay and PayPal.