Smart Communications started a new text-based remittance service in Philippines, tapping a huge market – 8M Filipinos living abroad sent $7.6B back home, mainly through banks and money-transfer companies like Western Union. The average annual income in Philippines is less than $1000 and difficult to find anyone who actually talks on his or her phone. Hence the popularity of text messaging services.
How does the service work?
A Filipino who is overseas will file his or her remittance in any of Smart's remittance partners, currently found in 17 countries: Travelex Money Transfer, Forex Hong Kong, Dax, CBN Grupo, New York Bay Remittance, Banco de Oro Universal Bank or Calsons.
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The remittance partner then sends a text message to the recipient in the Philippines, informing him or her of the transfer. The transfer will automatically be reflected in the Smart Money electronic wallet account embedded in the recipient's Smart mobile account. Each of the 16 million Smart subscribers in the country is entitled to a Smart Money account.Smart Money, which was introduced in 1998, is the linchpin of this service, as it allows Smart subscribers to make financial transactions through their cellphones.
If the recipient has a Smart Money card, which also functions as a cash-machine card and a debit card, the wired money can immediately be drawn from cash machines across the country. If the recipient does not have the card, he or she can pick up the money at any Smart office nationwide or at any of Smart's partners: McDonald's, SM malls, Tambunting pawn shops, SeaOil gas stations and, soon, 7-Eleven convenience stores.
What about the cost of remittance?
The cost of remittance varies from country to country. But in Hong Kong, Smart's remittance partners will charge about $2. The partners in the Philippines will also charge 1 peso for every 100 pesos sent, and Smart will charge 2.50 pesos for the text notification. So if Aumentado sends 10,000 pesos, she will spend around 209 pesos, or $3.75, for the transaction, compared with the $5 that she paid each time she sent money through her bank. The system only works one way, though: into the Philippines.
Concerns regarding security and fraud:
Ramon Isberto, Smart's head of corporate communications, said the identities of both the sending and receiving parties were verified at both ends of the remittance process. And even if the recipient's phone was stolen, the thief would not be able to get the cash that was sent because he would be asked for a personal identification number for the Smart account and for identification that matches the name of the recipient.
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The registration and verification process at both ends, Isberto added, also discourages the use of the service for money laundering, and users can send only a maximum of 50,000 pesos a day.
Related:
: Card Fraud A Problem At Filipino Remittance Sites
hi i would like to know how to activate this it's kind of interesting maybe someone can e-mail me back for some info?
Posted by: Karen | Jan 29, 2005 at 03:23 PM