BPI launches mobile POS system for small, mobile businesses

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala-run Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) has launched its newest banking service innovation-mPOS, the first ever live mobile Point-of-Sale system in the country which will enable the use of credit cards in small and mobile businesses.

BPI senior vice president for cardbanking Ginbee Go said they have decided to introduce this mobile technology to tap the “tiangge” market.

“Small and mobile businesses can benefit from accepting credit cards via mPOS in a number of ways,” Go said.

Entrepreneur Kat Reantazo of Crunchybelly by Carlo’s Kitchen, interviewed by The STAR, said this technology would help boost their sales.

“Many times, a customer walks away from a purchase because the vendor has not stocked up enough change in coins and smaller bills. With mPOS, we can accept credit cards as an alternative to cash,” Reantazo said.

According to Go, they would conduct a six-month pilot test in Metro Manila that would involve at least 500 small merchants. Commercial rollout will follow depending on the response of the target segment.

For the soft launch, Go said any type of Mastercard and Visa branded cards can be processed through the facility while ATM and debit cards would be enabled later on.

The newest BPI technology, developed by Singaporean IT provider Swiff, is the first in the Philippines but a similar system was developed and is being used in the United States.

Go said all costs to the credit card transaction would be shouldered by the merchants including the standard data connectivity fees in using the app with their respective telco rates.

“BPI mPOS is specifically designed for business on-the-go. Businesses which do not have a fixed location can best benefit from it. There is an increase of business that are not fixed in one location. Weekend markets, home services, and delivery businesses are but a few examples of businesses that rely heavily on mobility. Many of these businesses are already in place, BPI just increases their capacity to do more business by enabling to accept card payments,” Go said.

BPI mPOS, Go said, is not intended to replace traditional POS systems as the latter is built for larger enterprises that require additional features and functionality.

Go explained that BPI mPOS differentiates itself from traditional POS systems through increased convenience.

“BPI mPOS is a fraction of the size of traditional POS systems and is thus easy to carry around. Traditional POS systems also need a fixed line connection so transactions are limited to one place,” she said.

“BPI mPOS is all about mobility,” said Go.