Buqo, the premier Filipino e-bookstore app, and Smart Communications, the country’s largest mobile network, have partnered to bring Filipino books and magazines within reach for more customers worldwide.

In a recent partnership inked by the two powerhouses, Smart’s Airtime Mobile Payment System has been integrated into buqo’s e-bookstore app. Now, Smart subscribers can purchase their favorite Filipino content on buqo by either using their Smart Prepaid load or charging it to their postpaid account. In a country where credit card penetration is still very low, the move opens buqo to more customers by offering a payment option that’s utterly commonplace for Filipinos. “We know from statistics that a huge population of the Philippines remains unbanked. With no credit cards to use or bank accounts to source money from, a lot of potential buqo customers do not have the means to get the books and magazines they want”, says Chad Rosario, deputy general manager of Hand Interactive—the company behind buqo. He adds, “with Smart’s Mobile Payment System in place, more people can now purchase content from buqo using a system that’s easy and convenient.”

Last September, Smart reported that it had over 24 million subscribers. 

Buqo started distributing digital content in December 2013 when it launched the iOS version of its app. The Android version was released 3 months after in March this year. To date, buqo has over 650 books and more than 40 magazine titles that customers can choose from. Buqo now boasts an ever-growing catalog of Filipino reads spanning romance novels, young adult and popular fiction, comic books, business references, and motivational materials.

To start enjoying their great selection of Pinoy content, download the buqo Android app with Smart’s Airtime Mobile Payment System from the Google Play store (http://bit.ly/buqoandroid).

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