AF Payments, Inc., the company behind “beep” cards, said on Friday it is tapping local firm Justpayto Philippines Corp. (Justpay.to) to allow online reloading in its tap-and-go payment system.
In a statement, AF Payments said the partnership will allow beep card users to top-up their cards on Justpay.to’s website (www.justpay.to/beep), removing the need to download a mobile application or digital wallet.
“We are constantly looking for ways to make reloading convenient for our cardholders. (This is) a simple and easy to use reloading system that I am positive our cardholders will welcome,” AF Payments President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Maher said in the statement.
The reloading system through Justpay.to will be activated by next month.
Beep cards, which currently have 5.5 million users, is commonly used on Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), LRT-2 and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), where AF Payments is the concessionaire of the government for the payment collection system.
Justpay.to is a central bank-registered remittance company that also works with Bayad Center, Manila Electric Company (Meralco), Globe Telecom, Inc. and San Miguel Corp.’s radio-frequency identification (RFID) system.
Last year, Coins.ph and China Banking Corp. (China Bank) also signed deals with AF Payments for beep card reloading options.
AF Payments is a joint venture of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. that develops contactless payment solutions.
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