LUUP - History

History

Luup is a trademark of Swiss company Contosoft. Luup was originally developed by Contopronto, a privately owned Norwegian company with operations in Norway, Germany and the UK. It was established in 2000 with the intention to develop a technologically advanced payment system that would be used with mobile phones. In 2002, following nearly two years of development activities, Contopronto received its e-money small issuer's licence from the Norwegian Department of Finance, which enabled them to launch the first mobile payment system and to issue e-money. The Luup mobile payment solution was first launched in Norway in July 2002 under the Contopronto name.

Luup from then on, was a regulated service and complies with all applicable national and international rules and regulations such as relevant EC Directives regarding issuance of electronic money and payments. Luup was strictly regulated by the financial authorities of each country of operation, including the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway in Norway and the UK FSA. Luup also has a pan-European E-Money license.

In June 2004, Contopronto sold the product assets, i.e. the software solutions, and associated rights and responsibilities to the Swiss company Contosoft. From this point, Contopronto would focus on mobile and online payment activities in Europe, while licensing the necessary software from Contosoft. Contosoft would concentrate on maintaining and developing the mobile payment systems software and licensing the solution to companies and other interested parties throughout the rest of the world.

In April, 2005, following a period of further product development, Contopronto launched its new and improved payment solution in Norway. The new payment solution was branded "Luup". During 2005, Contopronto opened offices in the UK and Germany and started to test the service in these markets as well. The brand "Luup" fully replaced Contopronto at this time.

In 2008 Luup changed its business model to work on a business-to-business basis only. This was done in order to expand globally in a quicker manner than the business-to-consumer model would have allowed the company. Following this strategic change all end-user accounts were closed down over 2008 and 2009 and Luup started in its new model.

Since this change Luup has entered into partnerships with banks and financial institutions in the Middle East and key countries in Asia to support mobile payments and remittance services. In February 2007 Contosoft signed an agreement with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), which allows every NBAD customer to use the Luup Mobile Payment Network. This service was launched in 2008. In 2009 Luup also entered into a partnership with Deutsche Bank's Global Transaction Banking business.