Late last year saw the debut of Smarts Pasa Load that enabled a prepaid subscriber to pass on load to another prepaid subscriber. It was such a simple concept, yet the very first of its kind in the world. In fact, this same product is nominated for the Innovation Award at the ongoing World GSM Conference in Cannes, France. Just last month, too, an upgraded version of the concept was launched by Globe which allowed a prepaid or postpaid subscriber to pass load to another subscriber. A broader amount of load options was offered along with a PIN feature for added security. I have used the Share-a-Load product of Globe on numerous occasions and so far, it has worked great. The transfer instruction consists of just typing the amount as a message and sending it to 2917XXXXXXX. Lets suppose I want to transfer 10 pesos to this phone number, 0917-1234567, you just text 10 and send it to 29171234567. As simple as that! Load is transferred from my postpaid cell to my prepaid recipient within seconds. After doing your first transfer, you will then be asked to define your own PIN for the security of future load transfers. Where else would you expect such a product to emanate from but from the text and prepaid capital of the world. Just in a span of a few months, we are starting to witness an evolution toward the mobile wallet concept which many have been awaiting. As we head into the summer, I expect further upgrades to be made on Globe and Smarts established load platforms. More options for remitting load and expanded features will be made available as part of the products natural growth cycle. Other possible uses of the mobile wallet concept within the year would be as a micro payment solution for low-cost purchases such as for prepaid access to Internet service, Wi-Fi service, online gaming credits and advance movie ticket purchase.
The doors are now toward the actual transmittal of currency over the air, thus breathing newfound life into m-commerce. A word of caution though to just manage expectations: all types of purchases will never be served by a mobile wallet. The value of mobile wallets does not lie in the ability to do "everything," but rather the ability to provide some unique value to a particular category of transaction, such as "fast cashless payments."