One of the things that passengers do after disembarking from commuter trains is grabbing a quick bite from one of the several food and drink stalls located within the station. For the longest time, these stalls have accepted cash payments only. But in the interest of reducing physical contact due to the pandemic, merchants at select LRT-1 stations will now accept cashless payments.

Operator Light Rail Manila Corporation has partnered with AF Payments Inc. for the pilot implementation of a cashless-payment system with Beep cards. In this initiative, Master Siomai outlets in Baclaran, EDSA and Balintawak stations will be using electronic terminals to facilitate contactless transactions. These terminals will not only accept payments, but can also load Beep cards without service charges.

LRMC hopes that the success of the pilot run with Master Siomai will spur on other merchants and concessionaires to participate in this project, and ultimately make the network ecosystem accessible through cashless means.