Smart, BDO team up for Tap2Pay

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless leader Smart Communications has teamed up with top Philippine bank Banco de Oro and Worldbex Services International’s World Bazaar Festival to help subscribers share their blessings this Christmas as it introduces Tap2Pay.

Similar to Tap Share which Smart launched in October 2011, Tap2Pay uses Near Field Communications (NFC), a technology which allows contactless data exchange between two devices in close proximity to each other.

Nokia C7 owners with Smart postpaid subscriptions will be given free Smart Money accounts with a credit amount of P50. They can then use Tap2Pay to gain entrance to the Philippines’ longest-running charity event which will be held from Dec. 10-18, 2011 at the World Trade Center in Manila.

All they have to do is use their Nokia C7 handsets to tap on specially-marked posters located at the bazaar entrance to avail of their entrance ticket to the bazaar.

“Tap2Pay is the first mobile NFC service in the Philippines that lets you pay for products or services. In this case, you can help those in need without having to physically send goods or monetary donations-one tap , and you’ve already made a difference in someone’s life,” Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea said.

Smart is the first in the Philippines to utilize NFC technology through the use of smartphones.Smart will also be partnering with more merchants and with more NFC-enabled handsets to further expand its Tap2Pay services.

Before Nokia C7 owners can use Tap2Pay, however, they must first update their phone software to activate the NFC feature. This can be done by going to the phone’s update menu or by connecting the phone to a computer using Nokia PC Suite (standard data rates apply).

Similarly, C7 users can also visit the nearest Nokia Care Center to have their phone software updated for free. Tap2Pay only works with NFC-enabled phones.

NFC technology is predicted to be a major player in mobile transactions within the next few years. It is already being used in many Asian countries and is expected to replace existing cashless payment systems.

Earlier this year, Google – the world’s largest Internet company and owner of the Android smartphone operating system — announced it will be actively pushing NFC technology.