MANILA, Philippines - Smart eMoney Inc. (SMI), the financial services subsidiary of Smart Communications Inc., and Hybrid PayTech Asia Inc. have collaborated on the deployment of a pioneering mobile payment ecosystem platform to enable enterprise and retail business in the Philippines.
Under a recently signed agreement, SMI will use the HybridVIRTUO Ecosystem Platform for mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) rollout which includes a unique host of solutions for easy integration with other existing payment systems.
The scalable Hybrid platform will enable SMI to deploy a full suite of compliant mobile payment solutions for businesses. It includes Hybrid’s HybridMPOS APPs, a mobile application built on the most popular operating systems for wireless devices such as Android, IOS, BB, and Win6,7,8.
Hybrid’s platform which allows for multi-device interoperability using Bluetooth or audio-jack payment acceptance units will offer clients of SMI the ability to acquire mPOS MasterCard credit card transactions, allowing processing and acceptance of card payments conveniently.
Plans are underway for SMI to deliver online debit using Personal Identification Number (PIN) system with existing Philippine automated teller machine (ATM) cards for smartphones, tablets and mobile enterprise devices.
This mPOS platform operates on all mobile platforms: IOS, Windows, Android, BlackBerry, and all major and most local mobile devices brands.
The system is also compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS), the global security standard that helps prevent card and data fraud by evaluating payment account data security and assessing an organization’s network architecture, software design, security policies, procedures and protective practices.
“This engagement with SMI is the first in the Philippines to showcase complete live mPOS transactions. We are excited to work with SMI to enable services and to expand the product line in the near future. Smart, through SMI, represents a strong opportunity for Hybrid as we launch in the Philippines and prepare for expansion within the country and in other Asia countries. Financial institutions and telcos are aggressively pursuing deployment of mobile technology to deliver safe, secure, and easy-to-use mPOS systems that accept different cards of cards,†said Gary Repchuk, director at Hybrid PayTech Asia.
“We look forward to rolling out this platform and building more offerings for our clients, including Smart and PLDT subscribers. This will definitely help spur more mobile payment transactions by building an ecosystem of enabled merchants and empowered card holders who will now have more services available for their needs,†said Benjie Fernandez, managing director at SMI.
At a recent Smart fundraising event at the Mall of Asia Arena for Filipinos affected by Typhoon Yolanda, SMI utilized the new mPOS devices to accept donations from credit cards.
Hybrid’s solution enables SMI merchants to process MasterCard and in the near future other credit cards and Pin Debit/ATM transactions, using their own smartphones or tablets. The event provided an opportunity to pilot-run the solution to the public.