m-Commerce: Mano y Mano (Part 4)

m-Commerce on Technobiography

Today I write a point-by-point comparison of Cash vs. G-Cash vs. Smart Money. This comparison first came out as part of my m-Commerce study. The major updates of this latest comparison are the moves by Smart Money to improve the ease of use (discussed in Part 1).

Information in this comparison are based on:

* my personal use of these services
* print ads
* websites
* information obtained from customer service representatives via the respective hotlines
See notes and references below.

The Comparison Criteria

Cash vs. G-Cash vs. Smart Money
* Ease of Entry
* Telco subscriber base
* Current usage
* Liquidity
* Security

G-Cash vs. Smart Money
* Ease of Use
* Convert cash into mobile currency
* Convert mobile currency into cash
* Usage with Partner Merchants
* Person-to-Person transfer
* Transaction Costs
* Other Costs
* Expiration

Go ahead, read on and tell me what you think ... Let's fight! Ting ting!

Comparison Criteria	Cash	G-Cash	Smart Money
Telco subscriber base	*	* 12.5 million customers (December 2004) [Note 1]	* 19.2 million subscribers (December 2004) [Note 2
Usage	* The Filipino population	* 400,000 (as of July 2005) [Note 3]	* 100,000 (as of May 2005) [Note 4]
Liquidity	* 100% liquid - use it anywhere	* Low - need to go to Globe and other partner merchants to use it or convert it to cash (Cash-out) * Use it for person-to-person (P2P) transactions	* Moderate - use it at Megalink or ExpressNet ATMs * Use it at any Mastercard creditcard terminal * Use it for P2P transactions
Security	* As secure as your wallet	* Uses a mobile Personal Identification Number (m-PIN) in the message body of an SMS message. M-PIN is in clear view. * m-PIN needs to be erased from the cellphone to ensure that a lost/snatched cellphone does not bear m-PIN in the SMS message archive	* Uses a SIM Toolkit (STK) menu where the m-PIN is never in clear view * Uses encryption when sending transaction commands

Top

Comparison Criteria	G-Cash	Smart Money
Ease of Entry	* Easy - one time SMS registration * Limited cash-in merchants to get G-Cash * Account number is the same as phone number	* Still Difficult * Althought activation of Smart Money "virtual account" has been simplified (See Part 1). But the virtual account can conduct very limited transactions (e.ge receive only). * A subscriber still needs to apply for a Smart Money card to avail of the full Smart Money services such as encashment, Smart Money transfer etc. [Note 5] * Depending on where application was filed, the Smart Money card can be issued in 1 day to 2 weeks. * Smart Money account number (M-Comm number) is different from cellphone number
Ease of Use	* Easy - P2P transactions are very similar to share-a-load	* Moderate - requires activation of STK menu * Requires familiarity with the use of STK menu
Convert cash into mobile currency	* Also called "Cash-in" * Globe Telecom Business Centers * G-Cash partners merchants (LBC, Cebuana Lhuillier, 7-11 etc.) * See G-Cash partner merchants here	* Over the counter at Smart wireless centers * Over the counter at partner banks (BDO) and merchants (McDonalds, Tambunting, SeaOil etc.) * See Smart Money Merchants here * Also through mobile banking from own bank account to Smart Money (requires subscriber to have an enrolled mobile banking account)
Convert mobile currency into cash	* Also called "Cash-out" * Globe centers and other partners	* Via ATM withdrawal (MegaLink, ExpressNet banks) -- requires a Smart Money card * Smart wireless centers * Merchant partners (McDonald's, Tambunting, SeaOil etc.)
Usage with Partner Merchants	* National Bookstore, Mercury Drug, Burger King etc.	* Any merchant that accepts MasterCard * Partner merchants
Person-to-Person transfer	* Any Globe user in the country * Easy - send to the cellphone number which is also the G-Cash account number * If sending to a non-registered cellphone, the transfer requires an additional confirmation step to proceed with transaction	* Smart money users * Not all Smart subscribers * Sender needs to know the m-Comm number of the recepient
Transaction Costs	* P2P transfer - P1 per SMS sent * Cash-in at Globe - P10 or 1% of Cash-in amount * Use at partners - no charge except P1 for SMS G-Cash sending/confirmation * Cash-in/Cash-out at partner merchants - from 1% to 5% or more of Cash-in/Cash-out amount depending on merchant. * See partner rates here	* P2P transfer - P2.50 per SMS sent * Use at partners - none except P2.50 per SMS sent * Withdrawal at ATMs - P11 ; for Except Banco De Oro ATMs, no charge * See transaction fees here
Other costs	*	* Card personalization fee for issuance of Smart Money card * Annual fee for Smart Money card
Expiration	* None	* Smart Money account is suspended after a number of months, depending on the type of Smart Money account (e.g. individual subscriber account, Smart Money accounts for employee payroll disbursement etc.) (Discussed in Part 2 of this series)

Who was the knock-out winner? Who got pummeled? You be the judge.

As usual, I'd like to hear from my readers. Do you have any questions, violent reactions? Any doubts? Do you have comparison criteria you'd like to suggest?

Feel free to leave a comment or to send me an e-mail.

See you on Wednesday, July 13, Part 5 of this m-Commerce series. I will discuss what m-Commerce can do for our country and economy.

Ka Edong
da emkonomist

Read:
m-Commerce: Smart Money Revisited (Part 1),
m-Commerce: Smart Money Revisited again (Part 2),
Adbertisement Muna, G-Cash Revisited (Part 3)
Search Technobiography:
Smart Padala, Smart Money, G-Cash

Notes

1.) Clarissa S. Batino “Globe Telecom says price war unsustainable”, Published Apr. 05, 2005; available at Inq7.net Money; accessed on 11 April 2005
2.) Clarissa S. Batino “Globe Telecom says price war unsustainable”, Published Apr. 05, 2005; available at Inq7.net Money; accessed on 11 April 2005
3.) Ramon Isberto of Smart Communications at the Corporate Social Responsibility Expo, July 6, 2005
4.) Conversation with a Globe representative
5.) Rose Matiga, Smart Money customer service representative, telephone inquiry over Smart Money Hotline, 10 July 2005

Other References:

* Globe G-Cash website: www.myglobe.com.ph/gcash
* Smart Money website: smart.com.ph/SMART/Value+Added+Services/Smart+Money
* Globe and Smart presentations at the PICS e-Commerce Congress, November2004
* Smart Money Hotline (15177 on a Smart cellphone); Smart Hotline tel. 8881111
* Globe Hotline (tel. 730-1000 or 211 on a Globe Handyphone)