Thursday, December 04, 2008 Smart, RBAP to provide countryside m-banking solutions
LEADING wireless service provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) formally launched its partnership with the Rural Bankers' Association of the Philippines (RBAP) to provide mobile commerce services to 696 RBAP-member banks all over the Philippines.
Launched at the 51st RBAP Charter Anniversary at the Manila Hotel, the collaboration between Smart and RBAP will utilize the award-winning Smart Money platform to extend fast, secure and accessible mobile-based communication and financial solutions to the growing network of rural banks in the country.
Smart Money is the world's first reloadable electronic wallet card linked to a mobile phone. Through Smart Money, RBAP clients may transmit funds at the speed of a text message.
"We are pleased to collaborate with the RBAP in reaching out to the rural populace. By liberalizing access to Smart's tried and tested mobile commerce innovations and solutions, we are optimistic that our partnership will enable us to reach out to more Filipinos in the countryside and around the world," said Orlando B. Vea, Smart chief wireless advisor.
"The RBAP welcomes the partnership with Smart as it will provide RBAP and our member rural banks with more and better opportunities to enhance our services. Smart's advanced mobile commerce technology, combined with RBAP's strong countryside network, will provide our customers with a fast, secure and efficient way of transmitting funds anytime, anywhere," said Tomas S. Gomez IV, RBAP president.
The Smart-RBAP partnership will enable rural bank depositors and borrowers to perform Smart SIM-based financial transactions, including loan disbursement and payments, with just a few clicks on their Smart mobile phones. The very first engagement for the partnership is to accredit rural banks as Smart Money Centers so they can convert electronic cash in the Smart Money wallet to physical cash and vise versa. Smart and RBAP also agreed to coordinate in developing additional products and services to address the diverse requirements of RBAP member rural banks and their customers.
"We have designed our mobile commerce platform to work closely with financial ecosystems, particularly banks and financial institutions," remarked Reynante S. Banico, head of Smart Services Hub and guest speaker at the RBAP Symposium.
"In sealing this partnership, RBAP member rural banks now join the ranks of our esteemed Smart Money partners, allowing them to reach over 34 million Smart subscribers, connect to the country's more than 7,000 automated teller machines and access more than 100 Smart Wireless Centers and thousands of MasterCard and Smart Money fulfillment partners across the country and all over the world," he added.
"Clients of rural banks who are Smart subscribers can now enjoy the benefits of mobile phone banking services delivered by the combined strengths of Smart and the large rural bank network." said lawyer John V. Owens, chief of party of the RBAP-Mabs program that is supported by USAid.
The Smart-RBAP partnership is envisioned to complement the successful launch and roll out of Smart's Microfinance Program, which aims to provide seamless and efficient mobile commerce solutions for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and the varying needs of clients from the lower income segment of Philippine society.
Last September, Smart Communications Inc. received the 2008 World Business and Development Award given by the International Chamber of Commerce, Prince of Whales International Business Leaders Forum and United Nations Development Programme. Smart is the only Philippine company to have received the award.
Smart's core business and programs, including its MFI Program initiative -- Hapinoy, were cited for changing the way Filipinos communicate and addressing the needs of the bottom of the pyramid (BOP).
"As the country's leading wireless service provider, Smart is continuously looking for touch points in nation building," said Orlando B. Vea. "This partnership with RBAP reinforces our vision of creating communities that are connected and enabled by the robust and pervasive technology of mobile-based solutions," Vea concluded.
The leader in wireless innovations, Smart has been at the forefront in promoting mobile commerce services in the Philippines. Smart Money, the world's first electronic wallet card linked to a mobile phone, won the 2001 3GSM Award for "Most Innovative GSM Wireless Service for Customers." (Press release)
