Ho Chi Minh City cooperates with Visa to transform urban traffic

The collaboration seeks to develop a modern public transportation system, using the open contactless EMV payment technology that allows users to “tap” payment cards, mobile wallets, and other smart devices to pay for transportation costs on public transport, purchase e-tickets, recharge electric cars, pay bridge and road tolls, and park their cars.

Ms. Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa Vietnam and Laos country manager, said: “Smart mobility solutions will improve the quality of public transportation and transport services, while significantly saving operational costs for all parties. This will also contribute to reducing environmental impact, increasing convenience, and improving the quality of life in one of the largest cities in Southeast Asia.”

In Vietnam, the “new normal” has changed life in many different ways, notably the shift from physical cards to contactless and cashless payments. According to Visa’s “2022 Consumer Payment Attitudes” study, Vietnam is seeing an increasing trend in contactless payments in the transportation sector, with 83% of consumers aware of this smart payment method, through mobile devices, prepaid cards, and debit cards.

Four out of five survey respondents said they had used contactless payments at least once a week, mostly middle-aged (Gen X, Boomers) and reasonably high-income groups. The benefits of this payment method include faster payment processing than traditional methods and greater security than carrying cash.

After three years of successful development and application of electronic payment methods in urban transportation, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation has extended its cooperation agreement with Visa.

In the first phase of the collaboration, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation and Visa have implemented contactless payments on 50 buses. Under the new cooperation agreement, both sides aim to increase this by 20 times to 1,000 buses, expecting to make a significant change in public transportation.

Mr. Tran Quang Lam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation, said: “Smart mobility is an important strategic goal in the city’s transformation process. We are delighted to cooperate with Visa to bring more convenience to people through seamless technological innovations and…”.

Ho Chi Minh City is implementing solutions for building a smart city, including the development of an integrated electronic ticketing system for public transportation. The plan is for 100% of the city’s bus routes to use electronic tickets by 2025. Along with the operation of metro line 1 in 2024, the development of cashless payment for public transportation will continue to be of interest.

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation and Visa have collaborated to apply open contactless EMV payment technology on bus routes.

“The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation and Visa will continue to collaborate and explore modern technology solutions to help people save time in payment for services,” said Mr. Lam.

@CafeF