AF Payments, Inc., operator of tap-to-pay system beep card, is looking to grow its operations by around 3% this year, according to Peter Maher, president and chief executive officer at AF Payments, citing the firm’s formation of a series of partnerships and improved services to help the commuting public as responsible for its growth.
Maher said the number of beep card users is growing every year. It is increasing in LRT 1, LRT 2, and MRT 3. Roughly, it’s about two out of three are using beep cards to take their journey.
“We see a steady pick up. Overall, seven days a week, about 60% of people are using beep cards. I think it will grow by around 3% this year,” Maher said.
More than five-million beep cards have been sold since its inception in 2015. These cards are used to pay for fare at elevated trains and select transportation, toll fees as well as for purchases at select retail outlets. It was in August this year when beep card hit its one billionth transaction in the light rail network.
Making payments convenient to the riding public, beep cards are now used in majority of point-to-point (P2P) buses plying in the metro, and are accepted in public utility vehicles (PUVs) such as modern jeeps and electric trikes (e-trikes) in Intramuros. Besides, the tap-to-pay system beep card has also been introduced for the first time in Mindanao via its partnership with Husky Tours, which operates a fleet of buses between General Santos and Cotabato.
Targeting mostly the uncarded and unbanked community, the company also partnered with Property Company of Friends (PRO-FRIENDS) to offer beep-enabled resident identification cards for access to transportation to and from and within its masterplanned communities in Cavite – Lancaster New City and Bellefort Estates – and entry to their key facilities.
Beep-enabled ID cards
This year also saw the firm’s collaboration with St. Jude Catholic School, making it the first beep-integrated educational institution with beep-enabled ID cards to allow its students to purchase cash-free from merchants inside the campus and avail of student discounts when they ride public buses and PUVs with beep acceptance.
Beep cards are currently being accepted in retail establishments such as Auntie Anne’s, Wendy’s, Binalot, Worship Generation and retail kiosks in train stations like Siomai House and Mr. Donut.
Apart from these, beep card also partnered with Coins.ph, a digital wallet and mobile payments app, to allow commuters to instantly load their beep cards with funds using NFC-enabled Android smartphones.
AF Payments also signed a partnership with EON by Unionbank to offer mobile app and Over-the-air (OTA) reloading, and China Bank to offer the first ever reloading services via automated teller machines (ATMs).
For next year, Maher said beep card plans to have stronger presence in more buses, modern PUVs, and further expand outside Metro Manila and parking areas. There is also plan to release a new version of the beep app with more features to make it more user-friendly. Aside from showing balances and last time transaction for registered cards, the app will have a loyalty component which earns points for users starting mid-2019 or earlier.
