Luup, an m-commerce payment solution that allows users to pay, send and receive money via their mobile phone, has launched the first universal mobile payments platform.

The launch is the result of the integration of the Temenos T24 core banking application and Microsoft BizTalk with Luup’s mobile payment services platform.

Luup CEO, Martin Wilson, said:  “We believe that Luup’s new payment platform heralds a major shift in the mobile payments sector.  Through Luup, banks have the opportunity to serve corporate and retail markets using a single universal mobile payments platform.”

“They can now offer mobile payment services in developed and emerging markets anywhere in the world through any mobile device and on any network.  This is an industry first,” he said.

The integration of market leading applications with Luup’s platform enables Luup to provide the most advanced mobile payments managed service available. 

It combines the scale to deal with large transaction volumes with the mission critical standards that banks require to meet regulatory and security requirements.

Wilson said: “Financial institutions require the capabilities, reliability and scalability of a bank-grade platform to capture a significant share of the predicted $426 billion market. As the only independent global provider of mobile payments, we have created an international remittance eco-system for banks and corporates, connecting senders and receivers of funds across the globe.” 

For its solutions, Luup has further developed leading technology from Temenos and Microsoft, including Microsoft BizTalk, to provide several business-enhancing functions.

Mark Gunning, global director, Banking Solutions at Temenos explained: “T24 is the most technically advanced core banking system available, used by hundreds of banks worldwide.  Its integration into Luup’s universal platform for mobile payments means that financial institutions now have the opportunity to get the mission-critical standard they expect - on the mobile channel.”

In addition, Luup’s managed service model enables banks to implement the service easily, at low cost and to scale-up as customers’ demand for mobile payments increases even further.

Karen Cone, general manager of Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft, commented on the announcement: “Mobile payments are set to change the shape of the payments world. Microsoft technology is used throughout the payments value chain - from payments channels like Windows Phone to mission-critical processing workloads.”

“By running its solutions on Microsoft’s SQL Server and BizTalk Server, Luup provides its customers with workflow management and dynamic interfaces that offer enhanced management of payment services,” she said.

Luup operates in developed and emerging markets, and offers financial institutions and corporates the opportunity to reduce costs and introduce new income streams.

Luup’s mobile payment solutions can be viewed at Sibos, Stand C125 / Microsoft Stand.

Luup will also be holding a presentation with Microsoft on changing the dynamics of treasury and payments with cloud-based mobile device integration tomorrow (September 22) at Open Theatre 2. – TradeArabia News Service