BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 5. Regarding the overall improvement of transport systems, it's worth emphasizing with pride that Visa occupies a significant global position in the evolution of payment solutions for transportation, Vice President and Regional Manager in Central Asia and Azerbaijan at Visa Cristina Doros told Trend during an exclusive interview.
"Residents in numerous cities worldwide have already embraced the convenience, speed, and security of cashless payments in transportation, facilitated by Visa technologies. This knowledge, experience, and technology are consistently applied in Central Asia and other regions where we operate. For instance, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, we've enabled contactless payment across all modes of public transportation, with validators at every metro station. Similarly, we introduced contactless payment on public transportation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In Azerbaijan, residents can use contactless cards for payments on the Baku-Sumgayit ring train route. Additionally, contactless payment is available in Almaty's metro and buses across seven other cities in Kazakhstan," she said.
"In the city of Tbilisi, Georgia, we have implemented contactless payment options for both metro and surface-level public transportation. Moreover, in six additional cities across Georgia, this convenience is available for bus passengers. Consequently, nearly all the capitals in the countries where we operate, including Ukraine's Kyiv, Moldova's Chisinau, and Balarus' Minsk, as well as over 50 smaller cities, are now equipped with the capability for contactless payments. We remain prepared to further introduce these technologies in Baku," the Visa Vice President said.
According to her, there is currently an intriguing phenomenon in the realm of payment innovations, and each of us is actively engaged in it.
"Payment innovations had their origins in the US, notably with the founding of Visa 65 years ago. It can be asserted that the company was the world's pioneering fintech entity to seamlessly integrate financial information and technology. Presently, we observe an increasing number of payment innovations emerging in our region. The eagerness of banks to adopt innovative technologies and the willingness of the population to embrace them both play pivotal roles in this development," she added.