UK: Scramble Starts For Pay-By-Mobile Business

LUUP, the first payment system specifically for mobiles, launches today in both the UK and Germany. LUUP (called LUUPAY in Germany) allows consumers to use their mobile phone like a wallet to shop with retailers or send and receive money on a person-to-person basis - with cash, debit/credit card and bank account functions built-in. With consumers spending in excess of £700 million during 2005 in the UK and German consumers spending an average of €4.50 each month* on mobile downloads, the service offers merchants an innovative route into a lucrative market with great service options for their customers.

Unlike other mobile payment solutions, LUUP is designed specifically for mobile phone use and is fully independent of mobile phone operators. LUUP accounts are available to anyone over the age of 14 and are created instantly by SMS with full registration completed through an easy sign-up process on the LUUP website - www.luup.com. LUUP is fully integrated with the UK and German banking systems allowing funds to be accessed from credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts.

Consumers benefit from simplicity and convenience

One of the major benefits of LUUP is its ability to handle payments between individuals. LUUP users who want to transfer money to a friend or split a restaurant bill can send money with one SMS to anyone with a mobile phone. If the recipient is not a LUUP user, they will receive an SMS with the amount sent to them and an invitation to sign up for a LUUP wallet. Once the LUUP wallet has been credited the recipient can save their money in their account, use it for purchases at LUUP merchants, or transfer it to their bank account.

Merchant partners benefit from low transaction fees

Mobile content merchant partners benefit from low transaction fees for higher revenues and increased margins. With LUUP, merchants typically pay under 10% transaction fees compared to the Premium SMS operator fees which are normally in excess of 25%. Additionally, the purchase process is transparent to consumers who can view all LUUP account activity online in real time helping alleviate consumer concerns about unfair charges.

Currently, UK merchants accepting LUUP as a payment method offer a variety of products such as ringtones from INTOmobi, Web2Txt and RealMusicTones, games from Elite and PocketPlay, and international calling cards from Swiftcall. Many of these merchants offer a discount over alternative payment methods, such as realtones for as little as £1.

Jeff Lamont, Chief Marketing Officer at LUUP, commented, "We are very excited to unveil the LUUP payment solution in two markets where consumers are hungry for ways to use their mobile phones in exciting and innovative ways. We are becoming the preferred partner of merchants looking for innovative payment solutions, not least because we allow them to offer flexible pricing, strong margins, and full visibility of payments. We're very confident that LUUP will soon be the mobile payment method of choice."

Chris Michael, MD of INTOmobi added: "We wanted to replace Premium SMS with a new payment method and LUUP offered the ideal alternative; no change to the customer experience, yet fees are so much less than Premium SMS. Now we can offer ringtones at a discount to competitors because of the money we save with LUUP."

Security has been one of the key considerations in the design of LUUP for both merchant partners and users. LUUP uses 128-bit SSL encrypting, plus IP and user password-based client authentication to protect personal data. Online purchases and high value person-to-person payments are confirmed using a PIN code. Personal information, including credit card details, are not made visible to the merchants.

About LUUP

LUUP is a mobile payment solution first launched in Norway under the Contopronto name in July 2002. By May 2006, more than 10 thousand customers held LUUP accounts each in the UK, Germany, and Norway. In Germany, LUUP operates under the company name ‘LUUPAY’.

LUUP is a financially regulated institution with 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 in all countries of operation.