Digital payment service provider Visa Vietnam has announced that it will continue to co-operate with the HCM City Department of Transportation (HCM City DOT) to transform urban mobility across the city.

Accordingly, the company has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the department to continue their partnership which aims at developing modern public transit systems featuring open-loop EMV tap-to-ride technology, which allows riders to tap their existing payment cards, mobile wallets or wearables to pay for their transit fare, e-tickets, electric vehicle charging, toll fees and car-park fees.

The first MoU between Visa and the department saw contactless tap-to-ride payments rolled out in 50 buses in HCM City. Under the renewed MoU, HCM City DOT is aiming for a 20-fold increase to 1,000 buses. Visa and HCM City DOT will also continue to engage on initiatives and public policies that will drive smarter mobility across the city.

“Smart mobility is a key strategic objective in the transformation of HCM City. HCM City is adopting measures to develop a smart city, including the establishment of an interconnected online ticketing system for public transportation. The suggested plan states that by 2025, all bus public services will accept e-tickets. Hence, the use of cashless payment for public transit will be the “new normal” when Metro Line 1 begins service in 2024,” said Tran Quang Lam, director of the HCM City Department of Transportation.

In the initial years of collaboration, the two sides engaged in a fruitful sharing of information. Last year, delegates from HCM City Department of Transportation visited Singapore to attend a knowledge-sharing tour organised by Visa.

“The use of contactless payments will improve the travel experience for all commuters, making journeys more smart, seamless and secure. Going cashless and paperless will also help to reduce the environmental footprint in the city,” said Dung Dang, Visa country manager of Viet Nam and Laos.

In Viet Nam, the pandemic has altered payments in various aspects, including the leap from physical cards to contactless payments and from cash to cashless. According to the 2022 Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study, Viet Nam has seen an increase in contactless payment usage since 2021.

Some 83 per cent of consumers are aware of contactless transit cards, with usage ranging from mobile apps, prepaid cards, and debit cards. — VNS