Beep card system to cover provincial buses, car parks in 2019

Peter Maher, president and CEO of AF Payments Inc., the company behind the tap-and-go payment system Beep card, presents the company’s 2018 milestones and 2019 expansion plans. PHOTO by Faye Orellana/INQUIRER.net

AF Payments Inc., the company behind the Beep cards used to pay transportation fares around Metro Manila, is targeting to expand its reach in 2019.

Peter Maher, president and CEO of AF Payments Inc., said on Tuesday that the company aims to serve more passengers riding buses and modern jeepneys and is set to expand its services to cover more modes of transportation and routes.

The public can also expect electronic payment to be offered as part of the company’s expansion plans.

“More transport not just in NCR (National Capital region) but also around the country,” Maher said during a press conference, citing that buses traveling to and from provinces such as Bukidnon, Iloilo, and Cebu may be the first to use Beep cards outside Metro Manila.

He said the company is already in talks with transport operators in the said areas for possible partnerships.

Apart from this, Mahar said the company also targets to use cashless payment in one of the parking lot buildings in Makati city.

“We are working with Dela Rosa carpark in Makati, so that’s our first. We are already working with them; it’s almost there,” he said.

“This is the first time to use this kind of technology to get yourself in and out of a car park, so we will see how it runs,” he added.

In 2018, the company sold more than five million beep cars, and the number of transactions crossed the one-billion mark.

READ: 1 million ‘beep cards’ now in use by LRT, MRT commuters

The company introduced the Beep cards in 2015 and was first used for railroad transportation.

It then expanded its services to point-to-point buses, e-trikes located in Intramuros, and payments for selected food establishments around the metropolis. /ee