E-load phenomenon gets new boost with top-up machines

By MELVIN G. CALIMAG - Manila Bulletin

Since its introduction, Smart’s innovative e-load pre-paid system has spun off a virtual cottage industry that feeds on the entrepreneurial spirit of the Filipinos, especially in the countryside.


With this realization, the PLDT-owned mobile operator is bent on propagating what is arguably a money-making scheme for both the company and the small entrepreneurs who are using it. Thus, it is investing around R22.5 million to buy electronic equipment to make it easier for retailers to exploit the "tingi" mentality of the Filipinos.

Dubbed as "Load Connect," the project is a tie-up with IBM Philippines who provided the ATM-like machines that it manufactured together with Japanese firm Hitachi.

Smart said the new offering is aimed at Smart e-load retailers and dealers whose volume requirements for the electronic prepaid reloading business dictate that they top up their load wallets at the nearest Smart wireless center. With the new machines, they will no longer have to line up at the cashier.

Apart from real-time reloading of airtime, Load Connect also allow users to load credits to their Smart Money card.

Subscribers can use Load Connect to purchase airtime in R30, R60, R300, R500 and R1,000 denominations as well as reload their Smart Money accounts.

The new machines are initially available in 15 Smart wireless centers nationwide: Smart Tower along Ayala Avenue, Makati City; SM Manila; Robinsons Place Ermita; SM North EDSA; SM Fairview; SM Bicutan; SM Southmall in Las Piñas; Araneta Square Caloocan; Sta. Lucia East in Cainta, Rizal; Festival Mall, SM Dasmariñas, Nepo Mall Dagupan; Elizabeth Mall in Cebu City, and Limketkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City.

According to Smart, Load Connect is the first service in Asia that allows mobile users to load airtime and money via a machine that accepts and recycles multiple bills.

"The investment that we’re making with Load Connect and other Smart Connect initiatives shows how serious we are about enhancing the subscriber experience at our wireless centers," said Joy Sanchez, Smart customer care head, during the launch at Smart’s Wireless Center in Ayala Avenue in Makati City.

The number of transactions on airtime reloading ranges from 220,000 to 670,000 a month, depending on the wireless center. The bulk of transactions is made by Smart Load retailers and agents, which number about 800,000 nationwide, Sanchez said.

The self-service reloading machine is one of several initiatives under Smart Connect, which include SIM Connect, Web Connect, SagotAgad, and Zone Connect.