A pilot system allowing commuters to pay for public transport fares using their contactless credit and debit cards will be launched in Singapore. Mastercard, partnering with Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, will launch the pilot on March 20 2017.

Commuters will be able to ‘tap-and-go’ on the MTR fare readers, rather than having to keep and top-up a separate transport card. The system will be available on all public bus and train rides. Commuters will be able to track their journeys and fare payment history online or through a mobile app. Mastercard hope to attract at least 100,000 commuters to participate in the pilot.

Singapore will be the first in Asia, and one of the few cities in the world, to enable contactless payments for public transport. Mastercard contactless payments are already available in taxis.

Deborah Heng, country manager of Mastercard in Singapore says, “In the near future, we expect to broaden contactless access by enabling mobile and wearable devices for cashless use.”

Commuters holding Singapore-issued Mastercard contactless credit or debit cards can register their interest on the TransitLink ABT Portal, if they have not been pre-registered by their banks.