SM in partner with VMOBILE expands cinema payment system [ePLUS]

THE SM group on Monday said it is expanding its contactless cinema payment system to other services in the mall.

Sahara Jean Garnica, head of SM’s e-Plus, said the new system allows payment for transactions in most anchor tenants in SM shopping malls.

The new e-Plus can also be used to pay UV Express shuttles in SM Passenger terminals, SM mall parking buildings and tickets for SM cinema, Mall of Asia Arena, Science Discovery Center, SM Bowling, SM Ice Skating, Storyland, SM Cinemas, Directors Club Cinemas, IMAX Theaters, as well as buy snacks from Snacktime.

“Soon, it also be accepted in all SM retail stores and merchants nationwide to provide cashless convenience coupled with a variety of exciting, exclusive perks and more savings,” Garnica said.

Previously, the payment system only covered payment for the tickets in SM cinema. The current holders of the old e-Plus system cards, however, will have to migrate to the new system.

“It [e-Plus] is envisioned to further branch out to include other applications in public transportation services, tollways access and remittance. Included in the e-Plus Tap to Pay development roadmap is NFC [near-field communication] technology, which allows the wallet to be in the mobile phone,” she said.

The said smart card can be reloaded from various centers and vending machines in the malls and soon via the mobile phone through V-Mobile dealers, a multilevel marketing firm.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. has 46 shopping malls in the country with a total gross floor area of 5.6 million square meters.

The company posted a 15-percent increase in its consolidated net income for the first three months of 2013 to P2.79 billion from last year’s P2.43 billion.

Revenues, on the other hand, reached P7.83 billion from P7.03 billion, or an 11-percent increase year-on-year.

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SOURCE: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/business/companies/14778-sm-expands-cinema-payment-system-to-include-more-services