Foreign central bank execs study Smart Money system

CEBU, Philippines - Central Bank officials of Ecuador and Guatemala were in the Philippines recently to discover the world’s first cash payment card linked to a mobile phone system, a unique product offered by Smart Communications, Inc.

Through the learning exchange grant program from the Alliance For Financial Inclusion (AFI), the two countries Central Bank system will learn from the Philippines’ strategy on the cash payment on mobile phone, widely known here as “Smart Money”.

The officials are also exploring opportunities to work with Smart in other mobile commerce initiatives using the award-winning Smart Money platform.

“We welcome this opportunity to showcase how our pioneering Smart Money platform is being used by Filipinos in various parts of the Philippines,” said Jerwin Santos of Smart Hub, Inc., a subsidiary of Smart which is tasked with providing consulting services to emerging markets around the world.

“We are optimistic that this exposure to the Smart Money ecosystem will pave the way for future opportunities for collaboration with Ecuador and Guatemala,” Santos added.

According to Santiago Vasquez, project manager for mobile payment system, Central Bank of Ecuador, the Philippine emersion trip has confirmed the country’s boasts of a sophisticated mobile commerce ecosystem.

“Having personally experienced the many benefits of Smart Money, we are looking forward to replicate this solution in our respective countries which mirror the economic activities and population profile of the Philippines. We are excited for our people to enjoy the same fast, secure and robust mobile money experience we gained from Smart Money,” Vasquez added.

Smart, which has been actively promoting mobile commerce in the Philippines since 2000, accompanied the central bank officials on an exposure tour of Tribolium Enterprises, the first Smart Money Center in Cabanatuan City and branches of the First Consolidated Cooperative along Tañon Seaboards (FCCT) in various remote areas of Cebu. FCCT is Smart's microfinance institution (MFI) partner and beneficiary of its Island Activations Program—a GSMA Foundation-backed initiative designed in partnership with Seed Finance, to identify and deliver mobile money solutions to remote, underserved islands or municipalities where large concentrations of the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) members are found, and where access to formal financial institutions are limited.

To date, Smart has enabled close to 50 remote communities to perform mobile financial services using Smart Money.

SMART Money is a reloadable payment card that may either be accessed through a Smart mobile phone or a MasterCard powered card, similar to a debit/cash card.

It also enables Smart subscribers to manage their money from their mobile phones wherever they are, whenever they want.