Rollout of tap-to-pay service in LRT lines pushed back to February

The rollout of tap-to-pay services across Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines, originally targeted for late 2025, has been pushed back to February as preparations continue, according to a company executive.

The service is being led by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) in partnership with Visa Philippines. It will enable turnstiles in both LRT-1 and LRT-2 to accept payments using debit and credit cards.

“We’re looking at launching one of those two lines by February. We’re doing the UAT (user acceptance testing). We’re doing the testing,” RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva said.

Villanueva said the service may first be made available on LRT-2, which runs east to west between Recto and Antipolo, as LRT-1 has more stations and ongoing extensions from Fernando Poe Jr. station in Quezon City to Parañaque.

“Baka mauna ‘yung LRT-2. Kasi si LRT-1, may extension pa, ’di ba, ma-extend papunta sa Parañaque (LRT-2 may come first because LRT-1 still has an extension going to Parañaque),” he said.

The service was rolled out at Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) stations in July 2025, allowing commuters to tap their debit and credit cards, as well as e-wallets, to pay for their trips.

With the launch of Google Pay in November, commuters may also tap their smartphones to pay for their trips using linked debit or credit cards and e-money accounts.—MCG, GMA Integrated News