Smart briefs, tours LatAm central bankers on mobile banking

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has conducted an immersion tour for central bank officials of Ecuador and Guatemala to orient them on the principles and functionalities of the world’s first cash payment card linked to a mobile phone – Smart Money.

The exposure tour was part of the learning exchange grant received by the said countries from the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) that will support the roll-out of mobile money systems in Ecuador and Guatemala.

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

Smart Hub Inc. Jerwin Santos said that they showcased the pioneering Smart Money platform used by Filipinos in various parts of the Philippines. Smart Hub is a subsidiary of Smart, 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.

The central bank officials said that the trip proved the sophisticated mobile commerce ecosystem in the Philippines.

Central Bank of Ecuador Project Manager for Mobile Payment System Santiago Vasquez said that they were looking forward to replicate the Smart Money solution in their 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 concluded.

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 so-called base of the pyramid 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.