Mobile operator Globe Telecom has partnered with credit card firm MasterCard to come up with its own GCash ?beep? card that can be used to ride the MRT/LRT and as an all-around debit/ATM card.
Early last month, PLDT unit Voyager Innovations rolled out its PayMya beep card but with Visa as a partner. Just like GCash, it can also be used to purchase items online.
At a launch event at the Aracama restaurant in Bonifacio Global City on Monday, Nov. 16, newly appointed G-Xchange president and CEO Xavier Marzan said the new card will give Filipinos access to modern payment solutions.
?Here in the Philippines, three out of four adults do not have bank accounts. And even within the banked population, there are hugely underserved segments with only 3% credit card penetration,? said Marzan.
?We at GCash are enabling this market with financial services such as GCash beep MasterCard to give them all the convenience of cashless shopping and payment, among other benefits,? he said.
G-Xchange, a unit of Globe, operates GCash.
Poch Villa-Real, MasterCard country head, said: ?We are very pleased with our collaboration with GXI on the launch of the new GCash beep MasterCard. As a valued MasterCard member, all GCash beep MasterCard users will now have access to over 40 million MasterCard merchant locations and ATMs worldwide.
Villa-Real added: ?This card certainly provides a powerful tool to consumers in the Philippines, enhancing their daily lives given their expanding purchasing needs locally, overseas and in the digital space.?
Executives said the GCash beep MasterCard is the first value-added card to be beep ready. Since the start of September 2015, GCash started selling GCash beep MasterCard in parallel with the expansion of the tap payment facilities in various MRT/LRT stations.
beep is the authorized reloadable electronic payment under the unified LRT/MRT ticket system which started full implementation on October this year. It is operated by AF Payments Incorporated primarily owned by Ayala Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation.
?Making the lives of Filipinos a lot easier and better through technology is always our priority. Thus, we made sure that the beep functionality is part of the GCash MasterCard. With it, commuters don?t need to line up every time they ride the MRT or LRT which takes a long time, because with this new card, they can purchase their fare like a stored value card,? Marzan added.
As GCash beep MasterCard features the MasterCard functionality, cardholders can swipe their cards for all their purchases. They can use it for grocery, shopping and dining to name a few. Furthermore, cardholders can also use it locally or overseas.
The GCash beep MasterCard may be availed at any of the 35 selected Globe Stores nationwide and roving caravans for P150.
It includes a free prepaid Globe SIM card and P30 in GCash load. The personalized GCash beep Mastercard can be ready in a few minutes once a valid ID is presented.
Funds for the card may be loaded by cashing in at any of the 10,000 GCash outlets nationwide. These outlets include all Globe Stores, 7-11 convenience stores, SM Department Stores, Puregold Supermarkets and pawnshops such as Tambunting and Villarica, among others.
In addition, GCash subscribers can also use mobile and online banking to fund their Gcash beep MasterCard.
On the other hand, to reload the beep account, customers just need to place the GCash beep MasterCard on top of the Stored Value Card reader of the ticket vending machine at any LRT/MRT station, choose the ?Stored Value? option on the screen, insert the corresponding amount of money on the slot provided, and wait for the transaction receipt to come out.
As a cardholder with a GCash account, customers may buy discounted prepaid Globe/TM phone load, send money to any Globe/TM user for free, receive remittances, pay bills and even withdraw cash from any automated teller machine (ATM) worldwide.
Furthermore, with GCash, customers can also check their GCash balance anytime and monitor all their transactions.
