beep™ operator AF Payments Inc. recently went live in Bacolod City, in support of the automated fare collection needs of cooperatives operating the MBMJ and UY Transport Services, Inc., which plies the Alijis – Central Market Loop and Bata – Libertad Loop, and RSJ Lines, Inc. that handles the PHHC Homesite – Central Market route.
Commuters regularly traveling these routes can start enjoying more efficient, contactless fare payments. In addition, they can register their card to the beep™ app to be able to monitor their spending and earn rewards points where 1 point is earned for every P1 spent. The points can be converted to load to be used as fare payment in LRT1, LRT2, MRT3, city buses, modern jeepneys, and the entire beep™ network.
Rewards points can also be converted to make purchases from Ministop stores, with more retailers soon to accept the rewards points. At present, every 200 points earned entitles the customer to redeem PHP1 worth of beep™ load in the app.
Meanwhile, operators benefit from a more efficient fare collection system compared to the traditional method which is prone to error and pilferage.
“AF Payments has started expanding our business footprint in the Visayas to empower transport operators in the region in their compliance with the government’s PUV modernization program. We are reaching out to business owners and cooperatives nationwide that are looking for a dependable cashless payment provider, in our shared goal of providing a reliable micropayments solution to the 70 million public commuters in the country,” said Sharon Fong, Chief Commercial Officer of AF Payments Inc.
beep™ previously onboarded major players in the Visayas region’s transport sector, including CMLDOT (Cebu Mepza Liloan Driver’s and Operator’s Transport Cooperative), UDOTCO (United Drivers and Operators Transport Cooperative), and Topline Marina.
The primary offering for coop/transport partners is an Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS), an efficient and modern way of collecting fares from passengers of public transport. An AFCS device is installed in each vehicle in the fleet or in a transport terminal, and passengers can use it to pay their fare via contactless cards (beep™ cards) and digital payments like QR codes and tickets.
Other business solutions include the “Fleet Management System (FMS),” which enables transport operators to run their fleet of vehicles more efficiently and safely through a combination of vehicle tracking, full consumption reporting, monitoring driver behavior, and vehicle maintenance management; “QR Ticketing / QR Payment System” that maximizes the popularity of e-wallets in facilitating digital payments; “Barrier and Gate Solutions,” which serve as a control point to manage the flow of incoming and outgoing personnel or vehicles through beep™ card validators; and “Central Ticketing Solutions” and “Queue Management System” designed for transport terminal owners to help manage their operations and daily passenger flow more efficiently.
“These business solutions can be customized depending on the need of our transport partner and may be bundled as packaged services to make it more economical and convenient for the client. Ours is a full ecosystem of related solutions that benefit operators, retailers, and end-users alike—business owners enjoy more efficient payment collection, recording, and remittance, whereas end-users experience the world-class convenience of paying cashless and earning rewards from our nationwide network of transport and retail partners. In view of this, we are also looking for loading and card distribution partners in the Visayas to support the expansion of our ecosystem to better serve the commuters,” Fong added.
AF Payments Inc. is a consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. that provides contactless payment solutions in the Philippines. It introduced the beep™ card, a stored value card used to pay fares in the three elevated railways (LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3) in Metro Manila, select buses and PUVs nationwide, and in partner retail merchants. AF Payments is fully committed to continually introduce more innovative, cutting-edge solutions in the future, all geared towards making public commuting a more pleasant and productive experience for each Filipino.*
