by Denise Subido
Today’s world is made smaller and more convenient through the use of technology. What was once impossible or inconvenient can now be done with one touch on your mobile phone. In the Philippines, 80% of households have at least one mobile phone. Aside from making calls, texts and use of internet, mobile phones can also be used to make payments through the use of mobile money. This has the potential to make lives more convenient.
According to the World Bank, mobile money is the provision of financial transactions through a mobile device. This encompasses a range of services which includes, but is not limited to, payments, finance, and banking services. Through mobile money, transactions that used to take up time and effort can now be done anytime and anywhere, with the help of a mobile device.
This was the premise for the project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) entitled Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM). The project aimed to propagate the use of mobile money in various financial transactions so as to increase access to financial services in areas that lack access to banking facilities. The project advocated the usage of mobile money for transactions in order to make these faster, cheaper, accessible, and more efficient.
One of the pilot partners for the project is the local government unit (LGU) of Pulilan, Bulacan. For Pulilan, the specific transactions that were included in the partnership were payments for utilities and salaries of the government employees. Instead of receiving salaries in cash, these are debited directly to their mobile money accounts and can be used to pay transactions or can be withdrawn using an ATM card linked to their mobile money account. Through the project, Pulilan LGU employees were given mobile money accounts with BPI Globe BanKO, a mobile-phone based savings bank. BPI Globe BanKO was also the conduit for utility payments, particularly for water and electricity bills. Constituents of Pulilan were also encouraged to open accounts with BPI Globe BanKO in order for them to pay their utility bills using mobile money.
Nikole Alicer, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist under the project, said that, “As of date, the Municipality of Pulilan, Bulacan has been successfully using the new electronic payroll system via mobile money for two years since launching of services in August 2013. Notably, BPI Globe BanKO has reported that among their payroll accounts, Pulilan accountholders show the highest level of activities.”
Utility payments and salary disbursements are now made more secure, convenient and cost-effective in the municipality of Pulilan. Precious time is saved that brings down opportunity and economic costs when mobile money is used. Nikole added, “M-money offers an innovative, secure, cost-effective transaction, digitally especially for those in the far-flung areas. It also offers greater ability to track financial flows in line with the government’s thrust towards greater transparency and accountability in financial transaction.”
From June 2013 to December 2014, SEDPI delivered training sessions under the project. SEDPI, as the partner capacity-builder in the project, ensured that the LGU employees were able to understand how to use mobile money to their advantage. SEDPI delivered financial literacy trainings to the employees, highlighting mobile money as a crucial tool for managing personal finances.