{"id":54087,"date":"2023-02-16T01:16:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T17:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=54087"},"modified":"2023-02-16T01:16:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T17:16:17","slug":"smart-teams-up-with-silicon-valley-based-plentina-to-enable-customers-to-buy-now-pay-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2023\/02\/16\/smart-teams-up-with-silicon-valley-based-plentina-to-enable-customers-to-buy-now-pay-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart teams up with Silicon Valley-based Plentina to enable customers to buy now, pay later"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has teamed up with Silicon Valley-based fintech startup Plentina to enable customers to conveniently purchase prepaid load through its mobile app.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under this partnership, Smart subscribers can access a Buy Now, Pay Later service that enables them to conveniently take out a micro consumer loan to pay for their load via Plentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe welcome Plentina as one of our direct distribution partners. Our tie-up with Plentina provides a financial service that caters to the broader base of prepaid customers,\u201d said Alex O. Caeg, SVP and Head of PLDT Smart Consumer Sales Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe also hope to extend this service to our retail and device partners so that they can offer more convenient and flexible modes of payment for customers who may want to purchase mobile phones or other gadgets from Smart,\u201d added Caeg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To widen financial access, Plentina and Smart are working together to reach even more Filipinos and provide them with easier access to mobile load as well as to digital tools for work and study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSmart and Plentina have the same DNA \u2013 we both want to make Filipino lives better. Filipinos can download the Plentina app, and if they pass the credit scoring, they can already purchase load instantly. They won\u2019t get stressed out even when they don\u2019t have available cash. You might not have the money now, but then you can load up your Smart mobile phone using credit through Plentina and pay later according to your preferred schedule,\u201d said Earl Valencia, Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Plentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To avail of the service, Smart and TNT customers just need to download the Plentina app, follow the registration process and then wait for approval. Once approved, they can shop for their needed products and services, and pay in installments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Philippines\u2019 fastest and best mobile network<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Customers can enjoy leveled-up productivity, social, and gaming experiences powered by Smart, which is recognized as the Philippines\u2019 Best Mobile Network by Ookla, the global leader in mobile and broadband intelligence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smart received this accolade after dominating two crucial Ookla Speedtest Awards categories, the \u201cFastest Mobile Network\u201d and \u201cBest Mobile Coverage\u201d, from Q1-Q2 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Under this partnership, Smart subscribers can access a Buy Now, Pay Later service that enables them to conveniently take out a micro consumer loan to pay for their load via Plentina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":54088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[343,96,2727,1656],"class_list":["post-54087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-smart-communications","tag-technology","tag-technology-adaption","tag-technology-investment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}