Apple Pay would be in contact with the Singapore Land Transit Authority, to carry out pilot tests in the payment of bus and train tickets in the Asian country. Apparently, the technological partner would be MasterCard, which would provide the necessary hardware to be able to pay with Apple's payment platform from 2018, if the tests carried out are satisfactory. It is an improvement of the project carried out by the Singapore authorities since last March. Known by the abbreviation ABT, they intend to simplify payment in means of transport, incorporating readers for contactless means, especially credit cards and EMV.
The test has been carried out with € 100.000 that provide around 60.000 transactions per day. The company has a subscription page open for those who want to try the contact ticket purchase service. Each operation is recorded in the system, as well as any incidents that users may have. After this first phase, lThe developers of the project intend to open the payment system to electronic means, such as watches or telephones.
The CEO of LTA, Ngien Hoon Ping, company that is implementing the system:
LTA is involved in enabling travelers to enjoy the convenience of electronic payments on public transportation. Together with our partners, we collaborate on ABT's pilot extension, expansion, and eventually permanent deployment, to be the backbone of our shift towards traveler-centric electronic payments.
But Singapore is not alone in signing up for public transport payment for payments from electronic devices. Other cities like New York are testing the MTA transportation network service. Its start-up is expected in mid-2018.