Released: October 08, 2007

Hold on, my wallet is ringing

Source: Oliver Teves, Associated Press [Los Angeles Times] (Free Registration)

PHILIPPINES - It’s Thursday, so 18-year-old Dennis Tiangco [of San Miquel] is off to the bank to collect his weekly allowance, zapped by his mother - who’s working in Hong Kong - to his electronic wallet: his cellphone.

At a branch of GM Bank in the town of San Miguel, Tiangco fills out a form and sends a text message via his phone to a bank line dedicated to the money transfer service.

In a matter of seconds, the transaction is approved and a teller gives him 2,500 pesos ($54), minus a 1% fee. He doesn’t need a bank account to retrieve the money.

More than 5.5 million Filipinos now use their cellphones as virtual wallets, making the Philippines a leader among developing nations in conducting financial transactions over mobile networks.

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