Philippines operator Globe says a 60 per cent growth in customer numbers in 2014 gave it leadership in the country’s mobile Point-of-Sale (mPoS) market, most likely at the expense of unnamed rival Smart.

The actual size of the Global Charge user base was not stated. The service, which launched in March 2014, enables businesses to plug a card reader into Android and iOS smartphones and tablets to turn them into payment terminals, similar to Square and other providers around the world.

The card reader, which is particularly aimed at SMEs, can process payments from both MasterCard and Visa cards.

Globe hopes that small businesses who do not currently accept credit cards will take up its mPoS service. The appeal is no minimum transaction volume or monthly subscription, and what the operator claims is a modest PHP499 ($11) price for the card reader.

The most obvious target of Globe’s leadership claim is rival operator Smart, which also launched a mPoS system in 2014. The two operators are both leaders in mobile money and vie for dominance in the Philippines.