Globe expands virtual wallet

Globe expands virtual wallet

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Category: Opinion

Written by Lito U. Gagni / Gagni’s Gleanings

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THESE are exciting times. With the launch by Globe Telecom of a mobile-payment service in partnership with Swiff, a Singapore-based global innovator of mobile-payment technologies, the ubiquitous smartphone or tablet has become a virtual wallet. Expected to benefit from the Globe-Swiff partnership are more than one million GCash users, the platform of the Ayala-Singtel telco combine, for the use of the cell phone in cash transactions.

The mobile-payment solution was launched three days ago with the virtual-wallet service under the corporate umbrella of G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), the m-commerce subsidiary of Globe. In effect, the GCash, which has, at present, over 1 million users, would be expanded exponentially as small- and medium-scale businesses can now start accepting payments through the mobile platforms embedded in smartphones and tablets. The mobile-payment introduction would mean additional subscribers to Globe.

There is a big reason for Globe’s optimism about the trajectory of the Globe Charge. According to GXI President Paolo Baltao,  the company “once again brings the synergy of mobile technology and cashless commerce into an entirely new dimension with Globe Charge. With just a mobile-card reader plugged into a smartphone or tablet, Globe Charge will open up more opportunities for business growth and payment generation for any form of trade, which accepts cashless transactions through credit- and debit-card payments, particularly MasterCard and, very soon, Visa.”

“With the speed of a text message, small and medium businesses can have GXI’s existing offering for retailers with regard to digital-payment service that transforms a mobile phone into a virtual wallet for money transfers. Globe Charge is expected to spur brisk economic activity, especially among emerging business entities and small and medium business entrepreneurs. Working with our very own technology, this makes for a promising proposition to realize revenue through card-based transactions using an easy, convenient and secure platform,” Baltao said.

 

Environmental push

LITTLE by little, municipalities and cities in Rizal province are embracing the push for environmental awareness, thanks to Manila Water Co. Inc.’s advocacy dubbed as “Toka Toka,” loosely interpreted as minding your own backyard. The latest to adopt the used-water campaign of the water concessionaire is Antipolo City with its mayor, Casimiro Ynares Jr., erstwhile Rizal governor, signing the partnership agreement. Before Antipolo, the municipalities of San Mateo and Angono partnered with Manila Water for the environmental push.

The partnership, in effect, ensures that potable water from renewable surface source is available to the residents of the progressive mountain city. Manila Water official Ferdinand de la Cruz, a member of the Tuesday Club at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, said the company is giving importance to undertaking environmental initiatives as a critical factor in sustaining water resources for the next generation of Filipinos. “This project marks a new beginning for everyone to commit to environmental sustainability. We need to help one another in managing our water system, de la Cruz said at the sidelives of the partnership signing.

Ynares, during the partnership signing, also pushed for the availability of potable water to the remaining 13 percent of the city, specifically in Barangay Cabading and Sitio Umilang. Both parties have agreed to further promote the environmental campaign through regular coordination meetings with the barangays in the city; the implementation of the monthly “Barangay Day” to enable marginalized households to have greater access to potable-water supply; and the participation of various barangays in cleanup drive programs in the area.

Now on its third year, Toka Toka was created with the goal of educating the general public on used-water management and its effects on rivers and waterways, and four simple acts that include proper disposal of garbage; desludging of septic tanks; connecting to Manila Water’s sewer network; and supporting the company’s community-based sanitation and used-water projects.

 

Atlas Consolidated expansion

CARMEN Copper Corp. (CCC), a 100-percent-owned subsidiary of listed Atlas Consolidated, has just completed its initial expansion program. The CCC mine is in Toledo City, Cebu, and is situated within the 3,000-hectare Toledo Copper Mine property. There were two new ball mills (BM) installed, four new flotation cells and one auxiliary line of primary crusher, in addition to its existing seven BM, nine flotation cells and one primary crusher, respectively. The new facilities are expected to start operation next month, which would mean additional milling capability for the copper-gold mine.

With the expansion, Atlas Consolidated will be able to produce an average of 63,000 to 65,000 tons per day (tpd) beginning April 2014, an increase of 40 percent to 44 percent from its current production of 45,000 tpd and also higher compared to its initial target of 60,000 tpd. Around 90 percent of its full-year production in 2014 will be shipped to China, while the rest will be exported to South Korea and Japan.

This expansion translates to possible revenues of P18.9 billion in revenues, an increase of 31 percent and core income of P3.4 billion, or P4.6-billion incremental revenues, and P2.6-billion core income from P14.3 billion and P2.6 billion, based on its previous capacity, respectively.

 

Globe expands virtual wallet