Taipei, 1
August 2018 – According to the United Nations’ “World Urbanization Prospects”, 70 percent of the world’s population will
live in urban areas by 2050. In Taiwan, the urban population is predicted to
reach 90 percent. As the leader in global
payment technology, Mastercard takes advantage of its global expertise in open-loop
payment systems to partner with Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTC) to
sign a contract today that seeks to improve city livability and convenience; and
more importantly, establish Kaohsiung as one of North Asia’s leading smart cities.
Accordingly, the partnership will see the implementation of an integrated
transit payments system on KRTC’s public transportation system – a first for
Mastercard in North Asia – powered by Mastercard’s open-loop technology and
KRTC’s payment system.
According to
statistics from the World Bank, cities generate
80 percent of global Gross Domestic Product
(GDP). Although urbanization has created many opportunities, governments around
the world are facing challenges to better the quality
of life of urban dwellers and maintain high transportation efficiency as
well as creating business activities. Open-loop payment systems powered by
innovative technology have become a crucial aspect when building smart cities. Mastercard addresses the urgent needs and pain points
of governments, businesses, and consumers to devote to all kinds of innovative
technologies and assist governments worldwide in creating smarter cities. It enables
government entities and partners to provide residents with more efficiency and
accuracy in urban management and increase an economic environment with higher
productivity and inclusiveness through the help of big data analysis and
digital payment options.
“Catering to the trend of international payment around the world, the development
of open-loop payment systems and connection with payment channels have become
the crucial threshold for entry to the international market and stay connected
with the global community. We believe our cooperation with Mastercard is the first
step for us to connect with global opportunities. KRTC has committed to
"Innovation" and "Service" in recent years and witnessed
progress. However, we are always seeking to provide better services through
exploring state-of-the-art technologies. This time, we partner with Mastercard
and Union Bank of Taiwan to develop an integrated digital payment system with
the aim to achieving our ultimate goal, which is to provide the most
convenience to travelers and change commuters into loyal customers. We expect
to open the door of convenience to both domestic and international travelers by
offering seamless travel experiences for Mastercard cardholders supported by
cutting-edge multiple payment options!”, said C.S. Hao, Chairman of Kaohsiung
Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC).
Dongchun Choi, Division President, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Korea,
Mastercard, said, “Mastercard recognizes that cities across the region are all
faced with similar challenges such as traffic congestion and pollution. Thus,
we are leveraging our global expertise to build digital payments into cities’
DNA, to enhance their public transportation systems and make them more
efficient, accessible and convenient for its citizens. Mastercard strongly
believes that an open-loop payments system can speed up the transaction process
and actively enhance cities’ transportation capabilities. With the help of data
analytics and cloud technology, urban planners will be able to better manage
usage to unlock efficiencies in their systems and deliver a better user journey
for residents and visitors to Kaohsiung. Mastercard is privileged to collaborate
with KRTC this time to build Kaohsiung into one of North Asia’s leading smart
cities and develop a future-proof blueprint that enables all kinds of business
opportunities. ”
Emulate Successful
Worldwide Cases to Showcase the Definite Advantages
of Open-Loop Payment Systems
Mastercard
has partnered with over 100 cities globally to create a global network of smart
cities and actively shares its sufficient experience regarding innovative
payment with major cities around the world. Mastercard has achieved remarkable
success in metropolises around the world, including New York, Singapore,
Chicago, Sydney, and London. For instance, in globally-renowned tourist
city-London, Mastercard has cooperated with its government department to use
the open-loop payment systems to reduce the risk of counterfeit cash and
process of cash inspection, which has helped London’s railway system, Transport
for London (TfL), to reduce its total operation cost by 6 percent. The
contactless payment technology of Mastercard enables cardholders to tap through
gates within 0.5 seconds, and the
convenience has boosted the usage percentage of TfL. Successful cases around
the world again prove the advantages of open-loop payment systems towards
users, merchants and local governments to help raise efficiency and
convenience.
Mastercard Partners with
KRTC to Build One of North Asia’s first Smart Cities
Aligning
with the national policy directory “Digital Nation, Smart Island,” Mastercard introduces open-loop payments technology
into Taiwan for the first time and expects to launch the system on the red and
orange lines of KCRT at the end of the year. KCRT’s passenger traffic reaches 5
million each month and acts as the major transportation hub in the development
of Kaohsiung. With Mastercard’s open-loop payment systems technology, travelers
and locals can enjoy the contactless payment service through the tap of a
Mastercard contactless card. Mastercard cardholders will neither have to bring
extra cards nor queue up in lines for ticket purchase, and travelers will not need to carry cash around, which will enhance
the quality of travel experiences. Furthermore, Mastercard will combine its
security expertise and global network with resources from KCRT and Kaohsiung to
create KCRT’s smart living environment and drive the city’s development as a
whole by pushing Kaohsiung onto the global stage to become a member of the
global smart city network.