CashU, a payment option from Arabians

CashU payment system is promoteda respectable service that is very well-known in Arab world and in a number of Western countries as well as in Russia.

CashU company is a subsidiary of a famous Maktoob group. Maktoob introduced CashU payment service in 2002. As Maktoob explains the idea of this payment processing provider was born as a result of a survey conducted by Maktoob.com, which revealed that only 13% of internet users were willing to use their credit cards online. There was a clear need for an internet payment solution that tackled fraud and security concerns; and also addressed the need for a payment alternative in countries where credit card penetration was extremely low.
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Today there is a great deal of online and offline resellers as well as online businesses partnering with CashU who offer special promotions and discounts for CashU users. These include such sectors as Gaming & MMORPGs, VoIP & IP Telephony, Dating & Matrimony, FX Trading & Finance, Web Hosting, Business & Finance, Books & Magazines, Auction & E-Market, Mobile, Education & Training, Donations, Flowers & Gifts, Lifestyle and Entertainment.

Eminent and intangible partners

Out of media sources teeming on the Internet you can find heaps of information on agreements, partnership and relations established by CashU. Based in Amman, Jordan the company reaches customers in 28 countries around the world which is possible due to these ties.

In May 2007 CashU established a partnership with Ukash, Europe’s leading cash-based online pre-payment company. Under the terms of that partnership Ukash vouchers could now be used to top up CashU accounts, extending the accessibility of CashU in 20 countries across Europe.

At the end of June 2007 CashU entered into the agreement with WebMoney, a leading electronic money and online payment system in Russia and CIS countries. This time the agreement specified that CashU cards would be used to top up WebMoney accounts.

This year in May UAE Exchange becomes payment centre for CashU accounts in UAE. The partnership allowed CashU users to add funds to their accounts from any UAE Exchange branch in the United Arab Emirates.

The situation with Ukash and UAE Exchange is clear. Their deal is effective and it can be ssen from the option that allows CashU account holders to add funds via UAE Exchange Deposit and Ukash vouchers.

As for WebMoney the situation is obscure. On one hand the press release where CashU proclaimed a partnership with the Russian payment processor was posted more than one year ago and if you read the first paragraph you will find this: “In the first stage of this partnership, cashU prepaid cards, which are available in over 20 countries in the Middle East can now be used to top up WebMoney accounts. In the coming months, cashU will allow WebMoney’s user base to top up their cashU accounts, which they can then use to access cashU’s international merchant base.”

Well, this first stage along with coming months seems to be dragged out for an indefinite period of time. Our team decided to check if CashU is available as a top-up option with WebMoney accounts as it was clearly mentioned in the press release that it WILL in the first stage. We did find CashU option to top up WebMoney WMZ purse. Here you can see it.
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But as soon as you click on the option you will reveal that the link directs you only to paysafecard and ukash top-up options. No CashU is there!
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Naturally, an opportunity to add funds via WebMoney to CashU account is similarly not on.

There are also many other partnerships that helped CashU to extend its influence to more sectors including PayByCash and OneCard.

Noteworthy facts

Whois and Aleksa services inform that the registrant of Cashu.com is Maktoob.com Inc. with an address:

62 Kulliyyah Al Islamiyyah Street
Box 830184
Amman, Amman 11183
JO

Aleksa also mentions that Cashu.com was first registered on: 12-Nov-1999, you can check the old version of the site by clicking on the link provided by Aleksa. Besides, Aleksa says that the site speed is rather low with an average load time 5.6 seconds.

Total number of the sites connected to CashU is 278.

The largest flow of visitors on the site comes from Saudi Arabia with 41% of all Internet users coming to the site. Saudi Arabia is followed by Egypt (9.5%), Kuwait (8.8%), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Sudan with 3.9%. Other countries make up less than 3.5% each.

In our next article on CashU we will share our experiences with the practical aspect of this payment processor. We will tell you about the account features and the site peculiarities that we found interesting.