eTap Solutions, the Philippines’ leading self-service payments kiosk provider, has decided to open a brick-and-mortar store to extend its service to cash-reliant Filipinos and sets the establishment of 2,000 kiosks each year across a variety of partner stores.
The My eTap Store, located in Palanan, Makati City, contains self-service payment kiosks offering e-wallet top-ups, bills payments, access to government services, and more.
eTap currently operates over 4,000 self-service kiosks nationwide across various store partners. It is set to expand by adding 2,000 kiosks each year across a variety of partner stores.
Paolo Lorenzo Macaraeg, Head of Marketing at eTap Solutions, opening a physical store is the company’s way of combining the convenience of digital payments with the reliability of an in-person experience. “We want to be closer to our end users in any way we can. It’s nice to have a hub where users can immediately get in touch with company representatives and connect in-person for inquiries, explore our latest solutions firsthand, and share feedback directly,” he said.
Going phygital — a blend of the words physical and digital — has become a popular strategy for merging the trust and familiarity of brick-and-mortar locations with the speed and convenience of digital technology.
The store opening is in line with eTap Solutions’ efforts to bridge the gap between cash-reliant Filipinos and the benefits of digital payments. According to Visa’s 2024 Consumer Payment Attitudes study, 87 percent of payments in the Philippines are still still done in cash.
Macaraeg also adds that the opening of the eTap store is aligned with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028, which aims to improve access to and availability of a wider range of financial services.
“Digital inclusion doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” added Macaraeg. “eTap kiosks have millions of unique users, many of whom are first-time users of e-wallets or bill payment services. The store offers a hands-on, humanized way to introduce them to safer, faster, and more reliable financial transactions.”
The eTap store also serves as a hub for the company’s other key services. All machines feature ePuhunan, allowing store partners to deposit end-of-day earnings to major banks for a minimal fee. They also support rider billers, enabling seamless remittances to e-wallets like GrabPay and toktokwallet.
