Wippit Chooses LUUP As Mobile Payment Method For Music And Movie Downloads

Published 14th December 2006

Wippit, a leading music and movie download site, has chosen LUUP as its partner for mobile payments. By integrating the LUUP mobile payment service within the site, Wippit customers will not only benefit from a quick, easy and secure method of paying for their downloads, but also receive £3 as an introductory offer to spend on downloads of their choice, with many individual music tracks available for as little as 29p and albums from £4.99.
LUUP will be integrated with the shopping cart function on Wippit to allow customers to complete each transaction by entering their username and PIN, along with a code sent to their mobile. In the future, customers may be able to buy tracks simply by sending a text message. Money spent will be debited from the customer’s LUUP account which is fully integrated with the UK banking system, allowing funds to be accessed from credit or debit cards.

“LUUP makes the whole payment process much easier for our customers and we feel that it will offer strong competitive advantage, especially with such a good introductory offers that will allow people to download several individual tracks at no cost to themselves,” commented Wippit CEO, Paul Myers. “It’s great for us to be one of the first to have the potential to offer customers a way to make micro payments. Every initiative we undertake and investment we make benefits the legal download market and for price sensitive customers this is a real boon.”

Once signed up with a LUUP account, Wippit customers will also be able to make use of other features including its ability to handle payments between individuals. LUUP users who want to send money to a friend or split a restaurant bill can send money with one SMS to anyone with a mobile phone. If the recipient is not a LUUP user, they will receive an SMS with the amount sent to them and an invitation to sign up for an account. Once the LUUP account has been credited the recipient can save their money in their account, use it for purchases, or transfer it to their bank account.

Christopher Lovold, UK Director at LUUP, commented, “Wippit is a very well established download site with an international presence and a strong customer base. We feel our partnership will make payment easier for their customers and place LUUP in front of a wider audience who are likely to use the service on an ongoing basis. It also underlines the benefits that LUUP can offer to the music industry by making it easier for consumers to buy music legally.”

Web merchant partners such as Wippit benefit from low transaction fees for micropayments (under £5). With LUUP, web merchants typically pay a lower fee than credit / debit cards that often have a relatively high minimum fee. Additionally, the purchase process is more secure for consumers who do not have to give out their card details helping alleviate consumer concerns about fraud.