Smart subsidiary, Smart Hub Inc. (SHI) gets MasterCard acquiring license

Wireless leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) will soon provide additional payment services to its 50 million subscribers, as subsidiary Smart Hub, Inc. (SHI) recently obtained a license to accept and process MasterCard transactions. This is the first time that a non-bank institution in the Philippines has received such an authorization from the global financial services giant.

The license makes SHI an acquirer for MasterCard, which means SHI can now accredit merchants and process MasterCard debit and credit card transactions for them. Simply put, when a customer makes a purchase using his or her card, SHI will process the transaction request and place funds in the merchant’s account to settle the transaction.

But SHI and Smart will introduce an innovative twist to the usual card payments.

“Consumers will be making credit and debit card payments to merchants using their mobile phone,” said Tricia Dizon, head of Smart’s financial services. “Smart, SHI, and MasterCard are empowering Smart subscribers and MasterCard holders to be a few steps ahead in the move toward an increasingly digital society that is less dependent on cash transactions.”

“This is another mobile commerce milestone not just for SHI and its parent company Smart, but for the entire country as well. After introducing the world’s first electronic wallet service – Smart Money – we continue to come up with innovations that help Filipinos complete their financial transactions faster and in a more convenient manner,” said Smart Chief Wireless Advisor Orlando Vea, who is also board director at SHI.

Other innovations introduced by Smart are the world’s first over-the-air reloading service offering airtime in sachet-like packages (Smart Load), a service allowing subscribers to pass on airtime balances to each other (Pasa Load), the world’s first international cash remittance service linked to a mobile phone (Smart Padala), and the world’s first smartphone backed by an operator-managed platform (Netphone).

“Consumers as well as merchants can look forward to more convenient ways of completing their financial transactions, as Smart combines its innovation leadership and superior mobile infrastructure with SHI’s expertise in mobile commerce,” said Emmanuel Lorenzana, SHI president and head of Smart’s wireless consumer division.

“Buyers and sellers under the Smart network can also be assured that their transactions will remain secure, for Smart and SHI never sacrifice security for convenience. We make sure to provide both,” he added.

This is not the first time that SHI and MasterCard have joined forces. The two companies partnered in 2010 to mobilize MasterCard payment solutions for consumers in developing countries.

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