BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 6
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The main part of the Azerbaijani population must use buses, scooters, bicycles, and other environmentally friendly vehicles, Andrei Aleikin, Head of the Visa Innovation Department in Russia, the CIS, and Southeast Europe, said.
Aleikin made the remark at the Baku Transit Forum 2021: Smart City online event, Trend reports on April 6.
“The solution to this problem will be facilitated by the introduction of contactless payments and the expansion of payment methods,” the head of the department added.
"More than 60 percent of payments in Azerbaijan are made via contactless VISA cards,” Aleikin said. “The convenience of paying for travel in vehicles through mobile communication devices will increase this figure. An increase in the number of terminals can also serve as an incentive."
"We have developed several models for the introduction of contactless payment technologies on vehicles and are actively introducing them,” the head of the department said. “To date, more than 420 such solutions have already been connected. Some 650 are planned to be additionally introduced. The appropriate VISA certificates have been issued to 127 organizations."
VISA has successfully implemented a contactless payment project on a number of Sumgayit bus routes in Azerbaijan.
"The mobile applications, which will include a schedule and a map with bus routes with the ability to pay for travel by using the mobile application, are expected to be introduced within the Smart City project," Aleikin said.
Moreover, the head of the department considers it an important task to inform the population of a particular country about the company's strategic decisions in the field of innovation through partner banks.
"VISA is ready to provide Azerbaijan with its solutions and investments for the implementation of innovative projects in the transport sector," Aleikin said.
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