A new agreement between the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and Mobile Value Systems (MVS) will allow banking customers in the UAE to use their mobile phones to make secure payments and money transfers to any bank, mobile phone or person-to-person through LUUP services. LUUP is a privately owned Norwegian/European service with operations in Norway, Germany, Poland and the UK that provides an open technology platform for mobile phone-based e-payment transactions.
Attending the signing ceremony today at NBAD’s Abu Dhabi headquarters was Anne Rikter-Svendsen, Norway’s Ambasador to the UAE, Saif Al-Munakas, general manager, domestic banking divison, Khalid Deemas, head of retail banking at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Baher Audah, Chairman of MVS as well as other officials.
With this agreement NBAD becomes the first bank in the region to launch this service. It also marks the first launch of LUUP outside of Europe, where it is one of the first e-money services licensed by the European Commission.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate both NBAD and MVS for extending this innovative technology to the people of the UAE,” said Rikter-Svendsen. “The UAE is the perfect launching pad for LUUP in the region due to the country’s progressive economy and technology savvy population.”
The agreement with NBAD provides the bank - and for the first time in the region - with several new service offerings through the LUUP platform for all kind of convenient payments as well as international money transfers. Bank customer can now transfer money, download mobile content and pay bills through their mobile phone and within seconds. Says Baher Audah, MVS Chairman
“With this new service you can sit in a café in Dubai or Abu Dhabi and send money to friends and family in only a few seconds through the use of SMS and your regular mobile phone. We want to provide our customers with convenience and security, and that is what they will get with the launch of LUUP services in the UAE,” said Deemas. “LUUP users need only send a text message, and within a matter of seconds, rather than days, a secure transaction is completed, at a fraction of the cost of traditional fund transfers. Funds can be sent in any currency, so someone in UAE, for example, can safely send USD, AED, or other currencies to someone in London.”
Mobile Value Systems holds the exclusive license with Contosoft in Switzerland for the LUUP technology in the MENA region and is currently working on partnership models with several countries there.
“LUUP is an independent payment system, meaning it can be used from any mobile phone regardless of mobile carrier and by customers of any bank or credit card. The opportunities for us are huge where we are looking the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market which holds a population of 300 million people and a mobile penetration rate exceeding 25 percent,” said Audih. “We decided to partner with NBAD due to the bank’s forward looking business focus and large customer base in the UAE.”
The mobile payment technology branded LUUP was launched in the European market in 2002 by the EU regulated corporation Contopronto AS. Contopronto received one of the first pan-European E-money licenses to be issued under the European Union E-money Directive, making it fully compliant with money laundering regulations and suspicious activity reporting requirements. The LUUP payment service is currently being utilized by a rapidly increasing number of mobile device users in the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway and Germany. The LUUP technology is developed and maintained by Contosoft SA.
About National Bank of Abu Dhabi:
National Bank of Abu Dhabi is the number one bank in the UAE, with the highest assets, deposits and advances as well as the largest branch and ATM network. Since its establishment by the government in 1968, NBAD is an award winning leader in the UAE and GCC financial services industry. The bank provides its customer base with a wide variety of financial services targeted at all segments of the retail and corporate market in addition to Fund management, Brokerage, Leasing, Property management businesses and the recently established Private Banking subsidiary.
About LUUP:
The mobile payment technology branded LUUP was launched in the European market in 2002 by the EU regulated corporation Contopronto AS. Contopronto received one of the first pan-European E-money licenses to be issued under the European Union E-money Directive, making it fully compliant with money laundering regulations and suspicious activity reporting requirements. The LUUP payment service is currently being utilized by a rapidly increasing number of mobile device users in the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway and Germany. The LUUP technology is developed and maintained by Contosoft SA.
