By Fintech News Philippines
The bank-agnostic system lets commuters tap Visa, Mastercard, NFC wallets, or GCash QR to pay fares across all 13 LRT-2 stations.
RCBC and Visa have launched a new automated fare collection system on LRT-2, as reported by Manila Bulletin.
Commuters can now tap Visa or Mastercard cards, NFC-enabled wallets such as Google Pay, or scan GCash QR to pay fares, all through a single interoperable platform.
RCBC developed the system with the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to be bank-agnostic, accepting instruments from any participating bank, e-money issuer, or fintech provider.
RCBC and Manila Bulletin describe it as the country’s first rail-based system to combine open-loop EMV cards, NFC, and QR payments on one platform.
The rollout covers all 13 LRT-2 stations, which together serve more than 58.7 million passengers a year.
RCBC President and CEO Reggie Cariaso said the launch reflects the bank’s commitment to building accessible, future-ready digital ecosystems alongside DOTr and LRTA.
RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva called the launch “a defining milestone in the modernisation of Philippine public transportation.”
Visa Philippines Country Manager Jeffrey Navarro said the project is Visa’s fifth transit payments initiative in the country, following MRT-3 and bus systems in Cebu, Mandaue, and Bacolod. RCBC Credit Cards President and CEO Arniel Vincent Ong added that the launch reinforces the growing role of digital payments in everyday commuting.
To encourage adoption, RCBC is running a PISO Fare Cashback Promo from 13 to 31 July for its debit and credit cardholders, as well as MySSS RCBC DiskarTech debit cardholders.
Part of a Broader Push
The launch forms part of RCBC’s wider digital payments push, which includes RCBC Pulz, RCBC DiskarTech, and RCBC ATM Go. It follows Visa’s earlier contactless rollout on MRT-3 and bus systems outside Metro Manila.
The timing lines up with Mastercard’s own announcement the same day that its contactless cards also work on LRT-2, suggesting LRT-2’s new fare gates were built to accept multiple card networks from the start rather than favouring one over the other.
The government has said it is next targeting a similar system for LRT-1.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by Lito Villanueva via his LinkedIn profile.
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