Smart, LandBank partner to ensure easy sending of OFW money

By Lenie Lectura

Reporter

SMART Communications Inc. and Land Bank of the Philippines have entered into a strategic partnership that will push for the use of mobile commerce in delivering fast and accessible financial services to benefit overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In a statement, Smart and LandBank signed a memorandum of agreement which will use the mobile phone firm’s mobile commerce platform, the Smart Services Hub, in developing new remittance and financial services and products such as LandBank’s Cash Card. The Smart Services Hub is the cellular firm’s global financial and telecommunications services model based on its award-winning Smart Money electronic financial services platform.  “We are proud to mark yet another milestone for the Smart Services Hub. It is our pleasure to provide the country’s premier financial institution with our tried and tested, and highly successful mobile commerce solutions. We are optimistic that our partnership with LandBank will enable us to reach out to the unbanked and underbanked in the countryside.” said Napoleon Nazareno, Smart  president. LandBank president and chief executive officer Gilda E. Pico said the partnership would provide more and better opportunities to enhance services to its OFW clients. “Combining the advantage of Smart’s advanced mobile commerce technology with LandBank’s strong countryside network, will benefit our OFWs in terms of having  a reliable, efficient and faster way of sending their remittances to their families back home—wherever they may be,” said Pico. The partnership is in line with Smart’s efforts in promoting m-commerce and mobile phone-based remittances. Smart recently launched the Smart Services Hub at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Through this platform, local banks like LandBank may link up with phone firms and other banks abroad in offering mobile phone-based  remittances and others services. The remittance then goes through a clearing and settlement agency and ends up in the Philippines—specifically, in the recipient’s deposit account or Smart Money-powered card issued by a partner bank like LandBank. Both the sender and recipient will be notified via a text message that the remittance transaction has been completed.

 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/04232007/economy02.html