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Friday, March 29, 2024

Swiftly pay with Sweep

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Paying with cash for goods and services is arguably the most convenient way to settle your bills—all you need is to count bills and coins, pay up and you’re good to go. But carrying huge sums of money is unsafe, and if you bring just the right amount, you’re at risk to be short of cash.

Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, Sweep
stores money in the chip of the card and operates using contactless
Point of Sale (POS) terminals.

Then there comes credit and debit cards. But to have these, one must have a bank account. To enroll in a bank, one must at least have two valid IDs—a basic document that not everyone has.

Enter reloadable cash cards. In January last year, San Miguel Corp. introduced Sweep Card, its reloadable contactless stored value card capable of online and offline payment transcations.

The idea for the Sweep card, according to Cecile Ang of SMC, is to provide consumers safe and convenient alternative to paying with cash, credit card or debit card. Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, it stores money in the chip of the card and operates using contactless-enabled Point of Sale (POS) terminals.

Cashless dining out. Bring your friends to Sweep’s merchant partners, order, eat, tap your card and you’re good to go.

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Basically everyone could get a Sweep Card or more, minus the documents and tedious transactions. All you have to do is purchase it for only P100 at participating Petron gas stations, National Book Store outlets, and 7-Eleven stores; load it up to P5,000 at the same establishments (as well as at San Miguel Food Avenue, Powerbooks, and SeaOil; and use it at any of Sweep’s merchant partners.

Cashless dining out. Bring your friends to Sweep’s merchant
partners, order, eat, tap your card and you’re good to go.

As of now, majority of businesses accepting Sweep Card are food establishments such as Chatime, California Pizza Kitchen, IHOP Restaurant, P.F. Chang’s, Mad for Garlic, Gyu-Kaku, Morelli’s Gelato, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Max’s Restaurant, Bubba Gump, and 50 plus more.

You may also use the cash card for purchases at National Book Store and Powerbooks; for your next fuel refill at Petron; for a day of pampering at Island Spa; and for take-out meals courtesy of City Delivery.

SMC is working aggressively to enlist more beauty and retail establishments to its partner merchants.

Sweep can also be used to pay for tolls at South Luzon Expressway, Skyway, and STAR Tollway.

On top of these features, Sweep offers more once you register your card online. Upon registration at sweeponline.com, the P5,000 cash limit will be increased to P30,000.

You can also pay for bills or use it to reload mobile phones online and transfer money from one Sweep Card to another—amount transfers above P200 are charged with minimal fee of P2.

Cecile Ang of San Miguel Corporation and Autosweep Post Corp.
marketing manager Kate Hassaram during the media launch of
Sweep Card.

Registering it also affords users security since you can recover money or points stored in the card if it’s lost or stolen.

Those who have no bank account or those looking for a new place to store money can also use Sweep as an ATM card.

“All you have to do is fill-out a form at Security Bank—the cash card application form, submit one valid ID and you can withdraw already from any bank included in the Bancnet ATM networks,” says Autosweep Post Corporation marketing manager Kate Hassaram.

Regular banking fee applies for every withdrawal, “we have a flat rate per withdrawal regardless of the amount [you’ll withdraw].”

What makes it better than the real ATM card is Sweep has no annual fee nor maintaining balance requirement, although it expires after three years. Before the card expires, you can transfer your money to a new Sweep Card.

A fairly new product, which was introduced a year ago and launched a few months ago, Sweep is still a work in progress. Early adapters are reporting not all branches of Sweep’s partner establishments already accept the card as payment for transactions. A couple of outlets say they have no POS terminals yet or that their their machines are not working. 

But despite these issues, Autosweep and SMC are working hard to promote the success of the cash card, thereby increasing the potential of cashless payments in the Philippines.

For details and complete list or its partner merchants, visit sweeponline.com

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