Project of payment of rail fares by contactless cards launched in pilot mode

17-09-2020

16 September 2020, Baku: Another successful project organized by the Central Bank was launched in a pilot mode within the framework of creation of oppotunities for payment of public transport fares with contactless payment cards provided for in the ‘State Program on expansion of digital payments in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2018-2020’.

As part of the memorandum of cooperation signed among the Central Bank, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, Visa International and the International Bank of Azerbaijan OJSC, the initial phase of the project on payment of rail fares with contactless bank cards has been realized. On the first stage of the project, fares  can be paid at two stations on the Baku-Sumgayit route with contactless bank cards. In the first months of the pilot regime, it will be possible to pay non-cash fares with contactless payment cards issued by the IBA, and in the next stage with contactless cards of all banks. At the same time, this functionality will be gradually activated at all stations.

Note that as part of the efforts to create a digital payment ecosystem in the country there has been significant jump in the contactless payment infrastructure. 24% of payment cards in circulation and 52% of POS-terminals currently support contactless payments. In the years to come, all bank cards and POS-terminals will fully support contactless payments.

Possibility of accepting contactless payments on railways will allow passengers to pay comfortably, quickly and safely. Eventually, expansion of innovative payment solutions in public transport will eliminate queues in front of terminals and encourage the population to prefer cashless payments.

Along with successful implementation of the project to create the possibility of receiving cashless payments on railways, it is planned to realize relevant measures in other modes of public transport in the country.