As of first quarter this year, only 3% of the total 20 million Internet users in the Philippines conduct online transactions.

Now, Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) targets to encourage all of its 38.5 million cellular phone subscribers to use its electronic wallet service, Smart Money, to pay bills and buy goods and services over the Internet.

So far, only 8 percent, or 6 million, of Smart subscribers buy online and the volume of transaction is growing at the rate of 5 to 10 percent. Wanting to boost local e-commerce and allow the “unbanked” sector those without credit cards, to make online purchases, Smart launched the country’s first mobile-based Internet security lock feature this week.

Smart Money's expanded security feature enables SMART subscribers to perform safe and secure online purchases with the help of their cellphones, requiring Smart Money cardholders to input a Personal Identification Number (PIN) via his mobile phone to signify that an online purchase transaction has been authorized.

This gives users more control over their Smart Money accounts and protects them from fraudulent online transactions. On top of this, Smart Money account holders are notified via SMS whenever transactions are made on their account.

Hence, Smart Money users, who do not own a credit card and as young as 12 years old, can have access to over two million MasterCard retail partners found in the Internet and 25 million MasterCard partners all over the world. Users need only have a P300 to P500 minimum to transact.

The average purchase online is P5,000 and Smart Money can service most requirements. A Smart Money card can hold as much as P50,000. Users are entitled to have 2 cards each, or a total balance limit of P100,000.