MANILA — Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) has inched closer towards creating the trailblazing Smart Mobility Loop, the countrys first mobile-based, universal transport payment system designed for more than 25 million cellphone users.
The company has forged a partnership with SuperFerry, which operates 12 domestic passenger ships, to jointly develop a passenger travel fare collection system using the award-winning Smart Money electronic financial services platform. This will enable passengers to pay for their tickets with just a few clicks on their mobile phones.
Our tie up with SuperFerry is our third major partnership under our Smart Mobility Loop program. Our vision is to make the Smart Money electronic cash card which can be accessed and used via the cellphone the all-in-one payment card for the increasingly mobile Filipino. This will be the first mobile-based inter-modal transport payment system for sea, land, rail and air transport services, said SMART president and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno.
SMART recently tied up with the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), for the mobile reloading via Smart Money of EC Tag accounts for motorists plying the North Luzon Expressway. The service will be available during the Holy Week and starting April 1 this year.
By second quarter this year, our SuperFerry passengers may start paying their fares via their Smart Money card and Smart mobile phone. This is a more convenient and secure alternative for our customers. The SMART Money platform will also contribute towards making our financial systems and sales monitoring more efficient, said Ava L. Engel, executive vice-president and CEO of SuperFerry.
Under the agreement, the first phase will cover the payment of fares using the mobile phone. Payments will be transacted from the mobile phone by accessing the Smart Money menu.
The second phase will involve the issuance of the Smart Money Pay Pass card, which will be an accepted payment tool by partner companies and which could also serve as their boarding pass under the Smart Mobility Loop.
SMART is set to sign agreements with other transport firms in the next few months, Nazareno added.
SuperFerry offers ordinary non-aircon, airconditioned, and executive sea travel services to the masses. The ships sail to 18 ports of call all over the Philippines, including Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Coron, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iligan, Iloilo, Manila, Ozamis, Puerto Princesa, Surigao, Tagbilaran, and Zamboanga.
The SMART Money card is the world’s first secure, re-loadable electronic cash card that can be linked to a mobile phone. Through the card, a SMART user can easily pay bills, transfer funds to another SMART Money card, do balance account checks, change PINs and even lock or unlock the card from the SMART Money menu in the mobile phone. SMART Money won the 2001 3GSM Award for “Most Innovative GSM Wireless Service for Customers. It was also cited as the “Best Product Innovation” award at the MasterCard Marketing Awards in Australia.
Subscribers may reload their SMART Money cards in SMART Wireless Centers, Banco de Oro ATM machines, and partner banks nationwide. They can also withdraw funds from their mobile banking accounts and transfer these to their Smart Money cards. The SMART Money card may also be used to reload a SMART SIM card and pay for purchases in stores which accept Mastercard Electronic.
