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G-Xchange, Inc President and CEO Xavier Marzan (left) and MasterCard Country Manager Poch Villa-Real (right) with a giant rendition of the new GCash beep MasterCard during its official media launch held at the Aracama Restaurant, Bonifacio Global City on November 16, 2015.
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More than a million Filipinos riding the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) daily can finally enjoy the combined convenience of paying for their MRT and LRT fares plus engaging in cashless shopping and bills payments with the new GCash beep Mastercard.
Filipinos without credit cards can now pay for their online transactions both here and overseas, as well as pay for MRT/LRT rides with a new product from Globe.
GCash beep Mastercard is the first value-added card to be beep ready, expected to serve as an “everyday-all-in-one” card which functions as an ATM card for cash withdrawals, a prepaid card for purchases, and a beep card for daily MRT/LRT commute.
"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. 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,” said Xavier Marzan, President and CEO of G-Xchange Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, which operates GCash.
“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. 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,” said Poch Villa-Real, MasterCard country head.
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 a 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 the GCash beep Mastercard they can purchase their fare like a stored value card," added Marzan
The tap, swipe and shop feature also makes it easy for customers to just tap the card to pay for their fares, swipe their card for purchases and even shop online for apps and online goods. The GCash beep Mastercard is definitely the commuter's everyday all-in-one card.
Globe GCash beep Mastercard is not only a reloadable contactless tap and go card for LRT/MRT passengers but is also accepted as a payment option in popular online shopping sites and in almost 33 million establishments worldwide which recognize the Mastercard brand.
At the same time, because it has a GCash account, it can be used to buy prepaid Globe/TM phone load, send money to any Globe/TM user for free, receive remittance, and even withdraw cash from any automated teller machine (ATM). Much more, GCash beep Mastercard allows balance and transaction monitoring to ensure that everything is properly recorded.
The GCash beep MasterCard are available at 35 selected Globe Stores nationwide and roving caravans for oly P150. It includes a free prepaid Globe SIM card and P30 in GCash load. The personalized GCash beep Mastercard can be ready in just 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.
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.
GCash beep Mastercard may be purchased at various caravans (see www.globe.com.ph/gcash for details) for only P150 and may retain a maximum beep stored value of P10,000 valid for 5 years. The GCash wallet, meanwhile, may accommodate as much as P100,000.
Since GCash beep MasterCard is powered by GCash, cardholders can also enjoy other features and benefits. As a cardholder with a GCash account, customers may easily 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.
