DOTR and LTFRB to push for cashless payments for taxis and TNVS

Department of Transportation announcement

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) together with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have announced that they are partnering with various digital payment providers to promote the use of cashless and contactless transactions. The move to push for these cashless transactions stems from the current situation in an effort to help curb the spread of the ongoing pandemic.

Taxi operators and transport network companies have been allowed to resume their operations in areas that have been placed under General Community Quarantine. With that said these companies still use a cash-based system in which could be a transmission point for bacteria and viruses to spread. As such the government is extensively looking at options that could remove cash from the equation.

In order to find a solution to this problem the LTFRB has already been in talks with various cashless payment providers so see which one could offer the best solution to the current problem. One such company that was able to present a viable solution was Globe and its GCash system.

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. I am very grateful to GCash for making this new arrangement happen.

Arthur Tugade
DOTr Secretary

The new partnership between the LTFRB, the DOTr, and GCash will enable taxi drivers and other transport providers to accept digital payments. This will be done through the use of a Scan to Pay app with the use of QR Code technology. In order to pay for their fare all the GCash user has to do is scan the unique QR code that will be found in the GCash equipped taxi they are riding in.

The convenience doesn’t stop there as GCash is also offering a GCash PowerPay+ option to taxi operators. The platform is a fund disbursement facility that will help companies send out salaries, allowances, and commissions through the GCash app to their employees nationwide. This further reduces the need for face-to-face interaction which will help promote social distancing.

The head of GCash payments Jovit Bajar states that “GCash strongly supports the government’s call for the use of mobile payments to lessen the risk of spreading COVID-19 through surfaces such as paper money. We laud the strong and wise decision of DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III in implementing the cashless payments program, as we move forward to the new normal.”