Sustainable Business & Governance
Board Insights
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee performs extensive evaluations of the credibility of each Board member and did not exclude a Board candidate based on their gender identity or demographic background.
The Board of Directors have ethnic diversity beyond the specific ethnicities defined in NASDAQ Rule 5606, with representation from within and outside the United States, as well as a diverse background of industry experiences ranging from entrepreneurship, finance, transportation, technology, government, academia, and communications. Our Board includes CEOs, patent owners, MIT engineers, Molecular and Cellular Biologists, PhDs, MBAs, and CPAs, all delivering insights from their unique and diverse backgrounds.
In December 2021 the Board adopted a requirement that candidates of gender and racial or ethnic diversity are sought out and included in its director search processes, commonly known as the “Rooney Rule.”
In February 2023, the Committee adopted a policy that it would consider at least one gender diverse and one racially or ethnically diverse candidate in the initial pool of candidates when selecting director nominees for the Board.
The Board of Directors has decades of experience across a wide array of industries and markets.
The knowledge and skills acquired by our Board of Directors include the formation of ground-breaking software technologies, successful company launches, critical contributions to local non-profit organizations, and business transformations.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Euronet actively promotes an ethical culture, strives for high standards of conduct, and prioritizes transparency, accountability, and responsible business practices. Euronet acknowledges the importance of a strong ethical foundation and has implemented formal measures to document its commitment. The Board of Directors adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. This comprehensive code outlines the principles, values, and expectations for employees, vendors, partners, agents, and stakeholders, covering important areas such as anticorruption, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, fair competition, and compliance with laws and regulations.
Euronet also has an Anti-Bribery Compliance Policy and Insider Trading Policy.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
The design of Euronet’s operational systems plays a vital role in establishing an outstanding legal and regulatory compliance framework in the industry. Our payment networks enable us to connect with billions of customers, incorporate system logic that adheres to the financial regulations of almost all the countries of the world.
Euronet conducts business across a wide range of jurisdictions, where in some cases licenses are mandatory for processing transactions in adherence to distinct anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations.
Through the utilization of our proprietary payment networks and the incorporation of legal and regulatory compliance measures directly into our software, the company has avoided significant fines and penalties imposed by regulatory bodies.
Euronet engages in various public policy matters that have the potential to affect the company and its stakeholders. Our involvement in public policy is driven by the company’s interest, with no consideration given to the personal political preferences of the individual executives. Euronet refrains from utilizing corporate funds to support candidates, political party committees, political action committees, or Super PACs.
Moreover, employees are explicitly forbidden from making political donations on behalf of the organization. Additionally, Euronet does not receive any government funding or financial assistance in the form of grants, reliefs, or any other financial aid. Euronet’s lawyers file mandatory lobbying reports when payments occur. Euronet’s contributions to lobbyists are minimal.
Euronet shares more information about political transparency in the annual Proxy statement.
Tax Strategy
Euronet’s tax strategy revolves around the principle of complying with tax laws and negotiations in all the tax jurisdictions where we conduct business. We implement transfer pricing studies and agreements so that all transactions can demonstrate that we comply with tax regulations. The transfer pricing studies are prepared in collaboration with the assistance of external tax advisors.
The corporate tax team oversees the accuracy and timeliness of tax return filings in each jurisdiction and calculates tax provision for the group and prepares tax disclosures for the corporate financial reports. External third-party auditors examine the tax calculations and tax disclosures. The board of directors conducts an annual review of the tax strategy and performs a risk assessment to identify any significant additional tax risks. The local finance teams are responsible for timely preparation and filing of tax returns. The effective tax rate calculation and tax disclosures are shared in the company’s financial statements. The company is subject to occasional audits by local fiscal authorities. Audits have not resulted in significant fines or penalties.
Euronet is dedicated to upholding the letter of the tax laws and regulations in all the countries where it conducts business. Moreover, it pledges not to engage in any tax arrangements lacking genuine commercial purpose and adheres to the arm’s length principle when conducting transfer pricing. Additionally, Euronet does not exploit secrecy jurisdictions or “tax havens” for the purpose of tax avoidance.
Euronet operates in numerous global markets where complex tax regulations,
such as value-added tax rules, pose international tax compliance risks for the company. While Euronet seeks guidance from legal and tax advisors to ensure adherence to tax and regulatory requirements, many tax jurisdictions in which we operate have intricate and subjective regulations concerning the assessment of inter-company services, cross-border payments among affiliated entities, and the resulting impact on income tax, value added tax (VAT), transfer tax, and shared registration tax.
The foreign subsidiaries of Euronet frequently undergo evaluations of VAT and occasionally undergo thorough tax assessments. If these reviews result in different interpretations, allocations, or valuations of our products and services, the subsidiaries may be obligated to make supplementary tax payments.
Euronet is also susceptible to potential increases in local tax rates or introduction of new taxes by governmental authorities. Moreover, many countries have tax regimes that have not kept pace with technological developments, and accordingly, result in unclear application of the tax laws and legislation. Additionally, governments in various regions and jurisdictions may impose limitations or prohibitions on the use of specific legal structures that were previously employed to minimize tax obligations.