MANILA, Philippines - Mobile payment services target a larger segment of the population that do not own credit cards and are seen to benefit small merchants.

The number of credit card users in the Philippines is pegged at about 5 million to 6 million. In comparison, there are about 70 million mobile phone subscribers.

The recent re-introduction of the online payment feature of Smart Money and Globe GCash is expected to spur Filipinos to purchase products and pay for services online.

So far, there are six million Smart Money users while GCash has around 1.2 million.

Dozens of Filipino online merchants use credit card payment systems for purchases made by customers. However, some also use payment gateways such as PayPal and PayEasy. A few also have ATM debit card systems.

One of the key issues for the relatively slow uptake of online purchases among Filipinos is security.

Rizza Maniego-Eala, president of Globe-owned G-Xchange Inc. said Filipinos are still afraid to do online payment more out of fear that their accounts being stolen than simply not knowing how it works.

Likewise, Lisette Cipriano senior product manager for Smart?s wireless consumer division, also stressed the need for people to better understand how online payment could be done securely.

In addition, Cipriano noted that ease of use is also a concern for Filipinos. ?The idea is the lesser the [mouse] clicks, the better.?

Those that would greatly benefit from new online payment schemes are online merchants, particularly trading portals such as Sulit.com.ph.

In an interview, Sulit.com.ph founder RJ David said online payment schemes are a boon to online purchases as these spur Filipinos to go online and purchase items straight from the merchants.

It also takes away the need to actually travel to the seller to get the item. In most cases, some of these items can be delivered via courier service.

David said a large number of transactions from buyers online are ?kaliwaan? or payments during meet ups between buyer and seller. Some also do bank deposits or wire transfers.

However, many are also opting for cash transfers using GCash or Smart Money.

As Internet use grows, so will the number of local products and services being offered online, which will in turn spur more Filipinos to transact online.

?This could translate to higher usage of electronic money, which bodes well for our business,? David said about Sulit.com.ph, a business that he started with his wife Arianne in 2006.