MasterCard Powers Android Pay, bringing mobile payments to android device owners

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Cardholders can securely pay in-store and within Android apps

Google recently unveiled Android Pay, which will enable MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid and small business cardholders to use their Android phones for everyday purchases in-store and within Android apps. This news provides MasterCard cardholders with even more options for paying on the go using their choice of mobile device.

The ubiquity of mobile phones is changing the way consumers pay. According to a recent Federal Reserve report, 39 percent of all mobile payment users with smartphones have made a point-of-sale payment demonstrating the increased demand for simple and secure ways to make device-based payments. MasterCard built the foundation for secure mobile transactions, having introduced contactless payments more than a decade ago and delivering a complementary digital enablement platform in 2013 that is driving today’s mobile payment solutions. 

MasterCard contactless is accepted at more than three million merchants in 68 countries around the world, and our MasterCard Digital Enablement Service enables Android Pay to deliver a simple and secure payment experience so that consumers can use their cards when, where and how they want.

Starting this summer, owners of eligible Android devices will be able to use their MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid and small business cards directly through Android Pay. For consumers and merchants alike, every purchase made with a tokenized MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid or small business card will offer the same security, benefits and guarantees as any MasterCard transaction.And because Android Pay never shares the actual card number with merchants, consumers are provided with an extra layer of security.

“Mobile payments are here, and are now an essential part of the core value proposition for new devices,” said Ed McLaughlin, Chief Emerging Payments Officer, MasterCard. “With the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) and Android Pay, we can now use secure tokens to easily enable payments from a consumer’s connected device. This news extends consumer choice and drives further ubiquity of payments on devices.” 

“Mobile payments is big a priority for Google, so we've been working with major networks like MasterCard to help provide a seamless experience across a wide range of phones and stores. Android Pay will offer people further simplicity, security and choice when paying for things with their Android phones,” said Pali Bhat, Director, Product Management, Google.

Android Pay will be made available for U.S. Android users (running KitKat or higher) in the upcoming months. Contactless payments are currently accepted at major U.S. stores, restaurants, transit providers, fuel and convenience stores who will now also accept MasterCard transactions made using Android Pay. To find a listing of contactless-enabled merchant locations, download the MasterCard Nearby app or go to www.mastercard.com/contactless.

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Solane invites moms to take Cuisinera Challenge

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Solane, a leading brand of cooking gas, invites moms to take the exciting Cuisinera Challenge: 2015 Mommy Edition! Be part of the challenge that proves great Filipino family food is not solely found in restaurants offered by chefs but is authentically found at home.

Happening this July, Cuisinera Challenge is a cook-off where contestants are tasked to prepare an original recipe that can be prepared in 30 minutes. Serving as the program adviser is Nancy Reyes-Lumen, Filipino food promoter, culinary researcher and food journalist. 

The winner will take home P30,000, a one-year supply of Solane LPG and eight 11-kg Solane refill gift certificates. The second and third place winner will be awarded P10,000 and P5,000 respectively. The remaining final participants will receive a Solane gift pack: Solane USBs, branded aprons and collectible mugs.

Solane’s Cuisinera Challenge is open to a Filipina mommy (22-50 years old) who lives in Metro Manila and Greater Manila Area: Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, and Pampanga. She shouldn’t have credentials in professional cooking and is not practicing chef duties in any establishment. 

To join, interested parties must send an original 30-minute recipe with the name of the dish, ingredients (in metric measure), procedure, photos of the dish with at least three angles of perspective, a short description, why they chose to do the dish, and from whom did they learn to cook the dish on short bond paper. On a separate page, contestants should include a short biography along with their name, a recent photo and contact details. 

The criteria for judging are recipe logic and correctness (40%), quality of answers in the essay questions and mandatory information (30%), quality of photos (20%), and completeness of documents or requirements (10%).

Mail your entries in a short brown envelope labeled “Cuisinera Challenge 2015” to Isla LPG Corporation, 14/F Citibank Center, 8741 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City from June 10, 2015 to July 13, 2015.

Twenty entries will be picked for the cook-off round on July 31, 2015 at an event venue to be announced soon.

For more information, visit www.solane.com.ph or text +63918 887 5555.

