PLDT, Rocket Internet form JV for mobile payment service

MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Berlin-based Rocket Internet AG has established a global joint venture for mobile-first payment services in emerging markets.

PLDT informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the 50-50 joint venture transaction that combines key existing payment assets from both PLDT and Smart e-Money Inc. as well as Rocket Internet would be closed in the first quarter of the year.

PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the company would contribute the intellectual property, platforms and business operations of its market leading mobile-first payment platform Smart e-Money.

“PLDT continues to build on its strategy to become a driving force in the digital economy, and with Rocket, we have a partner who understands the DNA of the global Internet market more than any other company. We look forward to continuing the long-term success story of Smart Money and optimizing the synergies between e-commerce and innovative mobile-first payment solutions,”  Nazareno said.

Smart e-Money is a pioneer in mobile banking and mobile wallet services handling approximately 3.4 billion euro worth of transactions in 2013. It has over five million active customers and 300,000 trade accounts.

For his part, Rocket Internet founder and chief executive officer Oliver Samwer said Rocket Internet would contribute its participations in Paymill Holding GmbH and Payleven Holding GmbH.

These are two of the leading payment platforms for high growth, small-and-medium-sized e-commerce businesses across Europe.

“This Joint Venture is the next logical step of our valuable partnership with PLDT and we are pleased that our shared vision for the growth opportunities of the global payment market has been implemented in such an expedited fashion,” Samwer said.

“Rocket’s network of companies combined with PLDT’s 14 years of experience in the mobile payment industry will allow us to deliver world-class innovations in mobile money and micro-payments around the world,” he added.

This joint venture builds on the complementary strengths of Rocket Internet and PLDT to drive the massive adoption of online and mobile payment solutions in emerging markets.

The combination of PLDT and Rocket assets creates a leader in mobile payments expertise uniquely positioned to capture the global potential of mobile-first payment services especially in emerging markets.

The PLDT Group made its biggest foreign investment when it spent 333 million euro to acquire a 10-percent stake in Rocket Internet last Aug. 7. The stake of PLDT in Rocket Internet was diluted to 6.6 percent after the German firm went public but the value of the investments has gone up to 419 million euro.

PLDT and Rocket Internet are presently developing a “proof of concept” that integrates Smart Money’s payment platform in selected Rocket e-commerce businesses in the Philippines including Zalora, EasyTaxi, and foodpanda would be launched in the Philippines.

Rocket Internet’s most prominent brands include leading Southeast Asian e-Commerce businesses Zalora and Lazada, as well as fast growing brands with strong positions in their markets such as Dafiti, Linio, Jumia, Namshi, Lamoda, Jabong, Westwing, Home24 and HelloFresh, in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Russia, India and Europe.