Zion Mhar Kaezer Corpuz

On May 30, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon announced plans to implement cashless payment systems, which will be made available in July of this year, aiming to make public transport more convenient.

Photo Courtesy of Fuse Philippines.

The new payment scheme for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) lines will allow the use of mobile wallets such as GCash and PayMaya, as well as debit and credit cards, without the need for Beep cards.

DOTr said it will install new turnstiles compatible with these cashless options as part of its automatic fare collection (AFC) system upgrades.

Dizon mentioned that transactions will be as simple as tapping the phone or card in a turnstile or the mechanical gate.

“I-implement na natin sa MRT at sa ibang mga tren natin. Alam ko pati credit card puwede na. Ita-tap mo na lang ‘yung phone mo. Hindi ka na kailangan bumili ng Beep card,” he explained.

Moreover, Dizon shared that the idea of having a cashless transaction was proposed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was inspired by transport systems in other countries.

“Nakikita na naman natin ito sa ibang bansa. So, iyon ang sabi ng ating Pangulo, gawin na rin natin ‘yung mga modern facilities sa ibang bansa dito para sa mga kababayan natin,” he stressed.

The president has directed cabinet officials and agency heads to complete infrastructure and digitalization projects on schedule to improve daily life for Filipinos.

DOTr is now working with transport operators and financial service providers to ensure the smooth launch of the said program.