Bosch achieves double-digit growth in the Philippines

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(L-R) Bosch Philippines Automotive  Aftermarket Country Sales Manager Paolo Duarte, Bosch Philippines Managing  Director Andrew Powell, Bosch Philippines Power Tools Country Sales Director  William Go

The Philippines is Bosch’s fastest growing market in Southeast Asia

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, closed its 2014 fiscal year with USD 42.5 million (32 million euros)* in consolidated sales in the Philippines. Compared to the year before, the company achieved a double-digit growth of more than 45 percent, making the Philippines the fastest growing market for Bosch in Southeast Asia. 

The strong growth is based on the successful performance of the company’s power tools and automotive businesses, along with significant contributions from its security systems business which formally established local operations in 2014. As of April 2015, Bosch had increased its workforce in the Philippines to nearly 400 associates.

“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our office in Manila, Bosch remains strongly committed to the Philippine market through continued product and service diversification, employment growth, compelling social and sustainability programs, trainings, and partnerships,” said Andrew Powell, managing director of Bosch in the Philippines. 

“For 2015, we expect further sales growth in the country based on an increased demand for our innovative products ‘invented for life’,” Powell added. Recognized as the Philippines’ most competitive city and dubbed by the United Nations as one of nine ‘Emerging Cities of Tomorrow’, Cagayan de Oro is earmarked as the third Bosch business hub location outside of Metro Manila, set to open before the end of the year.

(R-L) Bosch Philippines Automotive Aftermarket Country Sales Manager Paolo Duarte, Bosch Philippines Managing Director Andrew Powell, Bosch Philippines Power Tools Country Sales Director William Go

The up-and-coming city provides easy access to a large concentration of markets in Northern Mindanao, including mining and energy. In 2013, Bosch expanded its operations into Visayas and Mindanao with the opening of its Cebu and Davao business hubs respectively.

Positive development across all business sectors

Buoyed by robust investments in the property development market, Bosch´s Consumer Goods business sector achieved its eighth consecutive year of double-digit growth in the Philippines. To tap on the country’s growing DIY market, a new line of rotary tools was introduced in 2014 under the Dremel brand.

The Mobility Solutions business sector, formerly known as Automotive Technology, experienced a double-digit sales increase in the Philippines compared to the year before. The sector expanded its distribution network and broadened its product portfolio in the country to include gasoline systems components and batteries. In addition, the number of Bosch Car Service and Diesel Centers has been increased to a total of 40 workshops over the course of the year.

(R-L) Bosch Philippines Automotive Aftermarket Country Sales Manager Paolo Duarte, Bosch Philippines Managing Director Andrew Powell, Bosch Philippines Power Tools Country Sales Director William Go

The Energy and Building Technology business sector encountered an encouraging 2014, with its Security Systems division securing notable projects within its first year of local operations. Dubbed as the world’s largest indoor arena, the Philippine Arena in Bulacan boasts of 28 hangs of line array speakers and 56 passive loudspeaker systems – which makes it one of the division’s largest projects to date. The Security Systems division also installed 2,000 public address and background music speakers in the City of Dreams, a prime hotel and entertainment development project in the heart of the nation’s capital. Both projects utilized solutions under the Electro-Voice pro-audio equipment brand.

In 2015, the Industrial Technology business sector will commence local operations of its Drive and Control division. Specializing in linear motion for industrial applications, the division will begin making its line of machinery available to the Philippine market under the Bosch Rexroth brand.

Rebuilding the community

Bosch embarked on Tindog Pilipinas, a rebuilding program for Typhoon Yolanda- stricken communities. The program included the construction of an elementary school and a library in Daanbantayan, Cebu, which were completed in late 2014. At the beginning of June 2015, Bosch Philippines inaugurated a computer laboratory for Alang-Alang Agro-Industrial School, and a math and science center for Alang-Alang National High School, under its Tindog Pilipinas initiative. An industrial center for Tanauan II Central School in Leyte will be completed and turned over in early July. Furthermore, Bosch will be working closely with the schools to develop learning modules suitable for K-12 applications in the coming months.

2014 also saw the completion of Bosch’s Paint The Town Red project, through which Bosch constructed basketball courts for underserved barangays nationwide, turning over the 56th court in Yolanda-stricken Tacloban City.

