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SMART Communications Inc. has partnered with the National Commercial
Bank (NCB) of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in launching an
international remittance service utilizing the Smart Money platform,
the company announced Monday.
In a statement, Smart said that the Quick Pay
Remittance Service, NCB’s remittance offering, will utilize Smart
Money as the beneficiary account for funds sent to the Philippines,
providing a cost-effective remittance alternative for over 1.2
million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.
“The exclusive business partnership between
Smart and NCB for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is very strategic as
it boosts Smart’s efforts to offer mobile money transfer services
in various regions of the world particularly in the Middle East
where there are large numbers of Filipinos,” Napoleon L. Nazareno,
Smart president and chief executive, said.
Saudi-based Filipinos may send funds directly to
their beneficiary’s Smart Money account through NCB’s various
Quick Pay Remittance Service channels-phone banking, Internet
banking (Alahli Online), remittance centers, cash deposit machines,
over-the-counter transactions at any of NCB’s 266 branches, and
fund transfers via the bank’s more than 1,000 automated teller
machines.
“Funds from the successful cash transfer
to the receiving Smart Money account may be withdrawn from over
7,000 ATMs in the Philippines, more than 100 Smart Wireless Centers
and thousands of third-party Smart Money fulfillment partners across
the country,” Smart said.
Smart said the channels are open to all NCB
account holders. Non-account holders may opt to send funds via
NCB’s remittance centers in Saudi Arabia.
NCB is the largest bank in the Middle East in
terms of capital with total assets amounting to SR208.7 billion
($55.7 billion) and total paid-up capital of SR15 billion ($4
billion). As of year-end 2007, NCB’s total customers surpassed the
2-million mark, about 15 percent of which is comprised of Filipino
payroll accounts.
Omar M. Hashem, NCB head of Remittance and
Mobile Payments said his company is confident that the Quick Pay
remittance service via the Smart Money platform will ultimately
become the primary conduit of Filipino migrant workers in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in sending money to their loved ones.
“Initially, this will be available to Filipino
migrant workers sending to Philippines, but will eventually be
available to other nationalities sending money to their respective
beneficiary-countries. This is indeed the remittance service of the
future that we are making available today,” Hashem said.
For Orlando B. Vea, Smart chief wireless adviser
said this introduction of Smart Money to the Saudi
Arabia-Philippines remittance corridor will be a boon for Filipinos
living and working in the Kingdom.
“Now, Filipinos in all parts of Saudi Arabia
may enjoy a remittance service that is so convenient and easy to
use,” Vea said.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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