PLDT launches pioneering wireless card terminal service

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PDT) has introduced a ground breaking service in the country that allows merchants to swipe all ATM debit and credit card brands using a single wireless card terminal, maximizing the point of sale (POS) machine and minimizing lost sales opportunities.

Called Shops.Work Unplugged (SWUP), this new service is a pioneering innovation done through strategic partnerships with major acquirer banks.

“SWUP operates on a portable payment system that takes advantage of the mobility and convenience of wireless data technology to process sales from practically anywhere,” PLDT customer sales and marketing group head Eric Alberto explained.  

Alberto said SWUP makes wireless card transactions easy for both vendors and clients, especially in remote areas where there are scant or no banks to withdraw cash from. This is because SWUP runs on the same wireless network that powers the mobile reach of Smart, or practically the entire archipelago.

PLDT corporate business group head Nerissa Ramos said SWUP now accepts major card brands such as Visa, MasterCard, JBC, American Express and Diners Club International as well as Visa Electron, MasterCard Electronic, MegaLink and Express Payment System.

“With SWUP, PLDT empowers retailers and merchants to process payments in whatever form the consumer wishes. This great convenience makes purchases easier and therefore maximizes sales opportunities,” Ramos explained.

SWUP also boasts of security features that make it better than wired credit and debit card POS terminals which rely solely on the host bank’s security system.

For his part, PLDT corporate business solutions head Vic Tria pointed out that the service is the only GPRS-based solution in the country to use a private and secure technology — Multi Protocol Label Switching or MPLS — as its transaction medium rather than the public Internet which is prone to viruses and hackers.

“With SWUP, merchants, retailers, and consumers are assured that card transactions are protected by best-in-class technology,” Tria added.