ITALY: Contactless cards issued by Japan’s JCB and China’s UnionPay and linked mobile devices can now be used to pay for travel on Roma’s transport network, building on the open loop payment system which was already available to holders of Mastercard, Visa and American Express cards.
The launch follows agreements between Italian payment technology company Nexi and the two card schemes, and is expected to be of particular benefit to visitors from Asian countries.
‘The partnerships again demonstrate how Nexi has the technology, scale, and expertise to operate successfully at a global level’, said Filippo Maria Signoretti, Merchant Solutions Director Italy at Nexi, on May 7.
’We are proud that an Italian city, Roma, will be the first city in Europe to offer this service to a potential pool of millions of Asian citizens, thus accelerating the process of digitalising travel tickets.’
