Sberbank has connected more than 22,000 vehicles in 64 Russian cities to the united payment system. It allows trips in public transport to be paid for using contactless VISA, MasterCard or MIR cards issued by any bank.
Public transport in Russia used to be a cash-based area, now clients can choose how to pay for their trips in public transport – using contactless bank cards or smartphones with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay.
“Development of cashless payment in Russia is one of the strategic priorities of the bank. We intend to further increase the number of cities where bank card payment is possible. Use of modern cashless payment technology has several benefits for both passengers and transport enterprises. It allows multifunctional systems to be created which are integrated into different types of urban transport,” said Svetlana Kirsanova, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Director of the Retail Business Block of Sberbank.
The launch of contactless payment in public transport helps reduce the time required to serve passengers, making trips in public transport more convenient. Bank card payment helps passengers save time because they don’t have to purchase or top up transport cards: the whole payment is made directly from a bank account.