This article appeared in Manila Times today.
Making money mobile with Smart
BIZZ FIZZ
BY RENE MARTEL
GETTING mobility with your money—that’s the vision of telecom leader Smart through its newly announced “Mobile money” which will be made accessible to all Filipinos, especially those belonging to the lower economic class.
Smart’s Chief Wireless Advisor Orlando Vea shared the company’s vision to “democratize mobile money” like it did the now ubiquitous mobile phone during the Mobile Money Transfer Asia Pacific Conference held in Manila.
“Mobile money matters most to the poor. For those who have been excluded from conventional financial and banking services, mobile money opens the door to a new and better world,” he said.
“At Limasawa Island for example, what really struck us was how people’s faces lit up when they realized they would not have to take a long and expensive boat ride to the next island just to receive or send cash,” he added, citing one of the remote islands in the country now being reached by Smart’s mobile money services through its Islands Activations Program (IAP).
Smart, through its IAP, worked with microfinance institutions and community cooperatives to bring mobile payments and transfer services to 48 remote islands, whose combined population of nearly two million people has little or no access to banking services.
Financial services such as mobile payments and sending and receiving of cash in these underserved or unbanked territories are now possible through Smart Money – the world’s first reloadable payment card linked to a mobile phone.
Just last year, Smart made it possible for all Smart mobile phone subscriptions including those that do not have activated Smart Money accounts to receive funds, converting its 45 million subscriptions into virtual wallets.
“This is not simply a mobile transfer or payment model,” said Vea. “We have grafted the Smart mobile money system into microfinance and microbusiness as part of a holistic development approach for remote communities. We are turning otherwise excluded communities into vibrant microeconomies.”
Vea also shared updates on the company’s export of the mobile money technology to Brazil and revealed plans to replicate the system in other countries in Eurasia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East through a joint venture with MasterCard.
He made it clear, though, that Smart does not intend to replace the banks’ and financial institutions’ services with its mobile money solutions. Instead, Smart prefers to be their technology partner to build a more efficient and accessible financial ecosystem.
“We see ourselves as a provider of enabling platforms and services. This positioning has made our business objectives more transparent. This has enabled us to align our revenue models with those of our partners and do away with overlaps and conflicts in the value chain. As a result, we have been able to strike deals with more partners,” said Vea.
Smart has established mobile banking relations with 16 banking partners including the country’s industry leaders like Banco De Oro and Bank of the Philippine Islands. Its partnership with MasterCard allows Smart money account holders to pay at over 35 million merchants worldwide and withdraw cash from over 9,000 ATMs in the country. OFWs can also send international remittances to Smart Money through over 95,000 international money transfer locations worldwide.
Its extensive network of over 4,000 “money-in-money-out” centers for sending and receiving funds also include partner pawnshop chains like Cebuana Lhuillier and Palawan Pawnshop and Hapinoy retail stores.
As the song says, money makes the world go round. And Smart is happy to be dancing to that tune!
bizzfizz@yahoo.com
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CARLOS ANI - SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
Email: carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline: +63495010127 Cellphone: +639152919580
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com http://phildevfinance.wordpress.com
CONSULTING - http://www.carlosani.com
My Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
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