University of the Philippines Will Launch NFC-Powered ID Cards That Double as a Cashless Payment Card
by Fintech News Philippines July 3, 2019Soon, students and employees in the University of the Philippines (UP) will say goodbye to the typical barcoded ID cards and instead be given ID cards with radio frequency identification (RFID)/near-field communication (NFC) capabilities.
The University has signed a memorandum of agreement with PayMaya, a prepaid virtual card platform that aims to serve Filipinos without access to credit cards on the 20th of June. The cards will soon be usable in any accompanying facilities that require a UP ID card, but will also double as a cashless payment mechanism inside the university.
A Prepaid Virtual Credit Card
According to University of the Philippines President Danilo Concepcion, the project was first envisioned as a meal card for students on scholarship programs with food allowances. He said he asked IT experts in UP about the best way to employ a system where money is loaded into a card, which can then be used to buy food and beverages.
“And they told me PayMaya has that system. PayMaya was, coincidentally, also looking at UP as a potential partner for the deployment of its services.”
Allowances and Stipends
From a meal card, the project evolved into the “powered up” UP ID, where students can receive their allowances and stipends, and pay for dormitory and other school fees, among others. Hence, the RFID/NFC UP ID will primarily be used for internal University transactions such as those in libraries, offices, and cafeterias. It will also be used for access and timekeeping.
Students and employees across the UP System will have the option to utilise of PayMaya’s financial services that are external to the University. However, these have to be activated by the users as the new UP IDs won’t offer these services by default, and won’t be endorsed by the university.
(Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO)
The deployment of the new UP ID is expected to begin in August of this year.
