Dubai, UAE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/04/2012 -- cashU, a leading secure online payment provider, and award-winning Kuwait-based airline Jazeera Airways, today announced a new partnership that enables Jazeera Airways passengers that do not have a bank account or a credit/debit card to securely complete transactions on jazeeraairways.com using cashU’s prepaid cards and services.

cashU’s prepaid cards are available at retailers in all countries served by Jazeera Airways. With the Middle East being the main concentration of the cashU user base and Kuwait being in the top three of this base, the partnership is beneficial to both parties.

“More customers will now be able to book online for their next vacation from the comfort of their home. With cashU, they will definitely have access to a secure, flexible and convenient payment method that enhances their planning and booking experience on jazeerairways.com,” said Jazeera Airways Vice President of Sales Rafik Boghdady.

Jazeera Airways operates a two-class cabin comprising a Business Class and an Economy Class, and serves 19 destinations in the Middle East. In 2011, the airline carried 1.2 million passengers in total across its network that includes high-demand business, religious, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Najaf. Jazeera Airways is an IATA-member airline and operates one of the youngest Airbus A320 fleets across the Middle East and North Africa.

“Airlines are generally prone to last minute abandoned sales. This deal will reduce the chances of this happening because if a customer doesn’t have a bank account or is unable to pay using a debit or credit card, they can use this payment option,” said Martin Waldenstrom, CEO, cashU.

Research conducted by cashU shows that the most popular and convenient way of topping up larger amounts of money for online accounts is through exchange houses such as UAE Exchange. As a result travelers can now top up their accounts with up to USD1,000. This is an added benefit as the user will be charged less on larger top up accounts.

“Both Jazeera Airways and cashU will enjoy extensive exposure through this deal, not only among their existing customers but also potential ones. Having cashU integrated as a payment method will provide users with access to a whole new category, in which they can use their accounts to make safe and secure online transactions. This indicates the importance of having a pre-paid online payment option besides the traditional methods available,” added Waldenstrom.

Part of Jabbar Internet Group, cashU was launched in July, 2002 as the region’s first prepaid online payment gateway. cashU is available in 35 countries around the world and is used on more than 4,500 merchant websites which specialize in offering the services of online gaming, online shopping, dating & matrimony, IT services, FX trading and much more.

About cashU
cashU established in 2002 by Maktoob (now Yahoo) is a Payment Service Provider (PSP) with a focus on Internet payments across the Middle East and North Africa. Today, cashU process 400 million online transaction each month. Headquartered in Dubai, the company serves global and regional online merchants with a complete suite of payment solutions custom built to cater for local culture and the Arabic online buying habits and trends.

The company’s management team is the region’s most experienced online payment experts with a solid background from regional and international banking, credit card processing, alternative payment solutions and online monetization and marketing industries. cashU is built upon, and encapsulates the most sophisticated and up to date fraud prevention and AML 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.

About Jazeera Airways
Established in 2005, Jazeera Airways Group is a Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed company with over 12,000 shareholders. The company has 12 fully-owned Airbus A320s in operation, distributed between its airline business, Jazeera Airways (six aircraft), and its fully-owned leasing business, Sahaab Aircraft Leasing (six aircraft). Sahaab has assets placed with Virgin America, SriLankan Airlines, and Jazeera Airways.

To date, the airline has flown over 8.8 million passengers since commencing operations in October 2005. In 2011, the airline carried 1.2 million passengers across its network that includes today high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Najaf.