Norway-based LUUP has signed National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) to its mobile payments system which allows customers to use their handsets to pay for purchases and make fund transfers.
The LUUP system - formerly known as Contopronto - is independent of mobile phone operators and allows consumers to use their mobile phones as an electronic wallet, connected to a credit card, debit card or bank account. Customers can then use the phone to buy downloads and send money to other account holders.
NBAD is the first instituion outside of Europe to sign up to the LUUP system. The bank signed an agreement with Mobile Value Systems (MVS) - which holds the exclusive licence for the LUUP technology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region - for implementation of the service.
Baher Audah, MVS chairman, says the bank can now provide several new service offerings through the LUUP platform. Customers can now transfer money, download mobile content and pay bills through their mobile phone and within seconds.
Khalid Deemas, head of retail banking at NBAD, says: "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."