Baotou is to become one of the 100 demonstration cities in China for mobile payments on public transport, with an agreement signed by the city and China UnionPay Inner Mongolia Branch on May 11, according to northnews.cn.

The Baotou City “Smart Bus” project will rely on UnionPay’s mobile payment products and add UnionPay’s Quick Pass payment method to enable passengers to pay with cellphones.

Baotou plans to upgrade payment systems on more than 1,400 buses to enable them to accept mobile payment, with the upgrade expected to be completed by the end of May.

By early June, UnionPay’s Quick Pass for card and mobile payment will be fully supported. In July, the scan and pay function on the Quick Pass payment APP and Luchengtong APP will be launched.

Baotou residents will be able to purchase tickets via Quick Pass, as long as they hold financial IC cards with the China UnionPay logo issued by any domestic or foreign bank.

Also, a “1 cent bus ride” promotion is to be launched to encourage the use of public transport.

A signing ceremony for Baotou city’s Smart Bus project in cooperation with China UnionPay Inner Mongolia Branch takes place on May 11. [Photo/northnews.cn]

Attendees at the signing ceremony try out China UnionPay’s mobile payment systems, May 11. [Photo/northnews.cn]