Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Mastercard have agreed to pilot a new ticketing system by the end of this year.
Under the new account-based ticketing system, registered Mastercard cardholders can use their existing contactless credit and debit cards to pay for trains and bus journeys and record their transactions.
LTA and Mastercard aim to attract at least 100,000 users for the pilot.
Tying in with Singapore’s Smart Nation vision – Smart Mobility, the latest initiative implements digital payment technology in a bid to offer a convenient way to commuters to pay for travel.
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LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong said: “Through this public-private partnership, we look forward to the start of the pilot at the end of this year, when commuters in Singapore can be one of the first in Asia to experience this additional fare payment option.
“With this new option, they will be able to do away with the hassle of topping up their fare cards.”
Using the new system, commuters will also be able to track their journey and fare history through a mobile app or web portal.
The collaboration between LTA and Mastercard is part of the latter’s smart cities initiative to use technology and data analytics to provide solutions that address the challenges faced by cities.
Mastercard Singapore group head and general manager Deborah Heng said: “This collaboration with the LTA marks an important milestone for Mastercard as we take a big step towards our vision of building a cashless society by embedding digital payments and reducing the overall reliance on cash to make travel more inclusive.”
“As the contactless payments space continues to evolve, consumers will have different options to tap and pay securely at transit points, from their Mastercard contactless cards to mobiles phones and even wristbands and watches.”
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