MANILA, Philippines – You don’t have to wait in line to grab tickets for the screening of the final installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 or any other movie starting this month. Reserve tickets from home, the office or just about anywhere with Internet access.

This was why the IMAX Theater at the SM Mall of Asia was buzzing with excitement Wednesday night when they launched their new website packed with new features, including online reservation and ticket purchasing function.

The first to introduce mobile ticketing in the country, SM Cinema lets moviegoers use their mobile phones to redeem tickets purchased online, too. SM explained that tickets could be redeemed using a text message containing a ‘bCode’ which could be scanned from the mobile phone screen using the bCode Machine present in every SM cinema nationwide.

The shopping mall giant is especially proud in announcing that their bCode service is compatible with any mobile phone as it can ‘securely read and authenticate plaint-text, SMS-based encrypted codes’ right from the screen of the customer’s handset.

All customers need to do is access the website www.smcinema.com and register to be able to purchase tickets online. Upon choosing a movie, customers are asked to indicate the payment mode they want to use: credit card or Gcash. SM also said they would charge an extra P20 per ticket purchased by the customer and does not offer refunds.

Customers can pick the movie they want to watch online, pick the date and time of screening that is most convenient, and even reserve seats, all through a device with internet access. SM said bCodes are sent through e-mail or text message.

Michael Mak, San Francisco-based bCode’s founder and CEO said that bCode was created to help retailers ‘reach, reward, and retain customers,’ as their industry has evolved into a more ‘competitive landscape’ where ‘merchants earning the most customer loyalty will, in turn, become the most profitable.’