This system was jointly built and deployed by VPBank, OneFin and MasterCard; allowing passengers to pay with a variety of cards on the market when traveling on buses and other public transport in Ho Chi Minh City.

This form of payment not only saves time (no need to prepare small change, no need to wait for money exchange, no need to go to the ticket office to buy monthly tickets...) but also helps public transport operators optimize management, easily exploit and operate service routes. It is expected that by 2025, the project will expand its service scale to 500 vehicles in Ho Chi Minh City and 3,000 vehicles in Hanoi.

With VPBank's online payment gateway, combining OneFin's new payment technology and MasterCard's Open-Loop payment solution, "tap with EMV Contactless card" is expected to be an important step in applying modern, safe and convenient payment solutions, contributing to promoting the digital economy, gradually moving towards a smart city in "one touch".

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Representatives of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the State Bank and enterprises: VPBank, OneFin, MasterCard performed the one-touch payment activation ceremony.

According to VPBank representative, in October 2023, this bank received a proposal from OneFin Vietnam to cooperate in implementing an automatic payment solution for public passenger transport by bus in Ho Chi Minh City, with the goal of providing the city's residents with the most convenient payment service when taking buses and other public transport.

VPBank quickly mobilized a working group to implement the project. The bank's leadership considered this a community service project, helping people enjoy the benefits of digital transformation and gradually helping the city solve the "problem" of traffic congestion that has existed for many years.

By April 2024, after many tests and edits, VPBank and its partners had shaped the most optimal version and officially put into operation the EMV Open-Loop payment system.

On May 17, the above payment system was officially piloted by the City People's Committee on the system of 71 buses and trams (routes 01, 43 and 65).

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Payment gateways on buses and trams accept payments by both debit and credit cards

Smart public transport payment technology has been widely deployed in developed countries around the world such as: UK, Singapore, Australia, USA, Europe... The application of smart payment technology aims to encourage users - especially those of working age - to increase the frequency of using public transport, thereby reducing traffic congestion during rush hours, reducing accident rates, contributing to synchronizing public transport infrastructure connections. More broadly, this will lay the foundation for the city to establish a comprehensive smart card ticketing system for the entire urban area.

Mr. Dao Gia Hung - Deputy Director of SME Division, VPBank representative shared at the event: “Participating in community projects is one of the ways for VPBank to realize its desire to bring prosperity to the people of Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the whole country in general. We have a leading advantage in the market in implementing digital transformation projects because we have invested in this field for many years and devoted worthy resources. VPBank's goal is to bring satisfaction, a sense of security and a smooth experience to users of digital services. We hope that this project will contribute positively to improving traffic conditions in the city, thereby helping to improve investment efficiency and attract more resources to develop the city".

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Passengers experience one-touch payment for bus tickets

People taking buses and trams follow these 3 steps to make one-touch payments:

Step 1: Touch the Mastercard Contactless card (with the wave symbol) to the “NFC” symbol on the POS device placed on the bus or tram to buy a single-trip ticket.

Step 2: The POS device confirms the transaction with a “beep” and displays the payment status as successful, and prints out the ticket.

Step 3: Passengers receive and keep tickets until the end of the journey.

The pilot automatic payment for public passenger transport by bus was set as a key project by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, with the desire to increase the rate of digital transformation in transport management in the city, towards realizing the goal of Ho Chi Minh City in one touch.

The City People's Committee has assigned the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport to implement the project using socialization methods (not using the city budget) and requested to ensure a roadmap to apply automatic payment for 100% of bus routes by 2025.

The Department of Transport has implemented the project with many units, including Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank).

Phuong Dung