The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just assigned the Department of Transport to preside over and coordinate with Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC) and related departments and branches to deploy a cashless payment system on buses.
The city also requested the Department of Transport to coordinate with the Department of Finance to complete the interconnected ticket price plan for public transport, reporting the results in March 2025.
Notably, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has approved the cooperation agreement between the Department of Transport and Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte.Ltd Company to develop modern payment solutions in public transport.
The Department of Transport will coordinate with the Department of Planning and Investment, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Foreign Affairs to implement the next steps.
According to the plan, Ho Chi Minh City will install 2,000 card readers on buses, of which 1,700 are installed on operating vehicles and 300 are spare. These devices can read EMV standard cards (no-contact bank cards), QR codes and integrate electronic invoices.
The automatic payment system on the bus will use the same server infrastructure and software with Metro Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien).
This helps synchronize data, creating convenience for people when using electronic tickets connecting between public transport.
The software system includes: Automatic ticket sales software; payment gateway; ticket sales management software; building a public transport card structure; customer relationship management software; ticket price policy. Upgrade the Go! bus mobile application to support electronic payments.
When officially operational, this system will connect with international card organizations, ensuring compliance with the standard framework applied to the automatic ticket collection system.
All costs for installing, operating and maintaining non-cash payment systems on buses will be socialized through a cooperation agreement between HURC and Mastercard.
Mastercard will cover all system setup costs for 5 years, excluding operating costs such as transaction fees, electronic invoices, 4G SIM cards, consumables, etc.
Currently, relevant units are developing a warranty process, maintaining equipment and an electronic ticket collection system.
After completion, HURC and Mastercard will hand it over to the Department of Transport, the Public Transport Management Center and related units for use.
According to the plan, readers are currently being tested on subsidized bus routes before officially operating the entire system in March 2025.
