Postpaid subscribers of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) may now charge their App Store, iTunes and Apple Music purchases straight to their postpaid account.
In an arrangement with BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), Smart has rolled out Smart Pay-With-Mobile, a service that allows mobile users to pay for purchases even without a credit card, which has long been a barrier for many mobile users in maximizing their Apple devices.
Smart Pay-With-Mobile will initially be available to Smart Postpaid subscribers on Plan 599 and up, as well as Smart Bro subscribers on iPad Plans.
“Mobile users are consuming more and more digital content now, and we are optimistic that Smart Pay-With-Mobile will further increase the Filipino appetite for more mobile content in general – not just streaming videos and music, but also playing mobile games and downloading digital books and magazines – and further boost the remarkable performance of our mobile data business in the process,” said Mellissa Limcaoco, Head of Innovation and Product Development at Smart, referring to the 170 percent year-on-year surge in mobile data usage on the Smart network during the first half of the year.
This expected surge in mobile data activity among subscribers is one of the reasons the telco is expanding its network infrastructure this year, allocating P43B in its 2015 CapEx.
One-time, text-based registration
Smart Pay-With-Mobile can be activated by texting REG to 4949 – a one-time, text-based registration. After which, subscribers will be given a unique Virtual Credit Card number which they can use exclusively with their iTunes accounts. The whole registration takes just a few clicks – no required financial documents, no waiting in lines, and no hassle.
“Our goal is to eventually make Smart Pay-With-Mobile available to all our users, including our prepaid subscribers, who for now can rely on Smart Money, an innovative electronic mobile wallet, to purchase Apple content and services even without a credit card,” said Ariel P. Fermin, Executive Vice President and Head of Consumer Business for PLDT and Smart.
