Dubai, 9th December 2009 - As the implications of the Wage Protection System regulation spread across the UAE, Luup International Ltd, a leading provider of mobile payments solutions launched its Mobile Salary Disbursement solution in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region. It is specifically tailored to assist corporate businesses affected by the regulation meet their ever growing needs when disbursing salaries to their unbanked workforce.

By deploying the mobile payments platform employers can provide unbanked employees with an account accessed through their mobile phone, called a ‘stored value account’, into which salaries can be paid electronically. The employees can conveniently access their salary through ATMs or a network of agents as well as make cross-border remittances.

“By removing the operational costs of cash handling as well as the security risks traditionally associated with paying employees in cash, corporates can reap double benefits from the Luup solution,” outlined Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen, Luup’s CEO. “Luup is able to provide an innovative, turnkey solution for all parties across the value chain,” he added.

The benefits are broad ranging, especially when tackling the challenges of recent regulation in the UAE where the introduction of the Wage Protection System (WPS) requires payment of salaries by any firm in the country to only be made through electronic bank transfers.

In providing such a solution, the salary payments can be streamlined, reducing the costs and risks associated with handling cash, but also bringing convenient 24/7 transactional services to a previously under-served and unbanked workforce.

For end users in the MENA region the Mobile Salary Disbursement solution and the stored value account provide fast, secure and easy access to a suite of other banking services. “Considering the large number of customers that the new WPS has added to the banking network in the UAE and the high level of mobile penetration in the country, the solution has huge potential as a natural transitional product into other banking services from mobile top-up to international remittance,” said Morten Hofstad, Luup’s Head of Business Development, MENA region.

More and more corporate employers are realising the speed and convenience of mobile phone payments in the UAE. “The challenge is to give them low cost investment solution that can be turned around at short time by a solutions provider with proven technology and integration experience. The Luup expertise and track record in the region offer definite advantages to our partner institutions,” added Hofstad.

A trusted mobile payments solutions provider across the globe, Luup has successfully integrated cutting-edge mobile phone applications into varied solutions for different markets and customers. For further information see www.luup.com.

-ENDS-

About Luup International:
Luup is an independent global provider of mobile payments solutions, systems and infrastructure, enabling a wide range of payments to be initiated and managed from a mobile phone. The company specializes in offering payment processing, mobile payment interfaces and virtual mobile phone accounts.

Launched in Norway in 2002, and with operational experience in three European markets, Luup is partnering with banks and financial institutions around the world to create a global mobile payment network. Luup is a privately owned company.

Its service enables financial institutions to offer:
 convenient and secure methods for customer to make bill payments, merchant payments and money transfers while on the go
 virtual accounts from which previously unbanked customers can withdraw their salaries in cash and remit money home to their families
 electronic payroll solution to those companies wishing to reduce costs and increase security while serving their unbanked employees a service that is able to work with any mobile phone operator and on any mobile phone device