HCM City leaders and Mastercard representatives at a meeting on September 9. — Photo courtesy of Mastercard

HCM CITY — Bùi Xuân Cường, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of HCM City, has called on Mastercard to continue accompanying the city in its efforts to equip 100 per cent of public transport vehicles with payment terminals, enabling residents to enjoy seamless “one-tap” cashless journeys.

On September 9, Cường hosted a meeting with Timothy Murphy, vice chairman of Mastercard; Safdar Khan, president for Southeast Asia of Mastercard; and Sharad Jain, country manager of Mastercard in Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

At the meeting, the city leader praised Mastercard’s contribution to both HCM City and Việt Nam at large.

He noted that the corporation had played a pivotal role in making the city among the first localities in the country to introduce an open-loop payment system across multiple modes of public transport.

The system allows passengers to use a variety of contactless payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards and e-wallets, to pay directly for their journeys.

Over the past year, Mastercard has collaborated with the city Urban Railway Company No. 1 Ltd (HURC1) to successfully deploy contactless payment solutions on Metro Line No.1, connecting Bến Thành and Suối Tiên.

By April 2025, the open-loop payment system had been widely applied across the city’s bus network, marking an important step towards digital transformation in the transport sector.

The city’s authorities acknowledged the significance of these solutions as part of a broader push to modernise transport infrastructure, promote financial inclusion and align with the country’s digital economy strategy.

Cường stressed that HCM City was accelerating digital transformation, placing cashless payments in public transport as a top priority.

He asked Mastercard to continue supporting the city in installing payment acceptance devices, developing mobile applications and conducting communication campaigns to encourage more people to shift from private to public transport.

He emphasised the city’s ambition to ensure that all public transport vehicles, from metro and bus lines to future urban rail routes, are equipped with payment devices, so that passengers need only tap a card or e-wallet for immediate settlement.

To realise this goal, HURC1 has been assigned as the focal point for coordination with Mastercard in the next phase of cooperation.

For Mastercard, Safdar Khan reiterated the company’s long-standing partnership with Việt Nam, noting that over nearly two decades it had consistently supported the country’s national digital transformation programme, the promotion of non-cash and digital payments, and the introduction of contactless payment solutions in public transport.

He affirmed Mastercard’s commitment to bringing practical benefits to the residents of HCM City, making travel more convenient and secure, while further driving comprehensive digital transformation.

According to him, these efforts would contribute to the city’s and the nation’s vision of building a modern, inclusive and sustainable economy.

Looking ahead, Mastercard pledged to continue working with the Government of Việt Nam and local partners to advance digital innovation and financial inclusion, thereby creating new opportunities in the digital economy for individuals and enterprises across the country. — VNS