Today, Visa unveiled this initiative during the annual MassKara Festival, together with representatives from GTSI, GHL, and EastWest Bank, featuring 45 modern jeepneys equipped with Visa payment terminals. Passengers can now enjoy seamless, cashless transactions by tapping their Visa cards. The modern jeepneys also feature bus wraps promoting the EastWest Pay app, allowing users to link their EastWest Visa credit cards to Android smartphones for easy tap-to-pay purchases.

Jeff Navarro, Country Manager for Visa Philippines, said: "We are thrilled to launch our second transit project in Bacolod City. This initiative aims to enhance travel experiences for commuters and tourists by providing more payment options. Visa is committed to improving payments in transit services, especially with the crucial role that transit plays in everyone’s daily lives. By enabling contactless payments, we are establishing a seamless, cross-border travel experience with a unified digital payment solution. This project aligns with Visa’s goal of fostering a cashless, digitally empowered ecosystem and driving innovation in transit solutions in the Philippines."

A YouGov survey commissioned by Visa revealed that 67% of Filipinos are more likely to obtain a contactless card if it can be used for transport. Visa has launched over 100 urban mobility projects across Asia Pacific, including cities like Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney. The Bacolod City project signifies Visa's commitment to enhancing transit services in the Philippines, with plans to expand further.

Transit experience benefiting both Bacolod City residents and tourists 

Bacolod City experienced a 26% year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals from January to December 2023, according to the Bacolod City Tourism Office. Complementing this growth, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) completed a PHP34.3-million project to improve Hernaez (Libertad) Street, enhancing safety and accessibility. These developments enhance safety and accessibility for residents and visitors, reinforcing Bacolod City's status as a premier tourist destination.

Alywin “Mia” P. Tamayo, SVP & Head of Credit Cards Business, EastWest Bank, said: "EastWest Bank, in partnership with Visa, is excited to promote the EastWest Pay app on Bacolod City's modern jeepneys. Our app enables cashless and contactless transactions with a simple smartphone tap, blending the benefits of a credit card and a mobile wallet while enhancing security with biometrics and tokenization. We believe our fintech innovations are essential for economic growth and improving customer experience, particularly with this new transit project in Bacolod City." 

Brezhnev Tero, CEO, Good Transport Solutions Inc. (GTSI), said: “We are incredibly thankful to Visa, EastWest Bank, and GHL for their support in making this vision a reality, not just in Bacolod City, but in all the regions where we will be deploying our solution. The introduction of the EastWest Pay app across our transport network will revolutionize the way commuters pay for fares, ensuring a more modern and efficient travel experience. Our goal is to enhance the overall user experience by providing simple, fast, and secure payment options.”

Jay Tirona, CEO, GHL Systems Philippines Inc, said: "Filipinos deserve progress. This partnership shows how technology and innovation in payments can deliver for the common good. With contactless payments in jeepneys, we’re driving positive change that will improve the daily commute for Filipinos and tourists alike. We are committed and happy to support and drive these advancements in the public transit experience across the nation by simplifying payments and making them more secure.” 

"Each transit project in the Philippines promotes financial inclusion by increasing awareness and use of digital payment methods. Our efforts also enhance the infrastructure supporting these transactions, making it easier for passengers to adopt digital payments, regardless of their banking experience. Additionally, this initiative boosts financial literacy, empowering unbanked and underserved populations with secure and convenient payment solutions," added Navarro.

According to Visa’s 2023 Global Urban Mobility Study, 96% of Asia Pacific commuters expect contactless payment options in public transit, which simplifies fare payment and boosts public transportation usage. Visa's strong track record of over 1,000 transit projects worldwide promotes sustainable mobility by partnering with transit agencies globally.

PRecious Communications, an award-winning multi-market integrated communications agency, is celebrating its second anniversary in the Philippines. Highlighting a 2.5x year-to-date growth in business from established partnerships with industry leaders in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, PRecious Philippines is positioned to scale its operations further to support the evolving challenges of the market. 

As businesses manage the impact of global headwinds, PRecious Philippines remains optimistic about the opportunities it has been seeing in the market. 

“The Philippines continues to be one of the fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia. Despite the challenges brought about by inflation, its economy grew by 5.7% in 2023 and is expected to increase by 6% in 2024. The Philippines is also primed to reach a digital economy worth US$35 billion in 2025, representing the significance of the market and the role that we have to play. As we help businesses reach more customers and consumers, we also hope to support the growth of the Philippine economy,” said Lars Voedisch, Founder and Group CEO, PRecious Communications.

PRecious Philippines has grown into a team of close to fifteen consultants since it launched its operations in 2022. It has expanded its local–regional capabilities and diversified its portfolio with global leading companies, which include the global leader in digital payments Visa, APAC leader in data science and AI Aboitiz Data Innovation, and leader in health and wellness LAC, among additions to its established technology and startup practice. 

At the helm of this is Paolo Alba, who has been spearheading the growth and development of PRecious Communications in the Philippines as Country Lead and Regional Business Director since it was established in 2022. 

“As economic activity picked up in 2022, we saw it as an opportunity to leverage our regional network and grow our local capabilities to support foreign businesses that were entering the Philippines. Meanwhile, this also opened opportunities to support local businesses that were extending their footprints in Southeast Asia. As a regional player in a local market, it almost felt natural to support these segments,” explained Paolo Alba. 

“This helped establish PRecious Philippines’ core strength and capabilities in B2B – leveraging our presence in key markets of Southeast Asia, knowledge of the local and regional business landscape, and relationships with relevant stakeholder groups – to implement strategic and market-relevant communication programs that address business challenges. Now that we are seeing more businesses engage consumers online and offline, we are actively growing our B2C capabilities to support the market further,” added Alba. 

Fueling the next Phase of Startup-powered Growth

As the business community navigates through times of global uncertainty, PRecious Philippines reaffirms its commitment to finding innovative solutions to support startup companies that fueled PRecious’ initial growth in the region and especially in the Philippines. In support of Filipino startup founders and entrepreneurs, PRecious Philippines is developing an exclusive startup offering that is meant to help early and mid-stage startups kickstart and elevate the traction they require to influence their next phase of growth: from investments to client acquisition or building a partnership ecosystem.

For more information, please send a message to preciousPH@preciouscomms.com.