ATTN: News Editor	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, September 12th, 2002
CASHU LAUNCHES HIGHER DENOMINATION ONLINE PAYMENT CARDS Move is attempt to provide more online shopping flexibility   DUBAI: Less than two months since it successfully launched the cashU Cards, Maktoob.com, the most popular online destination in the Arab world, announced yesterday that it was launching higher denomination cashU Cards throughout the Middle East. A top Maktoob.com official explained that the new development was designed to provide more options in online shopping to Internet users who wish to purchase goods of higher value, without having to use their credit cards at all. “Since its launch, the cashU Card system has changed the concept of online shopping and we expect to see it widely used by Internet users in the Arab world,” stated Tamer El-Nasser, System Development Manager of cashU. “The introduction of the new cards has been prompted following feedback from many users who understood the benefits of the system and wish to use it to purchase goods of higher value.” The cashU cards will now be available in denominations of 10, 30, 50, 100 and 300 US dollars, which can be paid in local currency equivalents and can be ordered through the Internet through the cashU Card website (www.cashucard.com). The new denominations will also introduce a whole new family of cashU points – $10 (500 cashU), $30 (1,500 cashU), $50 (2,500 cashU), $100 (5,000 cashU) and $300 (15,000 cashU), Toukan said. Already rapidly growing in popularity among Internet shoppers, the cashU Card system is a unique payment method that allows safe and secure online transactions without the risks associated with credit cards. Shoppers can buy products directly from websites that accept cashU’s. The required number of cashU’s are then deducted from the user’s card balance. For sites not using the cashU Card system, the shopper should submit details of the product, which is purchased by the cashU Card representative on behalf of the customer. “We are exploring all possibilities to make online shopping on other sites as simple and hassle-free as possible,” El-Nasser said. “CashU card users can therefore expect some technological surprises in the coming few months.” Among the first websites endorsing the cashU card systems in their transactions were two top Egypt-based e-commerce portals, Gargoor.com and Toparabic.com. El-Nasser also confirmed an agreement with ekotob.com, an online seller of Arabic books, which has begun accepting cashU cards in its transactions. “Sellers using the cashU card system recognise the unique advantage of receiving Maktoob.com’s highly developed technological support and online marketing of their products among our huge membership of 2.8 million registered users,” he pointed out. The cashU cards were fully achieving their objective of overcoming shoppers’ hesitancy to use their credit cards for online transactions due to concerns over fraud related to credit cards, El-Nasser said. “The good response to the cashU cards in a short span of only two months indicates that Internet users have understood the system and its advantages,” he added. Maktoob.com (www.maktoob.com) has become a landmark development for the Arab world, emphasising the region’s growing importance as a major international IT player. Since its launch four years ago, Maktoob.com has played a crucial role in uniting Arabs worldwide by providing sophisticated and reliable web-based communications and community tools, including the Arab world’s first free bilingual (Arabic / English) Web-based email service. Maktoob.com is the first Arabic / English web-based email solutions provider and leading virtual community for Arabs around the world. Launched in October 1998, Maktoob.com gained instant success among Arabs around the world. It currently boasts of a membership base of more than 2.8 million registered users worldwide. Besides the free email service, the company offers a range of interactive web-based facilities including WAP, SMS, comprehensive news, Arabic music, mobile ringtones, chat, online auction, electronic greeting cards and information services.   For more details, please contact, Edward D’Mello Headline Public Relations Tel: 009714 – 3475006; Fax: 009714 – 3475013 e-mail: edward@headlinepr.com
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