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LUUP Launches The First Mobile Donation System For Cystic Fibrosis Charity

Published 7th August 2006

First time consumers can donate up to £800 to a charity via their mobile handset...

London, UK - 7th August 2006:
An innovative mobile payment system allowing Cystic Fibrosis charity CFUK to introduce mobile shopping and donation services has been launched today by LUUP, the mobile payment system. As part of an introductory offer, LUUP is to donate £2 to CFUK each time a new user registers for a LUUP account through the CFUK website.

CFUK supporters are able to make donations to the charity by mobile phone or pay for items in the online shop (www.cfuk.it) using their LUUP account. CFUK offers products such as ink cartridges, FAIRTRADE tea and mineral water, plus telephone, broadband and mobile services.

LUUP is the first to offer charities a mobile payment option that allows people to donate up to £800, where Premium SMS (PSMS) has a limit of £6. People who use LUUP to donate money to Cystic Fibrosis will also ensure that the charity receives much more of the proceeds than by using the traditional PSMS methods - for example, on a £5 donation CFUK receives at least 15 percent more of the proceeds than using PSMS.

By using a LUUP account to donate or make purchases for CFUK, consumers not only benefit from the convenience of the process but they can also be more confident in its security; as they are not required to give out their bank/credit account details, helping alleviate consumer concerns about fraud. Money spent will be debited from the customer’s LUUP account, which is fully integrated with the UK banking system, allowing funds to be accessed from credit or debit cards.

With LUUP, CFUK will benefit from the convenience and simplicity of mobile donations. CFUK will be able to receive donation via a simple text message, (such as PAY CYSFIB 10 to the LUUP shortcode) and can benefit greatly from the original generous impulse of the person wishing to donate. Up until now, this method of receiving donations has only been possible by premium SMS, but charities can lose as much as 40% of proceeds by using this method.

Once signed up with a LUUP account, users will also be able to make use of other features including its ability to handle payments between individuals. LUUP users who want to send money to a friend or split a restaurant bill can do either 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 an account. Once the LUUP account has been credited the recipient can save their money in their account, use it for purchases, or transfer it to their bank account.

Rob Perkins, UK Director at LUUP commented, “This initiative with CFUK illustrates how LUUP offers an ideal payment and donation solution for charities who want to increase donations and boost retail revenue. We anticipate that we will develop the number of charity partners considerably over the coming months - we believe there is great scope to help them to increase both the donations they receive and their effectiveness as online merchants.”

“Cystic Fibrosis UK is proud to be part of this new initiative from LUUP. The more ways
we can collect donations from the public the better,” commented Kevin Bruns, CEO, Cystic Fibrosis UK. “Utilising mobile technology in this way provides donors with a simple, safe and effective method of making donations to our charity.”