Smart e-Money (SMI), a subsidiary of Smart Communications, has received an issuing and acquiring license from payments giant Visa to issue Visa-branded prepaid cards.
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The license will also allow SMI to acquire merchant transactions, and provide Visa Direct products and services for domestic and international money transfers.
SMI is considered to be the first non-financial institution in Southeast Asia to receive this license.
The move is part of Philippine Long Distance Telephone’s (PLDT), parent of SMI, latest push to expand its presence in the e-commerce space.
Also, SMI has previously partnered with Citi Philippines and Visa to launch a new product Charge2Phone or C2P, a contactless payment sticker using near-field communication (NFC).
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By GlobalDataThe payment solution has been designed to offer added convenience to its customers who can use their 11-digit mobile number for online purchases at the checkout page instead of the usual 16-digit credit card number.
PLDT and Smart chairman Manuel Pangilinan said: "This milestone collaboration with Visa augurs well with PLDT’s aggressive road map in pushing for a robust digital ecosystem.
"Having the biggest consumer base in the Philippines, we are in a very strategic position to roll out various innovative financial payments products and services; and a number of them will be out this year."
