NLEx, SCTex, Cavitex offer cashless transactions for convenient travel

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. said non-cash options would be at the disposal of motorists using its tollroad network, comprised of North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).

MPTC, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., noted that motorists on NLEx can use their Easy Trip RFID, beep cards, and Mastercard contact-less debit, prepaid, and credit cards, including their Smart Mastercard powered by PayMaya.

Mastercard acceptance for Cavitex and SCTEx would start within 2017. Motorists would also be able to soon pay using their Visa contact-less debit, prepaid, and credit cards, MPTC added.

“The use of digital payments is helping usher a new era of tollways operations in the country where consumers can enjoy faster, more secure and more convenient electronic transactions,” Metro Pacific chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said on Tuesday.

“This is very much aligned with the National Retail Payment System program of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that aims to transform 20 percent of the country’s payment transactions to electronic by 2020,” he added.

The event on Tuesday, branded as the company’s digital tollways program, was aimed at increasing awareness on non-cash payment alternatives.

“Enabling electronic transactions in the tollways is a key contributor in growing electronic money usage as thousands of motorists use our expressways every day,” Rodrigo E. Franco, Metro Pacific Tollways president and CEO, added in a statement.

Franco said digital options would allow travel through their tollroads to become more seamless and convenient.

“We are thrilled to launch the digital tollways campaign with MPTC,” Orlando B. Vea, president and CEO of PayMaya Philippines, said in the same statement.

“The impact of digital transformation in the toll roads space will not only bring a whole new level of convenience to consumers but also place the country at the forefront of the region’s digital global economy,” he added. –Miguel R. Camus