New Tap to Pay card enters the market

WEST Avenue Theaters Corp. SVP Ed Tejerero, Business Unit Head of e-PLUS Tap to Pay Sahara Garnica and Business Unit Head of e-PLUS.ph Allan Florendo posing with the new e-PLUS Tap to Pay Card.

It’s not an entirely new technology.

But anything that affords convenience, like the e-Plus Tap to Pay card, is always a welcome treat for any consumer.

Like Hong Kong’s Octopus Card and Singapore’s EZ-Link Card, the SM Group’s e-Plus Tap to Pay card would allow one to simply tap his or her way through a variety of food, retail or entertainment establishments and possibly soon, through public transportation, thus integrating a whole day’s worth of transactions in just a matter of minutes.

Edgar C. Tejerero, senior vice president for SM, explains that the e-Plus is a stored value-based smart card designed mostly for low-value transactions of about P500 and below. This card will now allow customers the ease of cashless transactions in SM retail stores and its merchants, SM parking, Mall of Asia Arena, Science Discovery Center, SM bowling, SM ice skating, Storyland, Directors Club Cinema, IMAX Theaters, Snacktime, and UV Express Shuttles in SM passenger terminals.

The same card, he further discloses, may soon be used in school cafeterias like those in Marist, San Beda College and National University.

Eventually, the e-Plus card may also be used for Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) tickets should the SM Group win the bidding for the P1.72-billion “contactless” automatic fare collection system, Tejerero reveals.

Apart from providing Filipinos with cashless convenience, card holders will also be entitled to a variety of exclusive perks and more savings.

Tejerero says that the first batch of these “contactless” e-Plus cards had already been rolled out as early as 11 months ago, but these can only be initially used for purchase of cinema tickets. To date, there are about 180,000 holders of the e-Plus Tap to Pay card, but this number is expected to grow to about a million by the middle of next year, he adds.

The P300-million e-Plus card project, according to Tejerero, forms part of the SM group’s vision for “cashless commerce” over the long term.

“[The card] is envisioned to further branch out to include other applications in public transportation services, tollways, access and remittance. Included in the e-Plus Tap to Pay

EVENT guests got their freebies from e-PLUS Tap to Pay partner merchants by tapping their own e-PLUS Tap to Pay card on the readers placed on each partner merchant booth.

development roadmap is the NFC technology, which allows the wallet to be in the mobile phone,” the SM Group explains in a separate statement.

At the same time, the SM Group also launched a new lifestyle portal called ePLUS.ph, which will serve as a local resource for SM Cinema movie tickets, Mall of Asia Arena events, nationwide deals and lifestyle articles.

According to the country’s largest retail player, the site will also be a ground-breaking resource for consumers to find high-value tickets to movies, concerts, sports, theater, arts, and live events, while serving as a timely and effective way for customers to get updated with lifestyle perks, deals and informative articles.

“With unprecedented access to a consolidated network of nationwide events from the Philippines’ ticketing leader, movies schedules from the county’s largest cinema chain, and unbeatable prices from the country’s largest mall network, ePLUS.ph will be the destination for exclusive SM Lifestyle deals. ePLUS.ph shall work with SM to further deliver its commitment to offer amazing local experiences to its members,” the company says.

“ePLUS.ph represents a new channel to drive value for e-PLUS card members, while helping a broader market stay informed with every interesting facet of the platform. From movie and event schedule, exclusive discounts to university bulletins, and community driven forums. The ePLUS.ph portal is just the beginning of a platform that enables Filipinos to share, and enjoy an ePLUS lifestyle,” it further explains.