Globe puts more premium on mobile commerce through value and innovation

MANILA, Philippines –The convenience and great deals found in online shopping have made Paolo Baltao a big fan. It all started with one purchase in 2006-and he hasn’t stopped since then. In fact, he’s an active customer buying something online at least once a month.

Baltao is the president of G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom. GXI introduced GCash, a revolutionary model in mobile money service, which was launched in the Philippines in October 2004.

He cites several reasons why he opts for shopping in the convenience of his home. First among them is the assurance that the item is authentic because he is buying from legitimate websites. Also, he has the freedom to scrutinize the product without the pressure of having a salesperson by his side.

Real deal

Like other consumers, Baltao does his research before clicking the “buy” button.

“The websites include a comprehensive product description and side-by-side comparisons which you cannot always find in traditional or physical shopping,” he explained.

Moreover, there are items or products that are not available locally. Baltao related that his daughters are also into supervised online shopping.

“I no longer have an excuse if they want or need something because they can already find for themselves what they want,” he said.

Before joining Globe, Baltao worked in a bank and was very much attuned with electronic banking. He had 13 years of experience in product management and business development in various industries such as pharmaceutical, banking and remittance, as well as telecommunications.

While he is very enthusiastic about doing transactions online, Baltao is also aware of the risks especially when providing information such as credit card details.

Risks

“At the back of your mind, there is always the thought that the credit card might be compromised,” he said.

Baltao had his share of this but it was from a store in the United States. It didn’t stop him, though, from purchasing items online.

He also noted that there are websites that still do not accept credit cards issued in the Philippines.

Product development

Baltao’s enthusiasm for online shopping has helped him a great deal in developing new products for GXI.

It was during one trip back home from the States when he conceived the idea of GCash American Express Virtual Pay.

“I wanted to buy something for the house. I had items I wanted to buy from abroad,” Baltao related. “However, some of the websites only accepted US credit cards.  Although I found websites that can accept my locally-issued credit card, I still needed a US address. I could have used my relative’s US address and ask him to ship the items for me. But then I realized, must I keep asking him for similar favors?”

By the time he arrived in the Philippines from a 13-hour flight, Baltao already had a product in mind, the possible business flow, and list of potential partners.

It was a pleasant coincidence when American Express asked GXI how they can become partners. It was a partnership meant to create value for customers. When the partnership was sealed, the only missing link was a shipping company, according to Baltao.

He explained that based on his experience, having a reliable shipping or courier company is as important as paying for the item purchased.

“We don’t want our customers to worry about the handling and the customs’ fees and taxes,” the GXI president said.

The idea of using GCash American Express Virtual Pay helps users eliminate those hassles. When users subscribe to GCash American Express Virtual Pay, they get a US virtual card number and a personalized US address. As soon as the item has been delivered to the US address, the user can trigger delivery straight to his doorsteps in the Philippines, without the inconvenience of waiting for the item to be released, or settling fees and other hidden charges.

Creating value

There are currently over three million GCash subscribers; around a million of them are active users, or those who use GCash at least once a month.

“We now need to encourage people how and where to use GCash,” Baltao said.

A significant number of consumers aspire to engage in doing mobile commerce or electronic commerce.  However, there are still a lot who don’t own a credit or debit card.

“We create value for those types of individuals because there is an unmet or unsatisfied need,” he said.

GCash American Express Virtual Pay is a virtual card linked to a customer’s GCash mobile wallet and allows users to shop conveniently online from both local and international sites.

Users can also take advantage of GCash American Express Virtual Pay to buy music, apps, or other content for their mobile devices from iTunes and Google Play Store.

There are three very convenient ways to subscribe to GCash American Express Virtual Pay: Dial *143#, select GCash, then select GCash American Express Virtual Pay, through the GCash Mobile App, or online through www.globe.com.ph/gcash.  The annual subscription fee is only P250 for one year.

Mobile commerce

Another product that Baltao has helped develop and addresses the need to promote cashless shopping is Globe Charge. This is geared towards small- and medium-scale merchants and professionals, like doctors and dentists, so they can accept credit cards even if they consider their stores “small” compared with others.

“Globe Charge is a perfect example of value being created by disruption through technology,” Baltao said.

In the case of Globe Charge, a mobile phone or tablet suddenly expands its usage to become a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, disrupting the norm of operating the regular card-swiping terminals.

“We transformed smartphones and tablets into POS terminals. Merchants can just swipe a credit card into a card reader device attached to their smartphones or tablets and they can process a credit card transaction instantly.”

Globe Charge was launched last March. With it, small- and medium-scale businesses as well as professionals can now offer more payment options aside from cash, which could result to more customers and increased sales. “There are customers who prefer the convenience of paying using their credit cards,” he noted. “These customers do not usually go through the purchase or don’t buy as much if the store only accepts cash.”

“One can even use Globe Charge for food delivery,” Baltao said.

“We also made it so easy for merchants to be accredited,” he added. “They can just go to the Globe Store or our other dealers, purchase the device, register via the Globe Charge App, go through a brief process of checking, entailing the submission of business documents and ocular visits to the business premises. Accreditation can be realized within seven working days.”

Baltao knows that it would take a bit of time to convince people to subscribe to the idea of cashless shopping.

The new products are developed with the bank account holders and the “bankables”- those who have the capacity to have bank accounts or purchasing power- in mind.

“When people enter the workforce, they become part of the financial system since they get an ATM card for payroll or savings,” Baltao said.

That alone gives them the opportunity to think of cashless shopping or cashless transactions.

“You can find electronic ways of doing things to make life easier,” Baltao said.

The quintessential shopper that he is, Baltao vouches strongly for GCash American Express Virtual Pay and Globe Charge. “We have covered all bases to ensure that they run under the strictest standards of safety, security, and reliability, that is why I can give my personal guarantee for both.”

All these and more, Baltao says, are what his company GXI does for the brave new cashless world of retail, and in the service of the millions of digitally-connected shoppers out there.

Globe Charge may be availed by subscribing to a Globe myBusiness plan with a monthly payment as low as P499 for a 30-month contract period, which comes with a smartphone bundled with a card reader, plus free surfing, calling and texting. It can also be purchased as a stand-alone product priced at P999 in Globe Stores around Metro Manila. To know more about the service, visit https://www.mybusiness.globe.com.ph/globecharge. For more information on GXI as well as GCash products and services, log-on to www.globe.com.ph/gcash.