Globe backs Makati City’s Makatizen Card for ID and payments

Makatizen Card
From left: Makati City Vice Mayor Monique Lagdameo; Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu; Makati City Mayor Abby Binay; iBayad CEO Paulo Saycon; an unidentified local fishball vendor accepting the first Makatizen Card transaction; and GXI President Abet Tinio

The city government of Makati City, in collaboration with Globe Telecom, its subsidiary G-Xchange (GXI), and iBayad Online Ventures, have launched the Makatizen Card, a combined ID/payment card that will be made available to Makati’s residents and employees.

The Makatizen Card will allow the city’s 500,000 residents to access city government services and transact with the city government. They can receive cash allowances, stipends, and other cash benefits using their Makatizen Card. They can also use their cards to pay fees and taxes, as well as for personal remittances and other financial transactions.

City government employees, meanwhile, can use their Makatizen Card to receive salaries and allowances. The Makatizen Card also functions as an ATM card and is a valid government ID card.

GXI will serve as the financial service provider for the Makatizen Card, while iBayad will deploy the mPOS terminals and build the merchant network where the cards will be accepted.

Some 1,000 functioning sample cards were launched and tested at Makati City Hall on Tuesday.

 

The Makatizen Card comes with a NFC feature that allows city offices equipped with iBayad machine readers to verify the identity of residents and Makati City employees in a single tap. It stores the information which identifies the card holder availing of various city government services without the need to present additional documents.

“Each Makatizen Card carries the features of the GCash mobile wallet but is also customized to be used in the city-wide local merchant network,” said Albert Tinio, President of GXI which operates the GCash mobile money service. “All services that they will get in Makati City, whether it is payment of taxes, cash allowances for health and other benefits, etc. will be directly credited to this GCash wallet that is linked to the card.  They don’t have to carry anything except this ID and their mobile phone.”

Makatizen Card holders can take advantage of the different financial services of GCash through the merchant network of iBayad to pay government institutions, hospitals, merchants and even transact with Jollijeeps, sari-sari stores, and ambulant vendors for easier and safer transactions.

iBayad will be implementing a Makatizen loyalty and rewards program to promote continued use of the card and enable cardholders to earn loyalty reward points that can used to purchase items. The card will also be used for direct and real-time crediting of salaries and benefits to the GCash wallets of employees, health beneficiaries, senior citizens, and students to improve operational efficiency and tracking of cashflow.

Makati Mayor Abigail Binay said the Makatizen Card “takes us a step nearer to achieving our goal of empowering everyone, including those in the marginalized sectors of society, to enjoy a better quality of life.”

Binay said the city government will extend its full support for Globe Telecom’s initiatives “geared towards strengthening its telecommunications network to promote a digitally connected Philippines”.

“For the Philippines to truly become a digital nation, we need to fully take advantage of new digital opportunities and innovations to enable growth in every corner of our country,” said Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu.

2 Comments

  1. Do you need a password for your Makatizen card? how abd where do you create your password?

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