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Contactless payments are continuously rising in the UAE and other Gulf countries amid ongoing recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Melvin Andrew Joseph, Visa’s Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring for UAE, Visa is working globally to facilitate enhanced use of cards for the public transportation system.
Joseph said that the company is working on 700 projects across the world to enable the use of digital payments in public transportation. Out of the 700 projects, 450 are working live in countries across the world. The company is expected to go live in more GCC nations by the end of this year.
“Be it a bus or metro, in addition to the existing smart card which is transit-specific, passengers will also be able to use your Visa card to pay for your ride," Joseph said.
He further underlined that consumers are looking at safer and healthier solutions in their everyday lives in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per a recent study conducted by Visa, contactless payments are among the highest in the Gulf region. Out of the total digital payments, 94 percent are contactless in Saudi Arabia, 92 percent in the UAE, and 81 percent in Kuwait.
“There is a lot of interest coming in and vendors are showing so much interest in using Visa card to tap to pay for any public transportation system,” he noted.
Addressing a panel discussion on the last day of the fourth edition of the MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition 2022 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, he highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a sharp decline in public transport ridership. Furthermore, the recovery of the sector has been uneven. Therefore, it has become important to explore contactless payment options to support the recovery of public transport in future.
The three-day MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition 2022 saw the participation of more than 1,000 visitors as well as 73 speakers from the transport industry and academicians from 19 countries. During the three-day period, the event witnessed discussions on the future of mobility in the post-Covid-19 world. In addition, participants discussed the role of MENA mobility leaders in determining the future of mobility in the region along with smart mobility management, future cities, and enhancing the participation of women leaders in public transport.
On the sideline of the congress, the exhibition saw the participation of 40 entities from 17 countries as they demonstrated the ongoing developments and trends of the transport industry.
The final ceremony was also attended by Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). During the ceremony, Khalid Al Hogail handed over the flag of the UITP Congress and Exhibition to Marta Subira, President of FGC, Barcelona, which will be hosting the next Congress in 2023.
Al Tayer and Al-Hogail also welcomed the sponsors of the event, including Bin Laden Contracting Group, Kone, GBM, Wade Adams, DutcoBalfour, Emicool, United Trans, Etisalat, Al Zarooni International, Energy International, Transportation Security Department, Trapeze, Salam Limousine Services, and Dubai Taxi Corporation. Cisco, the sponsor of the Public Transport Hackathon, was also one of the honourees during the event.
SOURCE: Khaleej Times