GLOBE Fintech Innovations Inc. (GFII) said it partnered with the beep brand operator AF Payments Inc. for use of the eponymous beep card in the services of Topline Express Ferries in Cebu. The beep cards as currently used by passengers in buses that run in Taguig City’s commercial and business district.
Under the first phase of the firms’ partnership, GFII will enable its users to use their mobile wallets called “GCash” to pay for their bus or ferry fares through a QR code scanner. The second phase will involve the integration of the beep card in the GCash mobile application.
“GCash will be the first mobile wallet to partner with beep for cashless payments. This is a very strong use case for Filipinos to adopt cashless solutions through GCash,” GFII Executive James Mauricio V. Aujero said.
Reginald P. Reyes, who sits as chief technology officer at AF Payments, said the agreement’s main value proposition is “the choice that it gives to consumers.”
“With 6.5 million beep cards in the market, and over 20 million GCash account holders nationwide, the partnership is expected to benefit a sizable portion of e-wallet customers in the Philippines,” Reyes said.
“The advantage of having GCash as partner is the expansion of the options available for the passengers,” he added. “The beep card is more of a stored-value card, while GCash is for a single journey tickets.”
Reyes noted that his group is “open” to accepting other e-wallets into the beep system to further provide convenience to digital natives.