You Can Soon Use GCash to Pay for Bus, Train Rides

Trust us, once you go cashless, there's no turning back. We've always prioritized comfort and convenience. When you start using your mobile wallet or card, you'll rarely need to withdraw cash—unless absolutely necessary.

Case in point: public transport. While we already have beep cards for bus and train fares, their use is limited to specific stations. Now, mobile wallet GCash is riding the bandwagon to offer more cashless options for commuters. According to the financial services app, it is already in talks with the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

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“We are working on partnerships with the DOTr to identify certain stations where they can enable 'Tap to Pay' in terminals,” GCash Chief Marketing Officer Neil Trinidad told reporters in an interview.

“Tap to Pay,” a feature set to be rolled out by GCash, will allow commuters to pay for their rides by simply tapping their mobile phones on ticket terminals. The earliest we could see this up and running is by next year. This upgrade is considered significant for the country’s public transport sector, following the practices of countries like Japan and China.

“Once you log in to your [GCash] app, all it takes is a simple tap of your phone to make a payment,” Oscar Reyes, Jr., president and CEO of GCash operator G-Xchange, said. “Skip those payment lines during rush hour. Just tap and ride.”

Beep cards, launched in the Philippines in 2015, were initially intended for use in major train stations in Metro Manila, including the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 and 2 and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3. They have since expanded to include bus lines, such as P2P buses, as well as other city and provincial buses.

AF Payments, Inc. (AFPI), the operator of beep cards, earlier said it was working to launch quick response (QR) code-based tickets for trains and buses. It has also teamed up with Maya to enable the tapping in and out of QR codes from the digital banking app. Neither of the plans, however, has pushed through.