PLDT unveils network solution for banks, retailers

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. has launched a new solution called Shops.Work UnPlugged, or SWUP (pronounced "swoop") to address the need of retailers and banks for real-time wireless data communications.

Corporate Business Group head Eric Alberto said SWUP will provide retailers and banks with multiple branches with an expanded network for real-time monitoring of critical data for their operations.

"SWUP is the first bundled solution that makes wireless cashier POS (point-of-sale) and wireless card terminals possible. Retailers will now be able to reach out to a bigger market in areas where physical connections are unavailable," Alberto said.

"This solution can also expand the frontiers of banking since the technology can be used to come up with wireless automated teller machines (ATMs). You can even have an ATM at the beach," he added.

Through the use of wireless terminals enabled with SIM (subscriber identity module) cards similar to those used in mobile phones, coverage of the service is available to 99.57 percent of areas covered by PLDT’s mobile phone subsidiary Smart Communications Inc.

Clients can expect data rates of up to 170 Kilobits per second (Kbps), thus ensuring a speed that is more than enough for simple data communications involving cashier POS, card swipe and ATM transactions.

SWUP comes in three variants: Naked SWUP, which is a SIM-only variant; SIM bundled with GPRS/EDGE modem or simply SWUP Cash; and an EFT-POS bundled with SIM called SWUP Card.

PLDT Corporate Business Solutions head Nerissa Ramos said this new innovation from the PLDT Group allows retailers to sell or position their stores practically anywhere and still be able to facilitate both cash and credit card transactions.

"Imagine bazaars, taxicabs and delivery boys asking you, ‘Cash or card’? And it’s very secure, too. There is the security provided by the SIM and the security inherent in Smart’s GPRS/EDGE network where there is a dedicated Access Point Name assigned per company, as well as the security of the PLDT Brains network. It does not go through the Internet, thus protecting the clients from viruses and hackers," Ramos said.