UP ID gets high-tech

The University of the Philippines will issue RFID-equipped IDs to students and employees starting August this year.

The said ID may also be used as an e-wallet or electronic wallet, Frances Fatima Cabana of the UP Media and Public Relations Office told GMA News.

RFID refers to radio-frequency identification, a technology in which digital data encoded in RFID tags or smart labels are captured by a reader through radio waves.

“Yung UP po, nag-enter po into a partnership, MOA with Paymaya to upgrade the UP ID and at the same time, turn the UP ID into an e-wallet. They can use it to pay at cafeterias using the QR codes. And then library access, entry to buildings, yun po ang mga nae-envision. At the same time, timekeeping,” Cabana said.

“There will be a chip so the ID can be used sa terminals, the same terminals we use for debit cards,” she added.

But even before the rollout, a few food stalls and UP Ikot jeepneys are already accepting payments via e-wallet.

Food stall owner Thelma Maraya and UP Ikot jeep driver Aljun Tadoyo, however, said that many still prefer to pay in cash.

Even Maraya and Tadoyo prefer to be paid in cash.

“Iba yung pera pa rin. Nandito na agad. Hawak mo na agad ang pera,” Tadoyo said.

“Pera na lang. Kasi yon, wiwithdrawhin mo pa. Ang tanong, kung kailan,” Maraya said. —LDF, GMA News