philtechnology

BPI is offering SMEs in the Philippines the opportunity to turn their smartphones and tablets into point-of-sale devices that accept credit card payments.

Even as online and mobile payment systems like PayPal are on the rise in the region, there is a space amongst small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that need catering: a point-of-sale payment system that supports readily-available infrastructure. For most small businesses, this means mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

In the Asia Pacific region, there are solutions like Swiff and MOLcube, as well as Square in the US. PayPal is also offering its PayPal Here brand, which lets merchants accept credit card payments with a mobile device attachment.

In the Philippines, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has launched its BPI mPOS product, which turns any WiFi- or data-enabled smartphone or tablet into a mobile point of sale (POS) system. Any Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card will work with the system.

At present, the system works on Android and iOS devices, although the developers are working on an app for BlackBerry devices. To use BPI mPOS, the merchant needs to install an app and attach the mPOS terminal through the device’s 3.5 mm stereo jack. Credit cards can then be scanned through the device, and financial information will be sent through BPI’s central server.

The customer signs not on a piece of paper, but on the smartphone or tablet screen instead. Receipts are then sent to the customer via email. According to BPI, the mPOS complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) and does not store any information on the host smartphone or tablet. As an added security, the device does not work on jailbroken devices.

The device is being piloted to an initial batch of 600 merchants.

Wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is now using outdoor merchandising materials made of stone paper as part of company-wide efforts to reduce the impact of its operations to the environment.
The telco has pioneered the use of the stone paper technology in the country early this year. It has initially deployed promotional streamers made of stone paper in retail stores in Marikina City last January, and has since rolled out the same to the rest of the National Capital Region as well as certain parts of Mindanao.
“Smart has intensified the deployment of our merchandising materials made of stone paper as part of our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and hold true to our advocacy of helping preserve the environment,” said Ramon Isberto, Smart Public Affairs Group Head.
Smart is ahead of its peers in practicing green merchandising, or use of products with the least impact to the environment. It is the first and only company in the country to ever make use of stone paper as a merchandising material.
Stone paper is a novel type of paper manufactured from calcium carbonate, the waste material collected from limestone quarries, which are then mixed with bonding agents, and then ground and reduced to fine white paper. The manufacturing process for stone paper is also environment-friendly, and it requires absolutely no water thus, eliminating the possibility of waste and pollution. Its production also uses just half the energy required in traditional paper manufacturing.
Stone paper will gradually photo-degrade when directly exposed to ultraviolet light for 9 to 12 months, allowing it to simply return back to nature as calcium carbonate, once again becoming stone. It is also water resistant and does not easily tear.
Stone paper manufacturing started in the late 1990s and has been patented in over 40 countries, but this is the first time that the stone paper technology will be used in the Philippines.
“Moves within the company to shift to eco-friendly solutions do not end with our outdoor advertising materials. For instance, we have been up-cycling used tarpaulins that residents of a Gawad Kalinga community in Sooc, Iloilo have been transforming into designer bags and other decorative items under the tutelage of lifestyle designer PJ Arañador,” added Isberto.
As the country’s largest wireless services provider with facilities strategically located nationwide, Smart recognizes that it plays a key role in advancing the institutionalization of sound environmental practice in the telecoms industry.
Smart has been planting trees in various adopted sites nationwide in an effort to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of its operations. It is one of the key proponents of the Marikina Watershed Initiative that aims for the reforestation and rehabilitation of Metro Manila’s flood water catch basin.
The telco is also the country’s pioneer in using hybrid and alternative energy solutions to power its cell sites in off-grid areas all over the country in a bid to reduce its carbon emission as well as reduce its consumption of non-renewable energy like fossil fuel.
Apart from these green initiatives, Smart has also been working on raising public awareness on mobile and ICT green solutions that would help translate to behavioral changes among employees and subscribers, building smart communities.