GlobeQuest introduces G-POS system

Innove Communications Inc. has come up with an all-in-one solution that gives some 14 million Globe Handyphone subscribers an opportunity to make essential G-Cash transactions in local retail outlets at the most convenient and secure way.

G-Cash is the first cardless and cashless integrated mobile payment service in the country, transforming the mobile phone into an electronic wallet.

It is increasingly being recognized as a powerful platform for micro-payments and entrepreneurship, thus providing retailers an alternative payment scheme for customers.

At present, G-Cash has more than one million registered users and nearly 4,000 partners and outlets locally and worldwide.

Thus, with G-Cash on one hand and GlobeQuest Store Express on the other, Innove gave birth to G-POS, a module that seamlessly integrates a store’s existing point-of-sale (POS) system with the G-Cash open platform in order to address the growing need for retail establishments’ integration of m-commerce services.

G-POS was launched recently at the Stores Asia Expo 2005 Retail Suppliers Exhibition, held concurrently with the National Retailers Conference at the Edsa Shangri-la Hotel.

To provide attendees with the total m-commerce shopping experience, G-Cash and GlobeQuest set up a fully operational G-Store, wherein shoppers could purchase premium items and beverages using their mobile wallet. Subscribers could also exchange their cash for G-Cash via the prototype G-Cash Automated Machine, also on display at the exhibit.

G-POS allows stores to use their existing POS system instead of using a cellular phone to handle G-Cash transactions such as merchant payments, bills payments, cash and m-currency conversions, and AutoLoadMAX reloads through GlobeQuest Store Express.

GlobeQuest Store Express is a solution specifically designed to address the various connectivity requirements of the retail industry and to meet both the network and IT requirements of any retail company, regardless of its retail format and size.

With the collaboration of G-Cash and GlobeQuest Store Express, customers get to enjoy a higher level of service and ultimately, a fulfilling shopping experience, said Gil Genio, Innove chief executive officer, during the conference where he discussed how to revolutionize the Philippine retail industry through telecommunications.

"Sometimes, the most effective solutions arise from simple things. Today, much of the coordination in the retail supply chain goes through texting. SMS is not just a consumer phenomenon, it is now a key business backbone for our SMEs," he said.

Genio added that the advent of empowered consumers, enabled by various hi-tech tools, translates into better-informed customers who are more discerning of products.

"We constantly keep in mind two continuing challenges. First, we need to optimize IT and telecommunications at the store level to ensure that we make the best use of the information we already collect. Second, increasingly, we are moving from individual product lines toward packages of inter-related products or services, leveraging strengths arising from our product, our brand, our relationship with the customer, or our scale," Genio said.