Gemalto, a digital security provider, is supplying the Bank of the Philippines Islands  with EMV prepaid banking and transport cards that support beep, a contactless ticketing system for Manila Metro. BPI is one of the leading banks in the Philippines, and the first to cater to both EMV and transport payment. The two-in-one card leverages Gemalto’s Optelio technology and gives commuters greater security and convenience while increasing the transaction volume and user base for financial institutions.

Metropolitan Manila is the most populous region of the Philippines where over 12 millions Filipinos reside and work. Among them, two million people commute daily by trains. beep was introduced in July 2015 to facilitate transit payment and quicker entrance at train stations’ gantries. It also eliminates the need to repeatedly queue and purchase tickets for commuters. With only 31% of all Filipino adults holding a bank account, integrating beep with banking lets financial institutions tap into a readily available and vastly unbanked market.

“At BPI, we want to be able to address the changing needs of our clients. By fusing banking and transport together, shoppers can enjoy cashless payments for their purchases at Ayala Malls, plus the benefits of beep, which will soon be extended to other bus services,” says Simon Paterno, Head of Financial Products and Services at BPI. “Gemalto’s timely delivery and expertise ensured that this project can be rolled out smoothly and on schedule.”

“In the banking space, Gemalto has delivered more than one billion EMV payment cards globally – from card manufacturing, fulfilment, to back-end infrastructure support and maintenance”, said Michael Au, President, South Asia & Japan at Gemalto. “As for transportation, our smart cards are already being utilized by mass transit systems in 30 cities, each with a population in excess of one million.”