Rob Marabut, country head and CEO of e-pay Asia Phils., the company’s local counterpart, announced that the multinational firm has selected the Philippines as the first country in Asia where this service will be introduced. "We believe in the huge potential of the market here," he said and explained that pre-paid customers in the country comprise approximately 87 percent of all mobile phone subscribers.
Already, e-pay has committed to invest as much as HK $50 million in the country. When asked whether the recent political and economic uncertainty felt nationwide affected the company‘s expansion plans, Marabut pointed out that use of cellular phones actually increased during the recent uprising at the EDSA shrine. Recent industry estimates revealed that the volume of text messages increased by 10 percent during this period.
He further explained that the decision to introduce e-pay services in the Philippines was based on recent studies, which tracked the continuous growth of the pre-paid market in the country, and found it to be the most promising in the Asian region. "And it seems that this growth will continue, no matter what," he added.
Marabut said negotiations are already being finalized with the country’s top telecommunications companies. Apart from reload in cellular phones, the company also intends to include credits for landlines and Internet service.
"Since e-pay is the ultimate prepaid solution, we can eventually offer everything, from movie tickets to MTR passes, from raffle coupons to tollway tokens," he added.