EXECUTIVES of Visa Inc. and USSC Money Services Inc. (UMSI) launched last Tuesdaya payment solution they said would enable micro-sized, small-scale, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines to turn smartphones into payment acceptance devices, removing the need for traditional point-of-sale terminals.
Explaining the concept of accepting payments through smartphones instead of POS terminals, UMSI Chief Marketing Officer J. Richard Soriano said that ‘as you can see in a restaurant, the business model for most of those business terminals, you also have to pay a rental fee for those devices; plus, of course, the compliance requirements. This one [the solution called ‘U Accept’], it’s really, you already spent on a phone.’
‘I just have to put an app there and suddenly with a tap of the card, you can accept the payment. So, again, it’s not for everyone. It’s really just for business owners,’ Soriano told reporters on the sidelines of the launch.
According to him, ‘U Accept’ is integrated in UMSI’s digital platform for entrepreneurs and small businesses called ‘uGrow.’
A statement provided by the company read that the solution helps remove barriers to digital acceptance and helps MSMEs participate ‘more fully’ in the digital economy.
Visa Philippines Country Manager Jeffrey Navarro explained, however, that the solution is not designed to compete with POS. Instead, this payment solution intends to onboard businesses into digital transactions, Navarro said.
‘What we’re looking for is a graduation model, meaning this is the basic-it gets you into digital transactions,’ he told reporters.
‘You would see that there there is a cap. So, once demand has been developed, and you always reach that cap, then probably the next proposition for you is, we graduate towards the SMB program, which can qualify now for a POS device. So, what we’re trying to do is, get you started first,’ Navarro added. ‘When you graduate, it means business is doing great for you.’
For a smartphone to be ‘eligible’ or to start accepting contactless card payments, Visa Head of Product Michelle F. Mascariñas explained that the smartphone needs to be NFC-enabled.
‘It works on Android and iOS devices as well. So those are the basics which I think almost everyone, even in this room, have,’ added Mascariñas.
According to Visa, MSME owners can activate ‘U Accept’ within the ‘uGrow’ app to accept contactless payments including cards and pay-by-link, making digital acceptance ‘more accessible and inclusive’ without the need to invest in additional proprietary hardware.
As a customer-centric innovation, the solution was designed around the realities of running a small business, read documents provided by Visa executives. Business owners and customers can use the solution to transact with confidence and ease with the security, reliability, and dispute protections expected from Visa card payments, the document read.
With U Accept, MSME users can also send digital receipts to buyers via email and check transaction history, which ‘complements’ the uGrow app’s other features, such as sales monitoring and inventory management, according to Visa executives.