Commuters in Singapore will soon be able to use their mobile phones to pay for public transport as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) ramps up efforts to introduce account-based ticketing (ABT).
As part of the LTA's ABT pilot with Mastercard, the authority will start the trial of the use of mobile payment modes on public transportation in the first quarter of 2018. These mobile payment methods include Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay.
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"Commuters taking part in this trial will not even need a card and can simply use their mobile phones to tap in and out on trains and buses," LTA said in a statement.
To recall, LTA and Mastercard started the ABT system early this year, enabling commuters to use their contactless EMV (Euro-Master-Visa) credit and debit cards for their transport fares.
More than 100,000 commuters have signed up for the pilot since its launch in March 2017, with an average of over 60,000 transactions daily since then.
Mastercard Singapore Country Manager Deborah Heng said the ABT system removes the hassle of topping up and enables commuters to use their Mastercard contactless card for everything from groceries, food and beverage, to retail and entertainment and now for transit payments as well.
"We look forward to expanding the number of active Mastercard cardholders in public transportation as we work towards driving greater use of e-payments in Singapore," she said.
Due to the positive feedback on the pilot, LTA will extend the deal with Mastercard. It eyes welcoming Visa and NETS on board the ABT pilot starting June 2018.
Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei Ooi Huey Tyng noted that the deal with LTA will enable commuters with Visa payWave to use their contactless cards for transit.
"Visa payWave solution is inter-operable, with Singaporeans making more than 8 million contactless transactions per month. Transit payments will help more Singaporeans realise how simple and convenient contactless payments are, and accelerate our goal of becoming a smart nation," she stated.
