DOTr, LTFRB okays GCash digital fare payment scheme in taxis, TNVS

Digital payments will now be part of the “new normal” in taxis and ride-hailing cars as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) partnered with various providers to boost the use of cashless or contactless transactions amid the pandemic.

According to the LTFRB, it has been pushing the use of contactless payments to further curb the spread of COVID-19 once operations of these modes of transportation resume under the general community quarantine.

Under the recently released Memorandum Circular No. 2020-018 of the LTFRB, the agency mandates the collection of fares in taxi units and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) “strictly through cashless payment or through online payment facility only.”

“Cashless and contactless payment scheme will now be part of the ‘new normal’ in the public transportation system. This should not be treated by taxi operators as another transaction cost. Rather, this move intends to limit direct physical contact between drivers and their passengers and help stop the spread of COVID-19,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

To facilitate the implementation of the new mode of payment, the agency said that it has been meeting with various cashless payment providers, and among the first to tie-up with the government is mobile wallet GCash.

Through its partnership with the DOTr, GCash will enable taxi drivers to accept digital payments through the “Scan to Pay” app via the QR technology of GCash. With this, GCash users only need to scan the unique QR code of the taxi unit they are riding in paying for their metered fares.

GCash is also offering the GCash PowerPay+ solution to taxi operators which is a fund disbursement facility that enables companies to send out salaries, allowances, and commissions through GCash to their employees, or members nationwide.

GCash Head of Payments Jovit Bajar said that they are now collaborating with various taxi operators nationwide to implement the digital fare payment scheme.

“The implementation of cashless transactions for transportation in the new normal allows drivers to participate in the financial landscape through financial technology. As a strong government partner, GCash fully supports this initiative and we are more than willing to pour in more support to other government endeavors,” Bajar added.

Meanwhile, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III said that aside from lowering the health risk in using cash payments, GCash’s payments and disbursement facilities promote transparency and accountability.

“There will be no problem anymore when paying for your taxi fare. Direct contact between the driver and the passenger will also be limited and physical distancing will be observed. This means that there will be a little or no chance for the virus to spread and more lives will be saved,” Delgra explained.

The LTFRB chief added that aside from GCash, the Board is also in talks with other electronic payment providers such as Squidpay, Paymaya, and Beep, among others.

“We had consultations with these providers over the weekend. We are encouraging these digital payment providers to partner with taxi operators and transport network companies to lessen the chance of COVID-19 spread,” he said.

“On the part of the TNCs such as Hirna, Grab, and Owto, they are already accepting cashless transactions,” Delgra added.