LUUP goes to China after gaining firm foothold in Middle East

With a mobile penetration of 35.3 percent of the total population and a yearly growth of 17.32 percent, LUUP considers China to be the most important market for m-payments and remittance globally. The decision was announced at a press conference in Beijing today.

According to ResearchAndMarkets, a leading source for international market research and market data, forecast that mobile payment user scale will reach 18.7 million, with an annual growth rate of 1068.75 percent and user penetration rate of 4.74 percent. Moreover, the overall user scale will record 97.5 million in 2008.

The LUUP service enables users to perform cross-border money transfers within seconds using their mobile phones. LUUP and the local bank partners will offer several options for getting funds in and out the system, making it a TRUE cash-to-cash remittance service. LUUP is also offering a strong proposition for remote mobile payments, domestic person-to-person payments and governmental pay-outs. Unlike other initiatives involving Telco's and card companies, the LUUP service can be accessed by ANYONE in the world independent of their mobile service operator or credit card issuer.

"We are strongly pursuing partnership opportunities in China, mainly with the country's leading banks, to extend the LUUP platform as a stand alone service to their customers," said Morten Hofstad
CEO of Mobile Value Services, the exclusive partner for LUUP technology in the MENA region.

"In addition to covering the whole of Europe with our E-money license, we have already made agreements in the United Arab Emirates with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, as well as several other banks in the Middle East, where LUUP services will be marketed to bank account holders who want to use an alternate, more convenient method of transferring money."

LUUP has a strong position in Europe, with successful operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Norway. The company is currently entering into partnerships with banks in the Middle East and key countries in Asia to support remittance in this very important corridor. The recently announced agreement with National Bank of Abu Dhabi shows that key players are supporting the company's global strategy, and many more will follow. LUUP is also partnering with financial institutions in North- and South-America to increase the remittance footprint.

LUUP has been operating in Europe since 2002, and 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. LUUP is the only market proven mobile payment service with a global strategy. The company is currently partnering with leading banks and financial institutions worldwide to build an open and independent global infrastructure to support remittance from the mobile phone.