Malaysian firm launches m-commerce system

In record time to market, Malaysian cellular company TM Cellular Sdn. Bhd., an international licensee of the Smart Money mobile commerce system, commercially launched its Mobile Banking and Payment (MBP) Via Secure SMS last. Oct. 16 for its 1.4-million TMTouch subscribers.

This is the first phase of its RM15-million mobile commerce rollout based on the end-to-end mobile commerce platform of Smart Money Holdings Corp. (SMHC), a subsidiary of Philippine wireless services provider Smart Communications, for the Malaysian cellular market.

This developed as SMHC chief executive officer Ian Wilson revealed that they are now in serious negotiations with other Asian telecommunications players to license its mobile commerce system.

A number of European carriers have also shown interest in the platform. SMHC is licensing its integrated mobile commerce system designed to enable secure mobile services ranging from financial and transactional services to the delivery of data.

The system offers multiple levels of security and a versatile infrastructure to interface readily with financial institutions as well as other content providers.

With TM Cellular’s full MBP in place, its TMTouch subscribers will be able to enjoy mobile banking transactions which include account balance inquiries, fund transfers, over-the-air prepaid card reloads, cheque book replenishment request, account statement request, and PIN changing – all through the ubiquitous mobile phone.

The system also enables TMTouch subscribers to pay their utility bills such as Telekom, TMTouch, TNB, JBA and ASTRO via the mobile phone.

Representing the most advanced and secure mobile system available in Malaysia, the service is available to all TMTouch customers who upgrade their present 8k or 16k Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to the SMHC-developed 64K Super SIMs with Turbo Browser technology.

According to TM Cellular chief executive officer Dato’ Dr. Ir. Hj. Mohd Khir Harun, TM Cellular’s MBP launch is just the start of the company’s full mobile commerce implementation.

"We are confident that the use of mobile banking and payment transactions will increase significantly once TMTouch subscribers realize its practicality, security and convenience," he said.

TM Cellular is aiming to have at least one-third of its TMTouch subscribers avail themselves of its mobile commerce services. This is in line with the company’s move to attract and retain new subscribers, particularly higher-end users who need mobile banking transactions while on the move.

The licensing agreement between TM Cellular and SMHC was sealed in mid-August in simple signing ceremonies in Kuala Lumpur and later, in Manila. The event marked SMHC’s first successful export of the Philippine-developed technology to a foreign operator. The strategic partnership covers sourcing of software applications, integration and consultancy services.

SMHC’s mobile commerce implementation for TM Cellular is based on the internationally recognized and successful system deployed for its parent company Smart. About 1.5 million of Smart’s over seven million phone subscribers are mobile commerce users.

"SMHC’s mobile commerce platform, the backbone of TM Cellular’s mobile banking system, has been proven to be reliable and relevant. SMHC is proud to witness TM Cellular’s mobile banking service launch since this is a milestone not only for our partner, but for us at SMHC as well," Wilson said.