Online loading firm eyes 10% of prepaid mobile phone industry

Uniwiz Trade Sales, Inc., which owns airtime credits distribution solution LoadCentral, is eyeing to corner 10% of the prepaid mobile phone industry, the company’s general manager, Jeff Boone, said. In an interview, Mr. Boone said this was the company’s long-term objective. LoadCentral is a solution that dispenses airtime credits via short message service (SMS) or a Web-interface. The system allows people with a cellular phone or computer with Internet connection that has been registered into the LoadCentral database to dispense and retail prepaid card products without carrying any sort of inventory. "That [target] translates to P600 million a month; it is a pretty big target. We need volume on the number of retailers," Mr. Boone said. But he added that the company is currently "not even close to that." In its Web site, LoadCentral said a retailer can either sell electronic personal identification numbers (PIN) of any brand of prepaid products or directly send load into subscriber’s account using his mobile phone or computer. Mr. Boone said there are currently 69,000 registered retailers nationwide. These include housewives, agents, Internet cafes, and students. "The prepaid industry accounts 85% of the total offering. You don’t default on payments... We really believe there is a big potential for our product offering," Mr. Boone said. He also said Uniwiz Trade Sales aims to expand LoadCentral’s coverage by working with distributor partners. Some of the retailers are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) based in Madrid, Barcelona, United States. Electronic GCs The company is also looking at tapping the remittance sector. Instead of cash, Filipinos working abroad can send gift certificates (GCs) in the form of electronic coupons or vouchers. "If you are in Dubai and you want to send your family budget for vitamins, the recipient [in the Philippines] can just go to an outlet when they receive the e-PIN," Mr. Boone said. "It is a convenience. It is something that will be an added value for our retailers and those working abroad. It expands their options," he added. The service, he said, is targetted for rollout this year. Uniwiz is a subsidiary of ComWorks, Inc., a distributor of mobile handsets, satellite products and wireless solutions in the Philippines. Aside from call cards and e-load, LoadCentral offers Internet and gaming cards. - RAMR/BusinesWorld