GCash Collaborates with Mastercard to Launch Tap n’ Pay, Revolutionizing Contactless Payment Experience in the Philippines

GCash, a leading e-wallet in the Philippines, recently announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard to officially launch a brand-new in-app contactless payment feature, Tap n’ Pay, bringing a more convenient and efficient digital payment experience to local users.

With this innovative service, GCash users can effortlessly complete quick and secure contactless transactions when shopping at any merchant across the country that accepts Mastercard. Tap n’ Pay is developed based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Android smartphone users with NFC capabilities can simply tap their devices on compatible POS terminals to instantly complete the payment process. Before using this feature, users need to activate Tap n’ Pay within the GCash app and ensure that their devices are connected to the internet or mobile data.

This new contactless payment solution represents an important initiative by GCash to promote the popularization of cashless payments in the Philippines. The deep cooperation with Mastercard not only greatly enhances the convenience of payments but also ensures the security of every transaction through advanced security technologies, allowing consumers to completely bid farewell to the cumbersome physical contact payment process.

The launch of Tap n’ Pay is one of the significant achievements of the long-term strategic cooperation between GCash and Mastercard, aiming to further expand the reach of digital payments in the Philippines. Currently, this feature only supports domestic transactions. However, GCash has revealed that it will gradually roll out international payment capabilities in subsequent updates, providing users with a wider range of payment options.

In terms of technical support, OpenFabric, GCash's digital payment partner, provides a solid guarantee for the smooth operation of Tap n’ Pay. OpenFabric is responsible for the configuration and management of Mastercard tokens and establishes a transaction gateway between GCash and Mastercard-accepting merchants, ensuring that every payment can be processed securely and efficiently.

The Philippines has made significant breakthroughs in its digital transformation journey. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows that by the end of 2023, digital payments accounted for 52.8% of the total retail payment transactions in the country, a significant increase from 42.1% in 2022 and exceeding the 50% target set by the BSP in its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap for 2023. It is worth noting that merchant payments accounted for 64.9% of the total digital transaction volume, while person-to-person transfers and business-to-business supplier payments accounted for 19.3% and 6.1%, respectively.

With the launch of Tap n’ Pay, the digital payment sector in the Philippines is expected to witness a new wave of development, injecting new vitality into the country's economic digital transformation.