In the next three years, users of mobile banking will double from the present one million as its convenience lures more Filipino customers, says PLDT and Smart Communications Inc. President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno during the launch of the BPI-Smart Full Mobile Banking services at the Bank of the Philippine Islands headquarters in Makati City.

Of Smart’s almost 40 million subscribers, 7.5 million are users of its electronic wallet service, Smart Money.

BPI alone expects to draw in 100,000 users of the mobile banking service by 2010, although this remains to be a small fraction of its total 3 million clients to date.

Already, Smart has forged mobile banking partnerships with 21 banks, including the 3 largest in the country - BPI, Metrobank and Banco de Oro. Current partners include Land Bank, Union Bank, East West Bank, among others. It is also currently in discussions with the Philippine National Bank.

On the average, the telco targets from 40,000-50,000 mobile banking users per bank, although raising the awareness of people about the service can compel more to shift.

“It’s a huge market. There’s enough space for everyone,” Nazareno claimed. Convenience is the major come-on. “It’s like having the bank in your cellphone. We want to take advantage of alternative channels to make banking more easy for our clients,” according to BPI President Aurelio Montinola III.

Users of the BPI-Smart full mobile banking services can pay most bills, from utilities to tuition fees from 200 merchants ranging from the largest utilities to small cooperatives, are via their cellular phones. BPI has the widest network of bill payment partners in the country.

Reloading of Smart buddy and Talk N Text prepaid accounts can also be done via the BPI-Smart facility. Users can send pre-paid load to family members and friends which will be debited from their enrolled BPI account.

BPI charges no transaction fees for the service. Mobile banking service users only pay the P2.50 per text charges, a Value Added Service (VAS) fee.

BPI clients must have at least one ATM-based BPI deposit account and enroll in the mobile banking facility via SMS. BPI credit cards are immediately tagged when ATM-based deposit accounts are applied.