cashU and Zain partner for online shoppers

Press release

Published June 6th, 2012 - 06:03 GMT

cashU

cashU, a leading secure online payment provider has partnered with Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, to offer Zain customers a quick and secure method to shop online without the hassle of credit cards. Through this partnership Zain customers in Kuwait can easily purchase cashU refill coupons through the newly launched iCard service, a service targeting Zain customers looking for a quick and secure method to shop online. The iCard service offers a new exclusive mobile payment service that provides customers with the safest and easiest way to get cashU prepaid cards without the use of a credit card or K-Net (K-Net is a national company providing electronic banking services to all the banks in Kuwait).

The iCard services enables consumers to shop online with cashU cards on websites ranging from entertainment (Al-Jazeera Sports Channel subscription renewal), travel and gaming (FarmVille and Playstation Network cards) to communication (Skype) and social-networking (Facebook). Using cashU prepaid cards, customers can also purchase iTunes enabling safe and efficient music downloads.

“cashU is the only fully integrated online payment service in the Middle East and as such we are always looking for strategic partnerships with telecommunications service providers to add value to our customer bases,” said Martin Waldenstrom, CEO, cashU. “In this case, partnering with Zain with a service that eliminates online security threats and provides our customers access to products and services with the utmost convenience is a winning ticket!”

Payments require a card voucher which is ordered by SMS and the payment for the voucher is done via the user’s mobile account balance. After sending through a text, customers receive a message asking them to choose the cashU card option. Once this is done, the customer receives a voucher number enabling them to shop online.

In 2011, 54 percent of the total number of cashU transactions were from online gaming, with 34 percent of cashU online gamers being under the age of 18, and don’t have access to credit cards. Innovative services such as iCard target this age group and other consumers who shy away from using their credit cards online fearing security issues.

Background Information

cashU

CASHU is a safe and secure online payment method that was established in 2002 by Maktoob.com. It is considered the first and the largest in the MENA region, serving nearly 2.3 million consumers with accessible and easy solutions to pay online.

CASHU is available at over 75,000 of credible and approachable vendors spread across every country and city within the MENA region, CASHU has made it easy to consumers to fund their CASHU accounts and shop online from merchants who accept CASHU as a payment method.

Company Profile

Zain

Zain is the pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East. We began life in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator, and since the initiation of our expansion strategy in 2003, we have expanded rapidly. Today, we are a leading mobile voice and data services operator with a commercial footprint in 8 Middle Eastern and Africa countries with a workforce of over 6,000 providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 50 million active individual and business customers as of March 31, 2019.