MAKTOOB.COM ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH IN ONLINE SHOPPING
Risk-Free Online Transaction Solution Launched
Dubai: In what is seen as an unprecedented development in the
region’s online shopping world, Maktoob.com, the largest and most
popular Arab web destination in the world, yesterday announced the
launch of an innovative payment system that guarantees safe and
secure online transactions.
Now available throughout the Middle East, the cashU Card has been
designed to eliminate the risks associated with credit card fraud
when transacting online on any website in the world. The cards are
currently being sold in three denominations – US$ 10 (500 cashU),
US$ 20 (1000 cashU) and US$ 30 (1500 cashU) or in local currency
equivalent – and can be ordered through the cashU website (www.cashucard.com).
The cards are then delivered at the buyer’s doorstep in less than
24 hours.
“The Middle East, in particular, has witnessed a slow
development in the online shopping business since concerns over
credit card fraud continue to deter shoppers,” explained Samih
Toukan, CEO of Maktoob.com (www.maktoob.com). “The cashU Card
system has been designed to address the needs of Internet shoppers
and help the region move forward with the rest of the world in
employing innovating Internet trends.”
Toukan pointed to latest statistics by Yahoo!/AC Nielsen Internet
Confidence Index and several independent agencies which show that
a large percentage of users, both regionally and worldwide, are
hesitant to use their credit cards for online transactions due to
concerns over fraud. It is precisely these concerns that the cashU
card successfully addresses, he added.
Usage of the cashU card opens up a world of unheard-of privileges
for buyers and sellers alike. Shoppers can buy products directly
from websites that accept cashU’s. The required number of cashU’s
is then accordingly deducted from the user’s card balance. For
sites not using the cashU Card system, the customer should submit
details of the product, which is bought by the cashU customer
representative on behalf of the customer. This value-added service
is free to the customer.
“The cashU Card has been launched after examining all aspects
of online shopping and we are confident that it will become a
global phenomenon,” Toukan noted. “The membership of the
cashU cards is free, unlike credit cards where the user has to pay
an annual fee. Also, the ease of use, speed and simplicity of
transactions in the cashU Card system will surely appeal to the
large number of Internet users who seek products from this region.”
To guarantee even safer transactions, each cashU card expires six
months after the date of first usage. Working on the same
principle as prepaid mobile cards, each cashU card has a unique
numbering system whose details are fed when the user purchases a
product or service.
At the same time, sellers have the unique advantage of using the
cashU card system to accept transactions on their own websites,
besides obtaining Maktoob.com’s technological support and online
marketing of their products among the website’s registered
members, who number more than 2.45 million.
“I am confident that the business community in this region will
see the advantages of being part of this exciting development and
use the system to reinforce their own existing e-commerce
platforms in other markets,” Toukan pointed out. “The
interest from our present network of sellers and merchants has
been quite encouraging in this connection.”
Maktoob.com (www.maktoob.com) has become a landmark development
for the Arab world, emphasising the region’s growing importance as
a key 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 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 2.45 million registered users
worldwide.
Besides the free email service, the company offers a range of
interactive web-based facilities including Voice Mail, WAP, a
comprehensive business directory, Arabic music, 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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