A new agreement has been signed between the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Mobile Value Systems that will allow banking customers in the United Arab Emirates to use mobile phones to make secure payments and money transfers to any bank, mobile phone or person-to-person through LUUP services.
The agreement makes National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) the first bank in the region to launch this service. It also marks the first launch of LUUP outside of Europe, where it was one of the first e-money services licensed by the European Commission.
The agreement with NBAD provides the bank with several new service offerings through the LUUP platform for various payments and international money transfers. Bank customers can now transfer money, download mobile content and pay bills through their mobile phone, within seconds.
Funds can be sent in any currency and, as LUUP is an independent payment system, it can be used from any mobile phone regardless of 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%, commented Baher Audah, Mobile Value Systems chairman. We decided to partner with NBAD due to the bank’s forward-looking business focus and large customer base in the UAE.