AF PAYMENTS, Inc. has partnered with Coins.ph to allow the reloading of “beep” cards using the application.
The contactless payment provider partnered with digital wallet and mobile payment app to allow users to load their beep card with funds from their Coins.ph wallet by tapping the card on their phone. Coins.ph digital wallets can be loaded in 33,000 locations nationwide.
Users have to download the latest Coins.ph app on their Android phones, and log in to their account. They can load as low as P10 with no extra fee.
“Coins.ph provides beep cardholders the ability to load their cards anytime, anywhere just by tapping their card on their smartphone. This added convenience means no more falling in line to add load during the busy rush hour,” Peter Maher, president and CEO of AF Payments, Inc. said in a statement.
Mr. Maher told reporters the company is adding about 1 million users per year since it introduced beep cards in 2015. The figure is expected to decline with many users reloading previously bought cards.
Ron Hose, CEO of Coins.ph, said in a statement, the partnership with AF Payments “represents a catalytic step forward in a vision that we share with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas of forging an advanced digital economy by 2020.”
Beep cards are accepted at the Light Rail Transit-1, LRT-2, and the Metro Rail Transit-3, the Manila-Cavite Expressway, North Luzon Expressway, select bus lines, and in select FamilyMart, Robinsons Movieworld, and Wendy’s branches. It is reloadable and valid for four years.
Coins.ph was founded in 2014 and operates in Thailand and the Philippines. It is a mobile blockchain-enabled platform that enables anyone, including those without bank accounts, to easily access financial services directly from their phone.
AF Payments, Inc. is a consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. that provides contactless payment solutions in the Philippines.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
