How Can I Withdraw Money Using Cashu Card

Digital wallet company serving Middle East and North Africa

CashU

Type	Private
Industry	Financial Technology
Founder	Jabbar Internet Group
Headquarters	DIFC, Dubai, U.A.E.
Area served	MENA
Key people	Thaer Suleiman (CEO)

CashU is a digital wallet that allows consumers to pay and transfer money online, and issue prepaid virtual and plastic Mastercard. The company was established by Maktoob (currently "Jabbar Internet Group") in July 2002, and it is headquartered in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

CashU is considered the first FinTech company in the Middle East and North Africa, serving nearly 3 million consumers in the region, being accepted by more than 7,000 online stores, and being available at over 300,000 points of sale for the e-wallet funding, which has helped merchants around the globe to grow businesses and to expand smoothly and securely in the MENA region, offering their products and services to millions of buyers residing in this raw region.

CashU is built upon and encapsulates the most sophisticated and up to date fraud prevention and anti-money laundering systems, reducing the risks associated with online payments for both buyers and sellers, which all allows for wider, safer and faster consumer participation in e-commerce.

In addition to the Company's headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the Company has an office in Amman, Jordan, and an office in Cairo, Egypt, through which all CashU operations are managed.

History [edit]

Early history [edit]

The continuous success of Maktoob led to the company's desire to launch new e-businesses, the first of which was in 2002 when CashU was launched as an alternative online payment method for the use of credit cards online,^[1] which was considered the first of its kind in the MENA region.

On August 25, 2009, Yahoo! acquired Maktoob in a deal that exceeded $85 million,^[2] and according to the agreement between the two companies, the deal did not include the rest of Maktoob's products, including CashU, Souq.com, Araby and Tahadi MMO games, which became part of Jabbar Internet Group headed by Maktoob founder, and Tiger Global as the major shareholder.

Souq Group subsidiary (2012-2015) [edit]

In 2012, Naspers Limited took a stake alongside with Jabbar Internet Group and Tiger Global in CashU and Souq.com, and so it was listed under the umbrella of Souq Group, which included Souq.com, Sukar.com and Qexpress (a logistics and shipping company), as well as CashU.

While Souq Group continued to focus on growth in the e-commerce field, CashU has grown in its own vision towards cashless societies and Financial Inclusion, and started to move away from the vision of Souq, especially that the regulations and compliance conditions for electronic payments in general and for e-wallets in particular are still in development stage in the region, so it was important for CashU to leave Souq Group.

Later in 2013, CashU launched a new online payment gateway, PAYFORT.^[3]

The management buyout (2015 – present) [edit]

In December 2015, CashU Management purchased CashU in the first Management Buyout deal in the Middle East,^[4] with consistence with most of the region's central banks' visions of developing a "cashless society".

Regulation [edit]

After the management buyout was completed, CashU started 2016 with a major milestone by migrating its business to Singapore and got approved to operate as Stored Value Facility by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. All CashU's merchants, vendors and consumers were then required to maintain a full KYC (Know Your Customer) record that complies with MAS' rules and regulations, which was a major step towards regulating the core business of CashU. To do so, CashU has invested heavily in its Compliance and Risk platform and technology, introducing the KYC concept for the first time since inception.^[5]

This has caused an immediate loss of business and irritation to the authorities of Saudi Arabia, who didn't feel comfortable sharing its citizen ID's with a non-regulated entity. Accordingly, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency blocked CashU website in Saudi Arabia on January 28, 2016.

On October 1, 2016, CashU partnered with Mastercard and Noor Bank in the United Arab Emirates to launch the first prepaid virtual card in the region, which is approved by the Central Bank of the UAE. This product gave CashU a legal approval to operate in the UAE as a FinTech Company in cooperation with Noor Bank.^[6]

Later on, Bank Albilad in Saudi Arabia announced on October 10, 2016 that it has entered into a strategic partnership with CashU to develop innovative payment products and services in Saudi Arabia. The partnership with Bank Albilad allowed CashU to recommence its operations in Saudi Arabia before the end of 2016, since it had met the requirements of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.^[7]

In October 2017, CashU and Bank Albilad completed the compliance requirements of SAMA and received its approval to operate in KSA. Bank Albilad issued a letter to CashU allowing it to operate in KSA accordingly.

Services [edit]

The e-wallet [edit]

This is the original model that is the umbrella of all the other services. It provides turn-key solutions to all consumers' dreams when it comes to their micro-financial interactions. It is available for both adults and for juniors with different rules and limitations.

Prepaid virtual card [edit]

A prepaid virtual Mastercard that allows consumers to shop at the entire Mastercard merchant network online. It is offered in partnership with Mastercard and reputable issuing banks in the region.

Debit card [edit]

A Mastercard debit card that is connected to the e-wallet balance directly, which allows consumers to shop at the entire Mastercard merchant network and withdraw cash from ATMs.

Peer-to-peer transfer between wallets [edit]

This allows consumers to send and receive credit through their e-wallets, including scheduled and recurring transfers.

Remittance with a cash-out option [edit]

This allows consumers to transfer money from their e-wallets to anyone, even if they don't have an e-wallet, with a cash-out option through Money Express Integration. Consumers can create and manage beneficiary accounts that they frequently use to transfer to.

Savings program [edit]

The Savings Program enables consumers to buy deposit certificates with fixed due dates and specific amounts, which are locked up for a period of time (keeping their money inside their e-wallets), after which they can start earning profit.

Bill presentment [edit]

An aggregated hub for regional and global bill presentment network, which enables the e-wallet holders to pay their bills remotely.

References [edit]

^ "Maktoob.com Unveils New e-Shopping Solution". Arabian Business. July 17, 2002.
^ "Confirmed: Yahoo Acquires Arab Internet Portal Maktoob". TechCrunch. August 25, 2009.
^ "How CashU Spinoff PayFort Is Trying to Improve Cash on Delivery". Wamda. August 14, 2013.
^ "Souq.com Sells CashU". Wamda. December 28, 2015.
^ "CashU Moves Regulated Business to Singapore". Saudi Gazette. February 23, 2016.
^ "CashU, MasterCard and Noor Bank Launch the UAE's First Virtual Prepaid Card for Online Shopping". Mastercard. June 1, 2016.
^ "Bank Albilad, CashU Launch Partnership in Saudi Arabia to Boost Online Payments". The Paypers. October 10, 2016.

External links [edit]

Official Website
CASHU's Management Buyout