Bosch Group business outlook for 2015

The Bosch Group expects global sales to grow within an exchange rate-adjusted range of 3 to 5 percent in 2015. Speaking at the company’s recent annual press conference in Germany, the Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said: “Our economic and technological strength in established business fields is enabling us to tap into new market segments.” Web-enabled products and internet-based services are one of the focal points of the company’s future business. “We are driving connectivity forward in all our business sectors and playing an active role in shaping it,” Denner added. In 2014, Bosch launched many new products and connected solutions, including software solutions for smart heating systems and buildings as well as for connected industry and connected mobility. With the complete acquisitions of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH and Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH, Bosch has strengthened its position in the fields of smart homes and automated driving.

In Asia Pacific, Bosch grew its sales 17 percent (19 percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects) in 2014, to USD 14.3 billion (13 billion euros). At just under 27 percent of total sales revenue, the region’s share of sales reached a new high. Sales growth was especially strong in China, rising a nominal 27 percent to USD 7 billion (6.4 billion euros). The company achieved a year on year sales growth of around seven percent in Southeast Asia by generating USD 893 million (672 million).

Robert Bosch Inc. 

28th Floor Fort Legend Towers, 3rd Avenue

corner 31st Street, Fort Bonifacio Global City, 1634 Taguig City, Philippines

E-mail Kristina.Reyes@ph.bosch.com

Phone +63 2 8703837

Fax +63 2 8703805

Corporate Communications, www.bosch.com.ph www.bosch-press.com

Piolo Pascual and Sarah Geronimo Movie ‘The Breakup Playlist’ is Rated PG

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“The Breakup Playlist” directed by Dan Villegas, has received a Parental Guidance (PG) rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

The announcement came two days before the grand opening of the movie featuring box office royalties Sarah Geronimo and Piolo Pascual in their first team-up together.

This romantic drama ‘The Breakup Playlist’ with Piolo Pascual and Sarah Geronimo is a film centering on two musicians, Trixie David (Sarah) and Gino Avila (Piolo), whose journey is chronicled through the songs they wrote, sang, and listened to in the process.

Paano Ba Ang Magmahal (The Breakup Playlist Official Music Video)

Synopsis: 

What if you have a dream and that dream leads you to love? In Dan Villegas’ “The Breakup Playlist,” Trixie David (Sarah Geronimo), a law student (by her parent’s – especially her mother’s – choice) and hopeful musician, catches the attention of popular rock star Gino Avila (Piolo Pascual) during a music camp and invites her to be part of his band. Trixie and Gino’s connection through music soon develops into something more, and they fall in love, will the man inspire her to pursue her true dreams and capture her heart. However, personal issues and ambition challenge Trixie and Gino’s love for each other. Will they be able to hold on to their love forever? Or will it, just like any song, end eventually?

“The Breakup Playlist” also stars Cris Villonco, Teddy Corpuz, Jet Pangan, Badji Mortiz, Maris Racal, Diego Loyzaga, Dennis Padilla, Rio Locsin, and Anna Luna, and features appearances by real-life musicians and producers.

Opening nationwide this July 1, "The Breakup Playlist" is directed by Dan Villegas and produced by Star Cinema and Viva Films.

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For more updates on your favorite Star Cinema movies, continue to visit www.starcinema.com.ph

K to 12 Program wins support from LGUs, parents, teachers

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Support from the local government units (LGUs) and General Parents-Teachers Associations (GPTAs) continues to pour out as the Department of Education (DepEd) gears up for the full implementation of the K to 12 Program.

“The K to 12 Program will remove the disadvantages for our graduates and professionals who compete in the global market. In connection, K to 12 opens the door for the recognition of our graduates and professionals under the European Standard known as the Bologna Process and the Washington Accord for the United States,” said John Marvin Nieto, Acting Presiding Officer of the City Council of Manila, in a statement.

The City Council of Manila also reiterated that the previous 10-year basic education program was congested and insufficient, causing Filipino learners to lag behind compared to their counterparts overseas. The council also acknowledged adequacy of the additional two (2) years in high school, taking into consideration that all of the countries in the world had implemented the K to 12 Program long before, except for Djibouti and Angola.

Moreover, the General Parents-Teachers Association (GPTA) from the Division of Mandaluyong pledged their support to the K to 12 Program by committing to provide career guidance to the learners, initiating school-based interventions complementary to the schools’ academic enhancement of children and educating their co-parents on the fruits of K to 12. More importantly, parents of Mandaluyong pledged to ensure that their children will advance to Senior High School after Grade 10.

Supporters believe that the new K to 12 curriculum is designed to allow students to acquire 21st century skills that will gain them access to a wide array of opportunities, should they choose to be employed, become a young entrepreneur or enter college.