MANILA, Philippines - In October 2008, the Polillo group of islands, including Balesin, found its financial channels to the town proper and the mainland cut off.
The only rural bank went bankrupt, while the National Telecommunications Center ceased its telegraphic transfer operations in the area. The nearest bank, located in the mainland, was three hours away by boat.
It was the toughest challenge yet for folks like sisters Hennessa and Jonah Morcilla, who have been living away from home since their college days and relying on telegraphic transfers to receive and send money. It sometimes took months, but it was the only way.
The bank’s closure left them no choice but to hand-carry cash across the Pacific Ocean, traveling three hours by land from Metro Manila to Real, Quezon, three hours by boat to Polillo Island, and another three-hour boat ride to Balesin. On days when the weather is bad, boats don’t ferry passengers at all.
The sisters’ cash transmittal woes ended when Smart Communications Inc., in partnership with Polillo’s leading cooperative, the Rhudarda Multi-Purpose Cooperative, came up with a safe and affordable solution.
Today, Polillo folks need not travel across the Pacific Ocean just to remit cash via the nearest bank on the mainland. All they have to do is simply go to the Rhudarda Smart Money Center located at the Polillo town proper, and once their remittance request has been validated by Rhudarda personnel, they may already send or receive cash in an instant. No more long boat rides. No more security risks. No more complex service charges. This fast and secure mobile-initiated fund transfer is made possible via the award-winning Smart Money platform.
Aside from sending and receiving cash remittances, Rhudard’s Smart Money Center has also enabled Polillo residents to settle bills and make payments — with just a few clicks on a Smart mobile phone. All transactions are done at the speed of a text message.
Hennessa, an office secretary in Parañaque City, and Jonah, a special education instructor in San Pablo, Laguna, find it a breeze to send the monthly allowance to their youngest sister Kathleen, who studies in Polillo.
It used to take five months for the money to reach the remittance center in Polillo and a couple of days more for Kathleen to collect it.
Now through the Rhudarda Smart Money service, “I need not leave the office because Jonah and I can send money via our mobile phones,” says Hennessa. It’s like the sisters never left home.