Mastercard holders can use cards to pay for trains, bus rides in year-end pilot

REGISTERED Mastercard cardholders in Singapore will be able to enjoy the convenience of tapping their contactless credit and debit cards to pay for train and bus journeys in a pilot programme targeted for year end launch.

In a joint release, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Mastercard said this would eliminate the need for a separate transit card and fare top-ups.

"Through this public-private partnership, we look forward to the start of the pilot at the end of this year, when commuters in Singapore can be one of the first in Asia to experience this additional fare payment option. With this new option, they will be able to do away with the hassle of topping up their fare cards,'' Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive of LTA, said.

LTA and Mastercard have signed a partnership agreement to launch an account-based ticketing system pilot, which they hope will attract at least 100,000 users, by the end of this year.

LTA is also working on enabling mobile phones for contactless use on public transit. In addition, this new system will allow commuters to track their journey and fare history via a mobile app or web portal.