MANILA -Commuters can now use their Mastercard prepaid, credit, and debit cards to pay for their bus rides in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) starting this Thursday, November 21, 2024, with the launch of Mastercard and beep™ operator AF Payments Inc.’s (AFPI) tap-and-go system.

Cardholders can simply tap their card directly on BGC bus validators, eliminating the need to buy separate bus tickets.

This new program expands the existing contactless payment options available via beep™ cards and beep™  QR codes.

“70 percent of consumers say they want options on how to pay so if they want to pay via QR, via credit, via tap, via online payment— they want to be presented with multiple options,” said Mastercard Philippines Country Manager Simon Calasanz.

Kim Sato, who travels to BGC every day for work, said this is a welcome development because he will no longer need to line up to reload his beep card— a process that usually slows down his commute.

“Hassle siya kapag madaming pila and rush hour like 6am or 6pm kasi matatagalan ka talaga sa pila para lang magload ng beep card,” he said.

Mastercard has enabled this same Open Loop Transit system in several major cities around the world such as London, Sydney, and Singapore.

Now, Calasanz said, Filipinos can also benefit from using just one card for both their transport and retail needs.

“The first time I went to Hong Kong, which was 2005, I remember using the stored value Octopus card which you could use not only at the MRT stations. You could also use them at convenience stores. And I was thinking parang ang ganda ng experience na ‘to… Fast forward a few more years, and Singapore, the same thing happened. And not only stored credit cards but you could use your credit card. Now, very proudly together with Beep and Landbank, we’re able to say we did it andito na tayo!” he said.

AFPI President and CEO JJ Moreno said this also provides foreign tourists with a more convenient commute.

“Especially for tourist areas, the likes of Mastercard and EMV cards are very very important because they don’t have to buy a beep card. So it’s good for the economy to have an open loop,” he said.

WHERE TO NEXT?

The next phases of the program will introduce contactless payments across other transit systems, including EDSA buses and the MRT-3 where a lot more passengers would be able to benefit from it.

But to make that happen, AFPI President and CEO JJ Moreno said they would need to continue working with the government.

“I wish it would be next year. I hope to be able to do something by mid of next year but unfortunately, it cannot be left to us alone because we have a counterparty to convince to also look into the same direction,” said Moreno.

As a pre-requisite, AFPI and Mastercard are urging the government to mandate a cashless system when onboard the EDSA Bus Carousel.

“It’s going to be difficult to run two systems, a cash and a non-cash system in EDSA if you imagine people going up and down. It’s more efficient also,” said Moreno.

Calasanz believes the public also needs a little push, just like when toll roads transitioned to a more cashless system.

“For the longest time meron nang EasyTrip and Autosweep. But also for a very long time, people were queuing on the cash payment queue. It was only when the toll roads said mawawala na ang cash that everybody started migrating so there has to be some push to really say that this is the way that we’ll do it,” he said.

AFPI and Mastercard also aspire to further expand to jeepneys, ferries, and bus lines across the country.