Visa credit cards can now be used on local public transport

Paying for local public transport using Visa contactless cards is now possible. This is one of Visa's largest implementation for contactless payment and it's also part of LTA's (Land Transport Authority) SimplyGo initiative.

Visa contactless-enabled cards¹ issued by all banks² in Singapore will be part of this transit initiative. Users will also be able to make use of mobile contactless transactions via compatible devices on the following payment platforms:

• Apple Pay
• Fitbit Pay
• Google Pay
• Samsung Pay

Singtel Dash mobile wallet users can also use their Dash Visa Virtual Account³ to tap and pay for their bus and train rides. The main advantage of SimplyGo initiative is not having to top up stored valued cards anymore for use on local transport services. This makes the entire transit experience smoother for commuters and they don't have to carry multiple stored value cards.

According to Visa, with the launch of its cards for the SimplyGo initiative, Singapore has joined other major cities like London, Sydney and New York that have enabled open-loop Visa payment cards for public transport.

¹ Some Visa contactless cards might need to be replaced; affected users will be contacted by their respective banks

² Bank of China, CIMB, Citibank, DBS, HSBC, ICBC Bank, Maybank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB

³ Recommended for use on NFC-enabled Android phone, Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) and Samsung Galaxy S10 installed with Singtel Dash Mobile Wallet App. For the updated list of phone models and operating system versions which have been tested, please visit this link.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone. 

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